A Wander in Vetland - An English Vet's Life in New Zealand, #2

Name: A Wander in Vetland
Price: 4.99 EUR
Author: John Hicks
ISBN: 9781476442396

Edition en anglais

John Hicks

Amanda Brenner
Paru le : 01/05/2012

John Hicks is an English trained vet who has spent much of his working life in rural New Zealand. On one level A Wander in Vetland is an insider's look... > Lire la suite

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John Hicks is an English trained vet who has spent much of his working life in rural New Zealand. On one level A Wander in Vetland is an insider's look at his changing profession. Hicks's entertaining anecdotes mark a fond farewell to "Herriotism": the dated public image of life as a rural vet, so lovingly depicted in the novels of James Herriot. But this memoir has a far broader scope. In a lively, literary style John Hicks links his tales with some of the more curious aspects of history - particularly veterinary and medical history.
Hemlock poisoning leads to a discourse on Socrates' death; brain surgery on a ram poses the question of how Neolithic man performed similar operations. There are insights into the nature of bladder stones in animals and how these relate to the suffering of Samuel Pepys in the seventeenth century; and if you ever wondered how Italian women seduced their lovers or about the use of goose quills by eunuchs in Eastern seraglios, the answers are here.
A Wander in Vetland also tackles serious issues such as a personal account of facing cancer. It is at turns fascinating, hilarious, and sobering or - as in an expose of how Noah collected animals for his ark - riotously satirical. An unusual and highly entertaining read.

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Date de parution : 01/05/2012
Editeur : Amanda Brenner
Collection : An English Vet's Life in New Z
ISBN : 978-1-4764-4239-6
EAN : 9781476442396
Format : ePub

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Biographie de John Hicks

I am a retired veterinarian. My wife and I emigrated to New Zealand in the early 1970s. Apart from a brief stint in a dog and cat practice in Yorkshire, I spent most of my working life in various parts of rural New Zealand enjoying the challenge of mixed practice with sheep, deer, dairy and beef cattle, horses, working dogs and pets. For my two veterinary memoirs I have drawn as much on my formative years in England as my subsequent experiences in New Zealand.
Emigration brings with it a questing interest in origins and roots and this is also a theme in my writing. I was the 'Vet Talk' columnist for The Southland Times for several years and have contributed articles to scientific journals and various magazines. My columns were usually of a quirky, or satirical nature - in similar style to that I have used in 'Pizzles in Paradise', which was first published by Hazard Press in New Zealand in 2005 and reprinted in 2007.
The new edition of 'Pizzles in Paradise', and its recently completed sequel, 'A Wander in Vetland', were my first ventures in epublishing. I have always been drawn to literary fiction and 'She Bid Me Take Love Easy' is my first work in this genre. It is a coming-of-age novel that draws heavily on my own experiences of boarding at a strict single-sex English public school and the subsequent shock of release into university life during the "swinging" '60s: the confusing years when society's attitudes towards sex were being redefined.
I have used a parallel true story - an account of a disastrous love affair in the Indian Army in Victorian times - to delve into themes of obsession, love, jealousy and sexual morality.