Yet Herriot, whose real name was Alf Wright, did not have his first book published until he was fifty-three. Graham Lord has written a detailed and affectionate biography of a remarkable man whose calm and reserve remained unchanged by phenomenal success and adulation. Lord has some extraordinary events and hidden tragedies in this seemingly magical life. He reveals how some of the stories were utterly true and how some were fiction just as he illuminates what the real relationships are between the memorable characters who inhabit the books.

This warm but incisive portrait by a distinguished writer who knew his subject well will not only be enjoyed by James Herriot's countless admirers but will also dispel the myths that have already grown up around the life of the most famous and deeply loved vet the world has ever known.