Beverley Nichols
Beverley Nichols (1898-1983) was an English author and playwright, celebrated for his diverse literary contributions spanning novels, journalism, gardening books, and children's literature. Born in Bristol to a family with a tumultuous financial background, Nichols displayed early talent in music and later pursued a writing career after attending Oxford University. His life was marked by a series of country house renovations with his partner, Cyril Butcher, which inspired much of his writing, particularly in the gardening genre.
Nichols gained recognition for his witty and engaging style, particularly in his gardening books, with "Down the Garden Path" (1932) being one of his most notable works. He also ventured into drama, with his first play, "The Stag," debuting in London in 1929. Throughout his career, he mingled with notable figures like Ernest Hemingway and Evelyn Waugh, further enhancing his flamboyant public persona. Nichols’s writing reflects a blend of personal narrative and broader cultural commentary, making his works appealing to a wide audience. Today, he is primarily remembered for his contributions to literature centered on country homes and gardens.
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Subject Terms
Beverley Nichols
Fiction, Nonfiction and Children's Literature Writer and Playwright
- Born: September 9, 1898
- Birthplace: Bower Ashton, Bristol, England
- Died: September 15, 1983
- Place of death: Kingston-upon-Thames, England
Biography
Beverley Nichols was born September 9, 1898, in Bower Ashton, Bristol, England, the son of John and Pauline Nichols. He later chronicled his early years in several autobiographical works, most notably Father Figure (1972), which, by all independent accounts, greatly exaggerated the conflicts between himself and his alcoholic father. His parents were from wealthy families but had ongoing financial difficulties. The family moved several times; based on Nichols’s accounts, the moves and resulting instability were dictated by finances.
Nichols showed an early talent for playing the piano; he later considered pursuing music professionally and continued playing throughout his life. He served in the Labour Corps, a noncombat division of the British army, in his late teens. In 1919, he entered Oxford University, where he edited The Isisand started a new magazine, The Oxford Outlook.
Nichols and his longtime companion, Cyril Butcher, fixed up a series of country houses and gardens, which figure prominently in Nichols’s writing. Nichols also had liaisons with many other men. During his long career, he was acquainted with many writers and celebrities, among them Ernest Hemingway, Somerset Maugham, Evelyn Waugh, and Noel Coward.
Nichols’s work is notable for the variety of forms in which he published—novels, journalism, gardening books, drama, detective novels, and children’s books. He published his first novel, Prelude, in 1920. After graduating from Oxford in 1921, he continued to write novels, short stories, and magazine articles. He ghostwrote the autobiography of opera singer Nellie Melba, published in 1925, traveling with her to Australia to compile the information. He wrote celebrity profiles for magazines which were collected into books. Nichols’s first play, The Stag, opened in London in 1929. He was a press correspondent to India in the late 1930’s and 1940’s and wrote Verdict on India (1944) about the political situation in that country.
Starting in the 1930’s Nichols began writing the gardening books for which he is most famous. Down the Garden Path, published in 1932, is one of his best-known works. In the 1950’s, he wrote a trilogy based on renovating his house and designing the garden around it; the three books in the trilogy are Merry Hall(1951), Laughter on the Stairs (1953), and Sunlight on the Lawn (1956). Beverley also wrote children’s books and several successful detective novels, acted in films, composed and wrote lyrics for music, and took photographs. During his lifetime he was perhaps best known for his flamboyant personality and acquaintances with authors and celebrities, but Nichols is now remembered chiefly as the author of books about country homes and gardens written in a chatty and entertaining style.