I’m a lifelong animal lover who grew up on a country estate in North Wales and now lives in southwest France, where my husband and I care for a woodland domaine.
Life at Le Palizac is anything but quiet: our forest is home to rambunctious wild boar, graceful deer, and a lively cast of smaller creatures. Our days are filled with forestry work and tending to an ever‑growing menagerie. As an author, I share stories from our wonderfully chaotic life whenever I can. We often end the day covered in dogs and cats, wondering where the hours went—and actually, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
I wrote...
Fat Dogs and French Estates: Beyond the Forest Fringe
Taking on an abused dog isn’t for the faint‑hearted, but that’s exactly what Val Poore did. In this memoir, she shares the traumas, joys, and hard‑won love that shaped her relationship with Sin, a deeply damaged soul.
I absolutely adored this book. The lengths Val and her partner went to in their efforts to nurture Sin were nothing short of remarkable. I laughed, I wept, and I fell in love with Sin, too.
When Val Poore first agreed to take on an abused rescue puppy, nothing prepared her and her partner, Koos, for the challenges they were going to meet in the coming years. This short memoir is a story of the love and loyalty they developed for Sindy (Sin) against considerable odds and frequent pessimism. It is Sindy's story, but at the same time it is that of many other damaged dogs.The ebook book is illustrated with a few photos to mark the different stages of her life, but there is also a link to a file with further photos at the…
This true account by Lawrence Anthony is profoundly poignant.
Having worked closely with wild boar in a conservation setting, I understand how daunting damaged wild animals can be, which made this story of a troubled elephant herd especially compelling.
I was struck by the dedication of Anthony and his team, the risks they took with unpredictable animals, and the extraordinary bond forged through patience and perseverance.
When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of 'rogue' elephants on his reserve at Thula Thula, his commonsense told him to refuse. But he was the herd's last chance of survival - notorious escape artists, they would all be killed if Lawrence wouldn't take them. He agreed, but before arrangements for the move could be completed the animals broke out again and the matriarch and her baby were shot. The remaining elephants were traumatised and very angry. As soon as they arrived at Thula Thula they started planning their escape...As Lawrence battled to create a…
As an animal lover, I was instantly drawn to this three‑part tale of Gerald Durrell’s blossoming passion for the creatures he collected on sun‑drenched Corfu.
Told with the humour and affection of his adult hindsight, Durrell’s adventures among toads, tortoises, bats, and every other creature he could coax home—all under the gaze of his wonderfully tolerant family—are funny, vivid, and utterly heartwarming.
*The classic trilogy set in sun-soaked Corfu that inspired ITV's acclaimed TV series The Durrells*
Three classic tales of childhood on an island paradise - My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods by Gerald Durrell - are available in a single edition for the first time in The Corfu Trilogy.
Just before the Second World War the Durrell family decamped to the glorious, sun-soaked island of Corfu where the youngest of the four children, ten-year-old Gerald, discovered his passion for animals: toads and tortoises, bats and butterflies, scorpions and octopuses. Through glorious…
What’s not to love about a collection of true animal stories? From the moment I first read this memoir, I was captivated by James Herriot’s fresh, engaging writing and the warmth with which he describes his early days as a country vet in Yorkshire.
His encounters with tough, no‑nonsense farmers and the animals he treats—from pampered pets to semi‑feral cattle—are funny, touching, and endlessly absorbing. This classic is filled with charm, drama, and genuine heart.
I return to it often, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who loves animals.
A tie-in to the PBS Masterpiece series and Christmas special, available on streaming and home video.
All Creatures Great and Small is first volume in the multimillion copy bestselling series. Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients.
For fifty years, generations of readers have flocked to Herriot's marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike…
Told with humility and grace, this story is recounted by the author, a high‑flying city professional whose life is transformed when she chooses to rescue and nurture a newborn hare.
As their unlikely bond deepens, the reader is taken on a journey of shared learning and raw emotion. I laughed, I was shocked, and at times I grieved. As someone who lives among animals, I recognised so many of Chloe Dalton’s feelings, and I was deeply impressed by her courage and compassion.
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 A TIMES and SPECTATOR BEST BOOK OF 2024 A WATERSTONES BEST NATURE WRITING BOOK OF 2024 A BOOKSHOP.ORG NATURAL HISTORY GIFT BOOK 2024
'A beautiful book' - ANGELINA JOLIE 'A glorious book - for its warmth, its precision, its joy' - KATHERINE RUNDELL 'I will be recommending this to everyone' - MATT HAIG
__
Imagine you could hold a baby hare and bottle-feed it. Imagine that it lived under your roof and lolloped around your bedroom at night, drumming on the duvet cover when it wanted your…
Fat Dogs and French Estates – Beyond the Forest Fringe is a small sidestep in my series, focusing on the animals who share our French estate—especially the wildlife and the woodlands we’re fortunate to call home. As a loose framework, I revisit how we came to buy our domaine and how so many creatures gradually became part of our extended family. For new readers, these stories offer context; for long‑time Fat Dogs followers, they add fresh colour and depth to familiar moments.
As a lifelong animal lover, this is a book I have wanted to write for ages. Some encounters are funny or uplifting, others far more challenging. Nature can be brutal, but these stories deserve to be told, and I hope they resonate with fellow animal lovers.
