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It has been written, and should be read, as a travel book. But its journey is through the land of the spirit. Nicholas shows post-World War II Britain as a chaos of conflicting faiths. He describes the neglected streets of Canterbury; the crowds that throng around spirit-healers ; he examines the claims of the Christian Scientists and analyses the growing power of Rome. He travelled from the valleys of Wales, where faith is expressed in song to the remotest haunts of the Wee Frees (a small group of Scots Presbyterians who chose to remain outside the 1900 union of the Scottish United Kirk.) where worship is as stark and stern as the barren countryside. -
Book III of the Allways chronicle. Having taken his readers down the garden path and over his thatched roof, Beverley Nichols now takes on for a walk through the village of Allways '...a very tiny village in the quietest county of England. It is the story of doors opening and shutting on empty lanes, of smoke ascending into tranquil skies, of whispers about nothing borne on the winds over wide fields and broad brooks.' Yet even in such sylvan contentment there are many adventures, many country thrills, village rumours and of course, dramas - some of which are sad, more are hilarious but all are unforgettable. Illustrations by Rex Whistler. -
Subtitled Being a Series of Bouquets Diffidently Distributed. Nichols interviews the luminaries of his day from the world of art, literature and music. Each chapter describes his interview or friendship and leaves an outline, an impression, of his subject: Noel Coward; Arthur Conan Doyle; George Gershwin; Eugene Goossens; W. Somerset Maugham; Dame Nellie Melba; Aldous Huxley; H.G. Wells - and more - and... were they the same when at home? -
Cry Havoc! Beverley Nichols
$45.00Written in 1933, this book caused furor in many quarters. It's a far cry from Nichols' usual light-hearted badinage, being a bitter denunciation of the world's attitude toward peace and war and a thorough research into the activities of offensive preparations going on in the armament factories in England and on the Continent. It also covers the ineffectual preparations being made for defensive measures. Faced with the fact that war was brewing, the League of Nations was rendered virtually impotent through the media of the day and public opinion and that the civilian population is certain to be the victim in the next European War, his findings are far from negligible. The last half of the book is a succession of challenging dialogues, in which socialism, capitalism, militarism and pacifism are all given ardent advocates. Time and events demonstrated that Nichols predicted how World War II would proceed with uncanny 99% accuracy. -
Book I of the Allways chronicle. When Nichols bought his dream cottage, sight unseen and swept away on a sea of happy memories of past visits there with the previous owner, he had no idea how neglected its once-beautiful gardens had become. Complete with his pet cats and Gaskin, his 'gentleman's gentleman', he sets about making it beautiful again - and literally takes the reader down the garden path with humour, stubbornness and plenty of planting mistakes. This is one of his most popular books, going into edition after edition for decades. With 'decorations' - not illustrations! - by Rex Whistler. -
Having exorcised the late Mr Stebbings, the awful wallpaper, the hideous leadlight window, the holly hedge and other acts of vandalism committed by the previous owners - Nichols sets about restoring the Georgian manor Merry Hall the gardens to their former glory while braving the wrath of village locals who regard the inappropriate building additions as a monument to the late Mr Stebbings' 'good taste.' As always, Beverley is accompanied by his beloved pet cats who, of course, have their say on all improvements. Illustrated by William McLaren. -
Cry Havoc introduced Beverley Nichols as an advocate of peace. The Fool Hath Said - as well as being his personal spiritual journey - gives his advocacy of Christianity in a modern world.He presents his belief convincingly, taking the hurdles one at a time to end with a newly defined attitude toward his own religious concepts. He successfully conveys why there is a need for faith, that faith is possible and can be applied to modern problems and has done it with reverence and sincerity. He was an Oxford Group member and in the chapter Crusaders Of 1936, he states 'Though this book is not a record of the Oxford Group, it would be incomplete unless I paid tribute to this amazing movement. For though I...had found that Christ was indeed God, it was not until I went to a meeting of the Oxford Group that I found, once again, the friend whom I earlier rejected.' -
Nichols documents his travels in America in the 1920s and here, examines many aspects of American life - both the obvious and the obscure. He meets Anita Loos (author of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes); Charlie Chaplin; visits speakeasies, meets the President of the Society for Suppression of Vice...he also met President Coolidge, well-known for his taciturnity, yet he managed to get some interesting thoughts and anecdotes from this great man; there's a visit to the grave of Edgar Allan Poe and a prison in Havana. These snapshots are sometimes witty, sometimes sad but all are written with his journalistic skill, wit and sensitivity.
