If Only They Could Talk was published by Michael Joseph in 1970 — Herriot’s first book, written when he was already fifty-four. The story begins with young James Herriot arriving in the fictional town of Darrowby to interview for a position as assistant to Siegfried Farnon, and follows his first months in the practice as he learns the realities of large-animal veterinary work in a remote farming community.
The book is shorter and slightly rougher than the later volumes — Herriot had not yet fully polished his formula — but it contains some of his best material: the terrifying first encounters with hostile bulls and difficult calvings, the bewildering personality of Siegfried Farnon, and the gradual winning of trust from farmers who initially regarded the young Glaswegian vet with deep suspicion. The Yorkshire landscape in winter — the snow-blocked roads, the freezing barns, the beauty visible even in discomfort — is evoked with the freshness of first encounter.
This is the book that almost wasn’t published. Herriot had been submitting manuscripts unsuccessfully for years before Michael Joseph’s reader spotted the quality. The initial print run was modest, and the book’s success built slowly through word of mouth in Britain before the American omnibus edition exploded internationally.
Collecting If Only They Could Talk
First edition (Michael Joseph, London, 1970): Cloth with dust jacket by Larry Rostant.
Market values:
- UK first edition, fine/fine: $500–$1,500
- Very good/very good: $200–$500
- Signed (very scarce in first edition): $1,500–$3,000
Projected values (2026–2036): Very strong appreciation. This is the true first edition of the first Herriot book and is extremely scarce in collectible condition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the UK first edition so much more valuable? If Only They Could Talk was published by Michael Joseph in 1970 in a small print run. It was Wight’s debut and received modest attention. The explosion of popularity came after the US omnibus All Creatures Great and Small became a bestseller in 1972. By then, original UK first editions had been read, discarded, or damaged, making them genuinely rare.
How did Wight come to write the books? Wight began writing in his fifties, encouraged by his wife Joan. He spent years on rejected manuscripts before developing the memoir format that combined veterinary anecdotes with Yorkshire character studies. The success was immediate once the right publisher and market (American readers enchanted by English country life) were found.