If only they could talk

A special edition of If Only They Could Talk by James Herriot reissued with a bright retro design to celebrate Pan's 70th anniversary.

Fresh out of Veterinary college, and shoulder-deep in an uncooperative cow, James Herriot's first job is not panning out exactly as expected. 1930s Yorkshire appears to offer an idyllic pocket of rural life in a rapidly changing world, but even life in the sleepy village of Darrowby has its challenges.

On the one hand there are his new colleagues, Siegfried and Tristan Farnon, two brothers who attract a constant stream of local girls to whom James is strangely invisible.

On the other he must contend with herds of semi-feral cattle, gruff farmers with incomprehensible accents and an overweight Pekingese called Tricki Woo...Heart-breaking and hilarious in equal measure, If Only They Could Talk is James Herriot's brilliant memoir of life as a country vet and the story behind the much loved television series and film, All Creatures Great and Small.