Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"Be prepared. Beverley Nichols' garden books are part PG Wodehouse and part James Barrie — full of hilarious Jeeves-like characters and events, with moments of Peter Pan magic."
—Bob Cowden, Pacific Horticulture, Spring 2000 Pacific Horticulture
Review
"In his entertaining and inimitable manner, Beverly Nichols wraps up his trilogy on the renovation of Merry Hall and its garden."
—Peter Kendall, American Rhododendron Society Journal, Fall 2004
Review
"First published in 1956 ... it still holds great charm."
—Choice, April 1999 Choice
Synopsis
No more delightful garden-related books have ever been written than Nichols' accounts of the rescue and renovation of Merry Hall, a run-down Georgian mansion and its garden.
About the Author
Beverley Nichols (1898-1983) was a prolific writer on subjects ranging from religion to politics and travel, in addition to authoring six novels, five detective mysteries, four children's stories, six autobiographies, and six plays. He is perhaps best remembered today for his gardening books. The first of them, Down the Garden Path, centered on his home and garden at Glatton and has been in print almost continuously since 1932. Merry Hall (1951) and its sequels Laughter on the Stairs (1953) and Sunlight on the Lawn (1956) document Nichols' travails in renovating a Georgian mansion and its gardens soon after the war. His final garden was at Sudbrook Cottage, which serves as the setting for Garden Open Today (1963) and Garden Open Tomorrow (1968). The progress of all three gardens was followed avidly by readers of his books and weekly magazine columns.