James Herriot

The title aptly describes the spirit of James Herriot’s the second novel, which finds the author’s primary character, at one point, sitting on a high Yorkshire Moor and oddly scented like a cow. 'It shouldn’t happen to a Vet’ continues to tell many more stories about Herriot’s complicated life, roping his boss Siegfried Farnon and the unpredictability that is his personality into the chaos, along with Tristan, his charming brother, complimented by Herriot’s fated encounter with the beautiful Helen. Once more the beauty of the countryside shines through in this warm tale that is as charming as it is wise.

The best place to start is the All Creatures Great and Small series, the earliest of James Herriot's multi-book series: it opens with If Only They Could Talk (1970) and runs to 8 books across 1970–1992, ending with Every Living Thing (1992). James Herriot's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

James Herriot has 42 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1970 and 2023. 13 of them belong to 3 named series — the largest being the All Creatures Great and Small series with 8 books — and 29 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. James Herriot's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are All Creatures Great and Small (1970–1992, 8 books), All Creatures Great and Small Collections (1972–1976, 3 books) and Smudge (1991, 2 books).

This guide splits James Herriot's 42 books into 3 named series and 29 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: All Creatures Great and Small (8 books, 1970–1992); All Creatures Great and Small Collections (3 books, 1972–1976); Smudge (2 books, 1991).