All those times he’s lying face down on freezing cobblestones feeling around the inside of a cow
Reread this after watching the second season of the new series on PBS. It’s pretty much impossible to recreate Herriot’s cases on camera–all those times he’s lying face down on freezing cobblestones feeling around the inside of a cow and telling us what that’s like–so this was a great reminder of the realities of the actual job.
Told serially, as if many of the chapters were first published as individual articles, which is especially effective in the story of his woefully haphazard courting of Helen. Herriot is refreshingly humble and his character portraits are alternatively hilarious and poignant. Thoroughly enjoyable.
So glad you love these stories and characters as much as we all do. James Herriot became a British institution when his books first came into the public eye, a few years now…. So when the stories and characters were finally brought to life on our small screens, well, it was foregone conclusion that he and his stories would become a roaring international success. Magical, even the sad bits! Would love this to happen to Kate ….. now … who to cast? I wonder?
There has been much speculation on that topic over the years. Irene Bedard would have been perfect in the role back in the day, but pretty sure producers would cast younger than her now.
I love the book, the original series, and this one!
I have been reading all of those books for the last couple of months. I love the new series. I very much would love to live in the Yorkshire Dales. Alf Wight was an amazing person. His son wrote a wonderful memoir about his father. I have watched the new show several times. Dexter, our 10 month old Great Dane, loves to watch the animals. I don’t think these books could ever be recreated.