3. About The Author
โข James Alfred Wight Herriot was born on 3 October 1916 in Sunderland, County
Durham, England to James (1890โ1960) and Hannah Bell (1890โ1980)
Wight. Shortly after their wedding, the Wights moved from Brandling Street,
Sunderland to Glasgow in Scotland, where James took work as a ship plater and as
a pianist for a local cinema, while Hannah was a singer and a dressmaker. Hannah
returned to Sunderland to give birth to James, bringing him back to Glasgow when
he was three weeks old. He attended Yoker Primary School and Hillhead High
School.
โข Wight qualified as a veterinary surgeon at Glasgow Veterinary College in 1939 at
age 23. He took a job at a veterinary practice in Sunderland in January 1940, but he
moved to work in a rural practice the following July. There he was based at 23
Kirkgate in Thirsk, Yorkshire, close to the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moorsโ
better known as Skeldale Houseโwhere he remained for the rest of his life.
โข Wight married Joan Catherine Anderson Danbury on 5 November 1941 at St Mary's
Church, Thirsk; she is named Helen Alderson in his books. They had two children:
James Alexander (born 13 February 1943), who also became a vet and was a
partner in the practice, and Rosemary (born 1947), who became a doctor.
4. Glossary
โข sausage: finely minced meat stuffed into long cylindrical cases and divided into
small lengths by twisting or tying
โข rheumy: a watery discharge from a mucous membrane especially of the nose
or eyes
โข listless: lacking energy and enthusiasm
โข lumbago: muscular pain in the lower part of the back (lumbar region)
โข regime: prescribed course of exercise and diet
โข distraught: extremely worried
โข surgery: a place where a doctor, a dentist or a veterinary surgeon treats
patients
โข scrimmage: rough or confused struggle
โข convalescing: recovering from an illness
โข lithe: flexible
5. THEME OF STORY
โข A Triumph of Surgery by James Herriot is about a rich lady, Mrs. Pumphrey
pampering her pet dog, Tricki. In her affection and love for her pet, she gave her
sweet food, Horlicks, cream cakes, chocolates, etc. as many times as the dog
demanded. This sweet and fatty food made Tricki enormously fat.
โข James Herriot suggested her not to give the dog such type of food; and also
suggested her to make Tricki do exercise. But Mrs. Pumphrey did not follow the
narratorโs advice.
โข As expected, Tricki fell ill; the narrator, since he was a qualified vet, took the sick
dog to his clinic. He kept it on normal diet, made it drink lots of water; it played with
other dogs; and after a fortnight it became healthy again. Even during Trickiโs
treatment, Mrs. Pumphrey would send boiled eggs, wine, and brandy to be given to
Tricki, but the narrator did not give anything to the dog.
โข When Mrs. Pumphrey got Tricki back she was so happy. She thought the narrator
had done some surgery on it. So. In gratitude she said, โThis is a triumph of
surgery.โ
6.
7. โข She was wealthy woman. She loved her dog too
much. She gave him some little extras between
meals to build him up, malt, cod-liver oil and a
bowl of Horlicks at night. She gave him lot to eat
but no exercise.
โข Once he became ill & she was worried & made a
frantic call to Harriot who was a vet. James
already gave suggestion regarding Trickiโs
balance diet. But she never followed it.
Mrs.Pumphrey
8. James Herriot. A Vet
โข He was a vet .He was shocked to see hugely fat, like a
bloated sausage with a leg at each corner. He already
advised her to cut down on the sweet things. He
expected call came within a few days & it was happened.
He was called by Mrs. Pumphery as Tricki refused to eat.
โข He told her that Tricki needed immediate hospitalization
for keeping under observation at his surgery a fortnight.
There he gave him no food no medicine but plenty of
water. Gradually he mixed with other dogs & started
playing with him. He had a lot of exercises & fun at the
surgery.
9. Tricki
โข Tricki was a small dog and was excessively loved by
his mistress, Mrs. Pumphery.
โข He was greedy & loved food, but no exercise.
โข As a result he became fat & Mrs. Pumphery
believed that he became lazy because he suffered
from malnutrition.
10.
11. Mrs. Pumphrey was a rich and emotional lady who has a cute
pet called Tricky. She loved him so much that she overfed him.
Tricki had put on a lot of weight which made him lethargic.
When doctor Herriot saw the fat dog like a bloated sausage he
was shocked. He made a plan and told Mrs. Pumphrey that
Tricki needed treatment for a ailment which was possible only
in hospital. The doctor knew that Mrs. Pumphrey would not be
able to keep the dog on a proper diet.
12. When the greedy dog went to the hospital he had to remain
hungry if he was slow to approach for food. He was given
food at fixed intervals. Soon he shed off a lot of his body
weight and became quite active. When Tricki was at home he
was pampered by Mrs. Pumphrey. He had a luxurious life
when he was served with cream cake chocolate and horlicks.
But when he came to the doctor he became all right. When
Mrs. Pumphrey saw her active dog she thanked the doctor and
felt that it was a triumph of surgery.
