Author · updated 2026
James Herriot Books in Order
Every James Herriot book in publication order — 41 in total, spanning 1970–2009.
James Herriot is the pen name of a real Yorkshire vet — James Alfred Wight — who, in his fifties, finally wrote down the funny, tender, occasionally muddy stories of country practice he’d been telling for years. The result is some of the most comforting reading there is: lambing at three in the morning, stubborn farmers, a green young vet, and animals great and small in the green hills of the Dales. If you want a book that feels like a cup of tea by a warm fire, you’ve found your author.
Publication Order of All Creatures Great and Small Books
| # | Title | Year | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | If Only They Could Talk | 1970 | Amazon US UK |
| 2 | All Creatures Great and Small | 1972 | Amazon US UK |
| 3 | It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet | 1972 | Amazon US UK |
| 4 | Let Sleeping Vets Lie | 1973 | Amazon US UK |
| 5 | Vet in Harness | 1974 | Amazon US UK |
| 6 | All Things Bright and Beautiful | 1974 | Amazon US UK |
| 7 | Vets Might Fly | 1976 | Amazon US UK |
| 8 | All Things Wise and Wonderful | 1976 | Amazon US UK |
| 9 | The Lord God Made Them All | 1981 | Amazon US UK |
| 10 | Vet in a Spin | 1984 | Amazon US UK |
Publication Order of Smudge Books
| # | Title | Year | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smudge, The Little Lost Lamb | 1991 | Amazon US UK |
| 2 | Smudge's Day Out | 1991 | Amazon US UK |
Publication Order of Short Story Collections
| # | Title | Year | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Best of James Herriot | 1983 | Amazon US UK |
| 2 | Horse & Pony Stories | 1986 | Amazon US UK |
Publication Order of Picture Books
| # | Title | Year | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bonny's Big Day | 1972 | Amazon US UK |
| 2 | Moses the Kitten | 1984 | Amazon US UK |
| 3 | Only One Woof | 1985 | Amazon US UK |
| 4 | The Christmas Day Kitten | 1986 | Amazon US UK |
| 5 | Blossom Comes Home | 1988 | Amazon US UK |
| 6 | The Market Square Dog | 1989 | Amazon US UK |
| 7 | Oscar, Cat-About-Town | 1990 | Amazon US UK |
| 8 | The Animals at Diamond Woods | 2009 | Amazon US UK |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| # | Title | Year | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Animal Stories, Tame & Wild | 1979 | Amazon US UK |
| 2 | James Herriot's Yorkshire | 1979 | Amazon US UK |
| 3 | All Creatures Great and Small Annual 1982 | 1981 | Amazon US UK |
| 4 | James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories | 1986 | Amazon US UK |
| 5 | James Herriot's Dog Stories | 1986 | Amazon US UK |
| 6 | Greatest Cat Stories | 1989 | Amazon US UK |
| 7 | James Herriot Story Book | 1992 | Amazon US UK |
| 8 | Every Living Thing | 1992 | Amazon US UK |
| 9 | James Herriot's Treasury for Children | 1992 | Amazon US UK |
| 10 | James Herriot's Cat Stories | 1994 | Amazon US UK |
| 11 | Lord God Made Them All | 1994 | Amazon US UK |
| 12 | Seven Yorkshire tales | 1995 | Amazon US UK |
| 13 | James Herriot's Yorkshire Stories | 1995 | Amazon US UK |
| 14 | James Herriot's Yorkshire Village | 1995 | Amazon US UK |
| 15 | James Herriot's Animal Stories | 1997 | Amazon US UK |
| 16 | Yorkshire Stories | 1998 | Amazon US UK |
| 17 | James Herriot's Yorkshire Revisited | 1999 | Amazon US UK |
Publication Order of Anthologies
| # | Title | Year | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Famous and Curious Animal Stories | 1989 | Amazon US UK |
| 2 | Christmas Cats | 2005 | Amazon US UK |
Every title by year All 41, oldest to newest
| # | Title | Year | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | If Only They Could Talk | 1970 | Amazon US UK |
| 2 | All Creatures Great and Small | 1972 | Amazon US UK |
| 3 | It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet | 1972 | Amazon US UK |
| 4 | Bonny's Big Day | 1972 | Amazon US UK |
| 5 | Let Sleeping Vets Lie | 1973 | Amazon US UK |
| 6 | Vet in Harness | 1974 | Amazon US UK |
| 7 | All Things Bright and Beautiful | 1974 | Amazon US UK |
| 8 | Vets Might Fly | 1976 | Amazon US UK |
| 9 | All Things Wise and Wonderful | 1976 | Amazon US UK |
| 10 | Animal Stories, Tame & Wild | 1979 | Amazon US UK |
| 11 | James Herriot's Yorkshire | 1979 | Amazon US UK |
| 12 | The Lord God Made Them All | 1981 | Amazon US UK |
| 13 | All Creatures Great and Small Annual 1982 | 1981 | Amazon US UK |
| 14 | The Best of James Herriot | 1983 | Amazon US UK |
| 15 | Vet in a Spin | 1984 | Amazon US UK |
| 16 | Moses the Kitten | 1984 | Amazon US UK |
| 17 | Only One Woof | 1985 | Amazon US UK |
| 18 | Horse & Pony Stories | 1986 | Amazon US UK |
| 19 | The Christmas Day Kitten | 1986 | Amazon US UK |
| 20 | James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories | 1986 | Amazon US UK |
| 21 | James Herriot's Dog Stories | 1986 | Amazon US UK |
| 22 | Blossom Comes Home | 1988 | Amazon US UK |
| 23 | The Market Square Dog | 1989 | Amazon US UK |
| 24 | Greatest Cat Stories | 1989 | Amazon US UK |
| 25 | Famous and Curious Animal Stories | 1989 | Amazon US UK |
| 26 | Oscar, Cat-About-Town | 1990 | Amazon US UK |
| 27 | Smudge, The Little Lost Lamb | 1991 | Amazon US UK |
| 28 | Smudge's Day Out | 1991 | Amazon US UK |
| 29 | James Herriot Story Book | 1992 | Amazon US UK |
| 30 | Every Living Thing | 1992 | Amazon US UK |
| 31 | James Herriot's Treasury for Children | 1992 | Amazon US UK |
| 32 | James Herriot's Cat Stories | 1994 | Amazon US UK |
| 33 | Lord God Made Them All | 1994 | Amazon US UK |
| 34 | Seven Yorkshire tales | 1995 | Amazon US UK |
| 35 | James Herriot's Yorkshire Stories | 1995 | Amazon US UK |
| 36 | James Herriot's Yorkshire Village | 1995 | Amazon US UK |
| 37 | James Herriot's Animal Stories | 1997 | Amazon US UK |
| 38 | Yorkshire Stories | 1998 | Amazon US UK |
| 39 | James Herriot's Yorkshire Revisited | 1999 | Amazon US UK |
| 40 | Christmas Cats | 2005 | Amazon US UK |
| 41 | The Animals at Diamond Woods | 2009 | Amazon US UK |
James Herriot on screen
Herriot has been adapted twice, both beloved: the classic BBC series (1978–1990), and the warm, gorgeous revival on Channel 5 and PBS Masterpiece (from 2020). Both are lovely — and both send viewers straight back to the books, which hold even more of the small moments.
- 1978All Creatures Great and SmallBBC series — The classic long-running adaptation.
- 2020All Creatures Great and SmallTV revival — Channel 5 / PBS Masterpiece; ongoing and much-loved.
If you liked the show, read the books
Liked All Creatures Great and Small (PBS Masterpiece)? Start with the book of the same name — the show is faithful to its heart, and the books hold even more.
Frequently asked
What order should I read the James Herriot books in?
Start with All Creatures Great and Small, then All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, The Lord God Made Them All, and Every Living Thing. (The US omnibus editions combine his original, shorter British books.)
Are the stories true?
Largely, yes — they’re drawn from Wight’s real years as a Yorkshire vet, with names (his own included) changed. Think memoir with a storyteller’s polish.
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