Today’s comfort read is brought to you by the wonderful Australian author of contemporary adult and young adult novels Eliza Henry-Jones
My favourite comfort read is the series written by James Herriot (the pen-name of Yorkshire based vet, James Wight).
Wight writes with warmth and humour about his experiences as a country vet during the 1930s through the war and into the 1950s. While parts of it haven’t dated well (unsurprising, given the first book was written in the 1960s!), his books never fail to make me laugh out loud and feel very cosy and cheery. I first read them when I was nine and stayed in Yorkshire a few years ago, so it’s sort of nostalgic on two fronts.
About the Author

Eliza Henry-Jones is a novelist, researcher and freelance writer based on a little farm in the Yarra Valley of Victoria.
Her debut novel In the Quiet (2015) was published as part of a three book deal with HarperCollins Australia. She has since published Ache (2017), the young adult novel P is for Pearl (2018) and How to Grow a Family Tree (2020). Eliza’s novels have been listed for multiple awards.
Eliza has qualifications in English and psychology as well as grief, loss and trauma counselling. She has completed a first class honours thesis exploring representations of bushfire trauma in fiction and is currently a PhD candidate at Deakin University.
Eliza is a proud ambassador for the Satellite Foundation, which supports children and young people who are impacted by parental mental illness.
Eliza has been awarded a residential fellowship at Varuna in New South Wales, a young writer residency at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre in Western Australia, the Tyrone Guthrie Fellowship in Ireland and an Australia Council Grant to work on a new novel set in Scotland.
Eliza is an experienced public speaker, facilitator and writer. You can find out more about her writing and other services here.
Click/Tap the titles to read my reviews of Ache, P is for Pearl, and How to Grow a Family Tree
Love a bit of James Herriot too. All those dales and Yorkshire accents.
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I’ve never read these books before but I am definitely putting some on my TBR list!! I’ve been really loving books about animals lately so they sound like they are right up my alley!
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They might fell a little dated, but something to get lost in. I read that they are remaking the films too.
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Sounds perfect! Exciting news about the films, I will definitely keep a look out for them!!
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For my generation of vets and older these are foundational books. I’m shocked when younger people have never heard of them. They are still so relatable.
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They sound like they are lovely!
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