It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet was published by Michael Joseph in 1972 as the second UK volume in what became the All Creatures Great and Small series. (It was combined with If Only They Could Talk for the US omnibus edition All Creatures Great and Small.) The book continues Herriot’s account of his early years in Darrowby — roughly 1938–1940 — as his competence grows but his encounters with difficult animals and eccentric owners remain as challenging as ever.
By this second volume Herriot had found his voice completely. The episodes are crafted with greater confidence: the timing of comic set-pieces is sharper, the character sketches of farmers and their wives more detailed, and the veterinary procedures described with more assurance that readers will follow the medical content. The formula — episode-based, combining comedy with genuine emotion, set against the changing Dales seasons — is fully established.
The book also develops the relationship with Siegfried Farnon further and introduces Tristan (Siegfried’s younger brother, based on Brian Sinclair) more prominently. Tristan — lazy, charming, unreliable, but oddly competent in emergencies — became one of the series’ most popular characters, and his presence here adds comic dimension.
Collecting It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet
First edition (Michael Joseph, London, 1972): Cloth with pictorial dust jacket.
Market values:
- UK first edition, fine/fine: $75–$200
- Very good: $30–$75
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate to strong appreciation.
The Expanding World
The second book expands the cast of Yorkshire characters — farmers, their wives, competing vets, horse dealers, eccentric dog owners — and deepens the seasonal rhythm that would define the series. Herriot’s genius was treating animal patients and their owners with equal attention, finding comedy and pathos in both. The title It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet captures the perpetual sense of comic injustice that drives the books.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you visit the real Herriot locations? Yes. Thirsk, North Yorkshire, has the World of James Herriot museum, housed in the actual building where Wight practised. The Yorkshire Dales are accessible for walks through the landscape described in the books. The BBC series All Creatures Great and Small (2020–present) is filmed on location in the Dales.