In this beloved semi-fictionalized autobiography, James Herriot relates the trials and tribulations of a country veterinarian working in the Yorkshire Dales during the late 1930s.

For many readers, the name James Herriot is connected with the cozy image of a good-natured rural vet working in the idyllic English countryside of yesteryear.

In fact, Herriot was the pen-name of James Alfred Wight, who rose to fame in the 1970s after the success of his series of short books based on his experiences as a young veterinary surgeon.

All Creatures Great and Small comprises the first two books of Wight's beloved series, plus three chapters from the third book, as originally anthologized for the U.S. market in 1972.

While Wight's books initially met with little success in the UK, their popularity in the U.S. as well as their subsequent film adaptations catapulted him to literary stardom.