Sunlight On The Lawn (Beverley Nichols Trilogy Book 3) (ISBN 0881924679)

Book Description:
This is the final volume in the delightful Merry Hall trilogy, the author's account of the renovation of his run-down Georgian mansion & garden.

Bittersweet ending...:
Some readers of Beverly Nichol's books have found his writing hilarious, but I do not. I find him amusing, and have read the trilogy plus his GREEN GROWS THE CITY because they sustained my interest, but he is not P.G. Wodehouse or John Mortimer for that matter. I cannot judge from Nichols books whether or not he had a particularly deep understanding of human nature. From time to time, he allowed himself to be drawn into odd misadventures with eccentric others, and he certainly had his conflicts with busy-body females, and as often as not he had charming female friends. His best friend in the world seemed to be Gaskin, his 'man' and his cats. The central theme of MERRY HALL, the first book in his trilogy, is the restoration of the grounds and gardens at his old Georgian Estate. LAUGHTER ON THE STAIRS covered the renovation of Merry Hall--the Georgian Manor house. His third book, SUNLIGHT ON THE LAWN, has people as it's focus--those who inhabited the area in and around Merry Hall when Nichols lived there in the late forties and fifties. First, there is the sad departure of Oldfield whose gardening days come to an abrupt end. Then, there are various episodes involving the ever meddling Rose, tea with Miss Mint, fractious neighbors, overgrown fields, and wells without water. As always, in a book by Beverly Nichols, there are cats. Nichols had a great love of black cats, and the cats often play a role in one of his tales. Most of the time the story is funny, but sometimes a cat meets a sad end. If you are a cat fancier, you may find his cat exploits familiar and amusing. This is a nice book for bedtime reading and a fitting end to the series.

Witty and Wonderful:
Beverley Nichols had a rare talent. His writing is witty and humane and perfect for relieving the stress of life lived in the modern world. When you read this book you will be saddened that only two others of his sixty odd minor masterpieces are still in print. Buy this book if you love gardens, or old houses or simply reading well written stories, some of which are laugh out loud funny. Beverley Nichols writes like Oscar Wilde, except his subject is gardening and old houses and the curious people who dwell in them.

A Must for Fans:
Sunlight on the Lawn is the third volume in the Merry Hall trilogy by Beverley Nichols. Where the first volume focused on the garden at Merry Hall and the second focused on the house, this volume focuses on the community, providing a humorous glimpse into English village life in the 1950's. Gardeners and fans of Mr. Nichols' spendthrift ways will be happy to know that large-scale projects continue apace in the author's garden. It is a mistake to read the foreword first - it casts an elegiac tone over the rest of the book. Save it for the end. Also putting a bit of a damper on things is the fact that we realize in this book that Our Beverley is something of a coward - he touches so lightly on the death of one of the characters (real people - this is memoir, not fiction) that the reader is left gasping, and spends the rest of the book wondering if he has mis-read. For these reasons I have knocked one star off of my rating for this book. Having said that, if you have already read and enjoyed the first two volumes, you will be eager to spend more time in the company of this author, and see what his friends and neighbors are getting up to. Mr. Nichols is a keen observer of people, and with his deliciously dry wit (and unsparing of himself) he turns everyday situations and relationships into real entertainment. Highlights of the book include the escalating but ever "civil" fued between Our Rose and Miss Emily, and how Bob helps extricate Miss Mint from a very sticky situation involving the tenants from hell. I'm off to order more books by Mr. Nichols!

touching and hilarious:
This book is like Canada Dry Ginger Ale- dry, crisp, and refreshing. Beverley Nichols was a very arch and witty writer! A combination of Jerome K. Jerome and May Sarton. This book is about his cats, his friends, and his garden. There are some very funny parts and some very sad parts. Some are almost too sad to read, but that is the way it usually is with excellent books like this.

Wonderful Read:
Having read Trilogy1 and 2 of this series, I just had to get the third. It did not disappoint at all. A continuance of Beverley Nichols life with his beloved garden, and lifes ups and downs.Recommended reading.