James Herriot, as I’m sure you are aware, is popular with readers all over the world. Interest in Alf Wight, the vet and James Herriot, the author is still huge. This was made very evident to us a couple of weeks ago when we had a visit from nine enthusiastic Chinese journalists representing various newspapers and magazines in China and Hong Kong. The Chinese have really taken our favourite author to their hearts. The journalists very much enjoyed their visit to the World of James Herriot and were keen to learn more about his life and stories so that they could share them with the public back home.
In the same week we were also visited by a Dutch film crew and they interviewed Alf’s children, Rosie and Jim in our kitchen. James Herriot has many Dutch fans and we have a steady stream of visitors from Holland. However, most of our foreign visitors tend to come from America. When the Herriot books were first published in Britain they met with mild success. It wasn’t until the American publishers packaged the first two books into one volume and named it ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ that they became bestsellers. Consequently, it is no wonder that the Americans still remain some of James Herriot’s biggest fans.
So, what nationality are you, and how did you become a fan?
