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Merry Hall Trilogy #3
Sunlight on the Lawn
Sunlight on the Lawn brings to a close Beverley Nichols's delightful Merry Hall trilogy describing the renovation of his run-down Georgian mansion and its garden.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1999
About the author
Beverley Nichols
100 books149 followersJohn Beverley Nichols (born September 9, 1898 in Bower Ashton, Bristol, died September 15, 1983 in Kingston, London), was an English writer, playwright, actor, novelist and composer. He went to school at Marlborough College, and went to Balliol College, Oxford University, and was President of the Oxford Union and editor of Isis.
Between his first novel, Prelude, published in 1920, and Twilight in 1982, he wrote more than 60 books and plays on topics such as travel, politics, religion, cats, novels, mysteries, and children's stories, authoring six novels, five detective mysteries, four children's stories, six plays, and no fewer than six autobiographies.
Nichols is perhaps best remembered as a writer for Woman's Own and for his gardening books, the first of which Down the Garden Path, was illustrated — as were many of his books — by Rex Whistler. This bestseller — which has had 32 editions and has been in print almost continuously since 1932 — was the first of his trilogy about Allways, his Tudor thatched cottage in Glatton, Cambridgeshire. A later trilogy written between 1951 and 1956 documents his travails renovating Merry Hall (Meadowstream), a Georgian manor house in Agates Lane, Ashtead, Surrey, where Nichols lived from 1946 to 1956. These books often feature his gifted but laconic gardener "Oldfield". Nichols's final trilogy is referred to as "The Sudbrook Trilogy" (1963–1969) and concerns his late 18th-century attached cottage at Ham, (near Richmond), Surrey.
Nichols was a prolific author who wrote on a wide range of topics. He ghostwrote Dame Nellie Melba’s "autobiography" Memories and Melodies (1925), and in 1966 he wrote A Case of Human Bondage about the marriage and divorce of William Somerset Maugham and Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo, which was highly critical of Maugham. Father Figure, which appeared in 1972 and in which he described how he had tried to murder his alcoholic and abusive father, caused a great uproar and several people asked for his prosecution. His autobiographies usually feature Arthur R. Gaskin who was Nichols’ manservant from 1924 until Gaskin's death from cirrhosis in 1966. Nichols made one appearance on film - in 1931 he appeared in Glamour, directed by Seymour Hicks and Harry Hughes, playing the part of the Hon. Richard Wells.
Nichols' long-term partner was Cyril Butcher. He died in 1983 from complications after a fall.
Between his first novel, Prelude, published in 1920, and Twilight in 1982, he wrote more than 60 books and plays on topics such as travel, politics, religion, cats, novels, mysteries, and children's stories, authoring six novels, five detective mysteries, four children's stories, six plays, and no fewer than six autobiographies.
Nichols is perhaps best remembered as a writer for Woman's Own and for his gardening books, the first of which Down the Garden Path, was illustrated — as were many of his books — by Rex Whistler. This bestseller — which has had 32 editions and has been in print almost continuously since 1932 — was the first of his trilogy about Allways, his Tudor thatched cottage in Glatton, Cambridgeshire. A later trilogy written between 1951 and 1956 documents his travails renovating Merry Hall (Meadowstream), a Georgian manor house in Agates Lane, Ashtead, Surrey, where Nichols lived from 1946 to 1956. These books often feature his gifted but laconic gardener "Oldfield". Nichols's final trilogy is referred to as "The Sudbrook Trilogy" (1963–1969) and concerns his late 18th-century attached cottage at Ham, (near Richmond), Surrey.
Nichols was a prolific author who wrote on a wide range of topics. He ghostwrote Dame Nellie Melba’s "autobiography" Memories and Melodies (1925), and in 1966 he wrote A Case of Human Bondage about the marriage and divorce of William Somerset Maugham and Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo, which was highly critical of Maugham. Father Figure, which appeared in 1972 and in which he described how he had tried to murder his alcoholic and abusive father, caused a great uproar and several people asked for his prosecution. His autobiographies usually feature Arthur R. Gaskin who was Nichols’ manservant from 1924 until Gaskin's death from cirrhosis in 1966. Nichols made one appearance on film - in 1931 he appeared in Glamour, directed by Seymour Hicks and Harry Hughes, playing the part of the Hon. Richard Wells.
Nichols' long-term partner was Cyril Butcher. He died in 1983 from complications after a fall.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 7, 2010
Beverly, Beverly, Beverly...you're impossibly snooty sometimes, you hate women, think babies are revolting and are a bit overly obsessed with your cats and yet...somehow you are so charming, so clever, and so very, very funny. Sunlight was the final book in his famous trilogy...a great capstone to the story of his adventures renovating the gardens of an English country estate. Just like all the other books I read with a notepad in hand and was forever scribbling down Latin names to look up or even little tidbits like the name of an artist he waxes on about or a particular breed of cat he extols for a few pages. He makes things sound so alluring that I feel driven to find out WHAT they are like in real life just to make sure I don't need to experience it myself. I have lots of flowers in my garden that could have billed to Mr. Nichols, products of those mad note scribblings. Such a lovely thing. Never happier.
April 1, 2020
Sadly, the last visit to Merry Hall, Meadowstream and it's array of rather wonderful characters.
July 16, 2016
I adore Beverley Nichols' books about his house and garden. This is a book in which, really, nothing happens but I love it just the same. This is the third in a series about Merry Hall and it's as delightful as the first two. My favorite scenes involve the local ladies (Miss Emily and Our Rose) and their hysterical little societal battles similar to Mapp and Lucia. If you have not read BN before start with Merry Hall.
April 16, 2019
I love, love, love Beverly Nichols! If I had to choose only a half dozen authors to keep reading the rest of my life, he would be one of them! Probably in the top three. He says whatever is on his mind, but because he was such a cheerful person, whatever he had to say cheered you as well. I haven't actually read ALL his books yet, so please don't hold me to this! I have really only read a number of his memoirs, particularly his garden memoirs. ( Um, is that a genre?) At any rate, if you want your heart to feel lighter, try to find some of his books.
August 28, 2019
This is the 5th book I have read by this author and it did not disappoint. I look forward to reading more of his books. They make me smile.
January 26, 2016
What could be better than Beverley Nichols on a snowbound day?!
Quotations:
"I should certainly choose a spray of clematis....the clematis is the symbol of artifice. I the time of Nero its stains were used by the beggars in the streets of Rome to produce artificial ulcers on their skins" (156).
"Why should they be for anything, if they look beautiful?...If you want an excuse for them, you can just say that they're a Folly....There's a lot of significance in that capital F....Our ancestors gave it to Folly, because they thought Folly was important. We haven't the courage to do that any longer" (172).
Quotations:
"I should certainly choose a spray of clematis....the clematis is the symbol of artifice. I the time of Nero its stains were used by the beggars in the streets of Rome to produce artificial ulcers on their skins" (156).
"Why should they be for anything, if they look beautiful?...If you want an excuse for them, you can just say that they're a Folly....There's a lot of significance in that capital F....Our ancestors gave it to Folly, because they thought Folly was important. We haven't the courage to do that any longer" (172).
August 18, 2013
Have you ever loved a book from the first word? The other books in the Merry Hall trilogy were like that for me, and so I expected this book to be the same. Nichols did not fail. As I portioned it out before bed each night, I was enchanted by Nichols' particular view of the world and his delight in creating the garden at Merry Hall. He has a wonderful turn of phrase, and the ability to make mundane things like the search for a NB (nice balustrade) into an entertaining quest.
December 3, 2019
Whenever I finish a Nichol’s book I feel enriched. I love reading about his friends and neighbors. I love the history interwoven about plants and sculpture and whatnot. His soliloquy’s on flowers and plants are inspiring. He intermixed humor throughout. I enjoy his and Marius’s gentlemanly behaviors and reactions. All around good books. This was an enjoyable trilogy and I’m glad I own it. I know I’ll return to visit Merry Hall and company again.
October 26, 2019
As usual very enjoyable . An easy, relaxing read.
May 31, 2021
Last of the 3 book series regarding Merry Hall and its gardens. What a great summer read - funny, engaging characters, uplifting. These will be returned to my bookshelves to be read again.
September 15, 2015
Nichols, the Original Bright Young Thing (as someone quoted in his Wikipedia entry said), can be described as arch, quaint, and twee. Gladys Taber he was not. His is the kind of humorous affectation that makes Neil Gaiman's comment "gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide" amusing. He is always rushing about in his prose, as well as rushing up to town and down again, coming up with quixotic gardening plans and quaint affectations.
And yet, there's an amusement to reading his works. Under the painfully post-Edwardian flightiness are moments of earnestness and devotion, for instance to his cats, and to a variety of kinds of beauty, especially in plants. I can sympathize with his description of being able to 'shrink' oneself mentally to look at a doll's house or a rockery as if you were two inches tall and exploring it.
I myself regard both rhododendrons and installing concrete in the garden as inventions of the devil, but understand the drive that causes us to do ridiculous things, especially in pursuit of garden beauty. Personally, I can't imagine accidentally investing in yards and yards of Nice Balustrade in stone, with no plan for getting it installed, and then hiding from one's factotum (or family) the imminent arrival of 'The Men' to install it... but I do recall the smuggling-in of one capriciously purchased piece of furniture and none of my family feel I am to be safely allowed out in the vicinity of garage sales, after all.
One- namely me-- has to deplore what is clearly the egging-on of the males in the vicinity of the feud between Miss Emily and Our Rose (why on earth do can't people stay out the middle of such things, or cut the connection with someone being a dip? It's like Facebook in a garden), but I admit the whole tongue-twisting business of "nettles, thistles, and docks" had me giggling helplessly. And of course, I will never cease to envy the renaissance-like perfection of his water-garden as described and pictured in the sketches.
And yet, there's an amusement to reading his works. Under the painfully post-Edwardian flightiness are moments of earnestness and devotion, for instance to his cats, and to a variety of kinds of beauty, especially in plants. I can sympathize with his description of being able to 'shrink' oneself mentally to look at a doll's house or a rockery as if you were two inches tall and exploring it.
I myself regard both rhododendrons and installing concrete in the garden as inventions of the devil, but understand the drive that causes us to do ridiculous things, especially in pursuit of garden beauty. Personally, I can't imagine accidentally investing in yards and yards of Nice Balustrade in stone, with no plan for getting it installed, and then hiding from one's factotum (or family) the imminent arrival of 'The Men' to install it... but I do recall the smuggling-in of one capriciously purchased piece of furniture and none of my family feel I am to be safely allowed out in the vicinity of garage sales, after all.
One- namely me-- has to deplore what is clearly the egging-on of the males in the vicinity of the feud between Miss Emily and Our Rose (why on earth do can't people stay out the middle of such things, or cut the connection with someone being a dip? It's like Facebook in a garden), but I admit the whole tongue-twisting business of "nettles, thistles, and docks" had me giggling helplessly. And of course, I will never cease to envy the renaissance-like perfection of his water-garden as described and pictured in the sketches.
August 25, 2010
Another funny installment about the author's mansion and gardens. Loved his writing so much that I couldn't read them fast enough!
May 29, 2019
4.25 stars. Beverley Nichols is the gift that keeps on giving.
February 22, 2023
The slow pace of a small village in England will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I delighted in the characters and humor Mr. Nichols brings to everyday situations. His zeal for his garden, the grace extended to eccentric neighbors and the personality of his cats had me chuckling out loud at times. This is "take me away" read.
May 18, 2019
The perfect bed book: lovely and not-so-lovely characters, English gardens, not much plot. I may have read this trilogy eons ago but didn't remember much about it. Need to start again with the first one.
June 1, 2019
Quirky fun for the garden person.
January 4, 2023
I love Nichols writing style , his subject matter, his love of nature and gardening and his quirky neighbours!!
December 6, 2010
A lovely treat to read. Nichols has the art of making you feel you are right there in the situations he talks about, whether it is an argument between Miss Emily and Our Rose, an educational ramble by the ever wise Marius, the anguish of the long-suffering Gaskin who dreads the coming of (work) Men who will insist upon tramping into his kitchen and being treated to his tea at the rate of a guinea an hour, the cat lover whose beloved animal must be 'put down' then replaced, and the ever impetuous Beverley himself who will insist upon furnishing his garden before his rambling old house. There is also the minor appearance of Bob, who tends to (old) damsels in distress, making for a very comical and yet satisfying justice. This book leaves me wistful, as Beverley Nichols never got around to the book he threatens in the end.
December 17, 2016
As charming as the previous two in the trilogy. This one is a bit sadder , and the introduction, telling us that Nichols had to leave Merry Hall eventually due to lack of funds, and of his regret at never seeing the garden mature, is sad too. Still: if you like his garden books, don't leave this one out.
Read
July 28, 2011I saw this in the library and remembered that I had really enjoyed other books of his that I have read. It took a couple of chapters to get back in the swing of his writing. For a bit I was thinking, say, exactly why did I like his books so much? And then I knew. I was sorry when it ended and will have to go back to the others. I love his characters, stories, and writing.
July 25, 2014
Nothing much happens, yet I can't stop reading these village fictions. Nichols describes his gardening passions, is drawn into a feud between two local women, each of whom is convinced she's in the right (he's fairly sure they're both wrong), and explains how he changed his soil from chalky to acid so he could raise some of his favorite flowers. (It's expensive and difficult.)
March 17, 2016
'I want to wear out,' [Oldfield] said very softly. 'To wear out. Not to rust out.'
Was a wonderful read, though I should have read the first two in the Merry Hall trilogy first, it wasn't too out of place. More enjoyable tales and humour from BN. This book seemed a bit more thoughtful and sad at times.
Was a wonderful read, though I should have read the first two in the Merry Hall trilogy first, it wasn't too out of place. More enjoyable tales and humour from BN. This book seemed a bit more thoughtful and sad at times.
November 1, 2013
The third in English author Beverley Nichols' autobiographical trilogy,the 'Merry Hall' series, describing his country house and garden in the early 1950's is a wonderful escape for garden enthusiasts and fans of P.G. Wodehouse, E.F.Benson and television series like 'Downton Abbey.'
January 3, 2009
More good stuff from Mr. Nichols. Although this is supposed to be the last in his series about Merry Hall, I will definitely search out later works for news of him, his household, and his neighbors.
December 24, 2009
Another wonderfully droll book about Nichols' gardening adventures.
March 21, 2013
Such a perfect book to read during the dreary tail end of winter...
June 12, 2016
Charming trilogy with amusing characters, breathtaking descriptions, funny dialog. Loved it.
September 23, 2016
Very satisfying end of the Merry Hall trilogy with some very funny stories. One of my favorite Nichols' books.
May 22, 2014
Must read in his series
April 12, 2017
The last in the Merry Hall series. Beverley Nichols continues to expand his vision for his garden, building mountains, adding balustrades, and telling us about his favorite plants. Meanwhile, there is a lot of drama in his community. Neighbors are bickering, poor Miss Mint leases her neighboring cottage to a terrible couple, and Gaskin and the cats seem to be constantly annoyed by workers. It was wonderful to be back in the garden!
I don't think this is a spoiler, but as a warning to animal lovers there are a couple of unfortunate animal situations in this book.
I don't think this is a spoiler, but as a warning to animal lovers there are a couple of unfortunate animal situations in this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews