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Merry Hall Trilogy #2
Laughter on the Stairs
In this, the second volume of the Merry Hall trilogy, Nichols is less concerned with his garden and more with his house, but the story does include the memorable characters Our Rose, the ditzy floral designer, and the cantankerous gardener Oldfield.
257 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1953
6 people are currently reading
516 people want to read
About the author
Beverley Nichols
102 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 62 reviews
May 9, 2025
So much fun! This is the first Beverley Nichols book I’ve enjoyed all the way through and even loved in certain chapters. His humor is very much in the vein of P.G. Wodehouse in this, which is so delightful. I giggled out loud many times (especially the end!). I love Miss Mint as a character. Oh, and Oldfield! The Bird Song chapter had some lovely writing. I hope to get to book 3 in this series soon.
September 22, 2022
I really enjoy these books, great stories of gardening, his home renovations and the people of the village as well as those who work for Mr. Nichols (I loved Oldfield, the old gardener!). Laugh out loud funny at times!
May 5, 2021
Re-read, 2021: Enjoyed this just as much as the first time. Oddly struck in some of the chapters by the notion that this is like Winnie the Pooh but with humans. :D I think it's because the characters are so clearly "types," shown off in eccentric, endearing turns, and also because even the tensions and upsets in this lightly fictionalized world are never going to be permanent.
Touched to the heart by the final insight into Miss Mint's characterization. Just as I was the first time through.
--------------------------
Original review follows:
There was so much to like in this one...the satirical portraits of the neighbors, the loving descriptions of cats and gardens, and the great chapter on discovering art. Still very Wodehousian, and more mellow and kind than the first book of his I read.
These books feel like memoirs or biography while you're reading them, and they are evidently based on the author's real experiences, but they are lightly fictionalized from what I can tell.
Touched to the heart by the final insight into Miss Mint's characterization. Just as I was the first time through.
--------------------------
Original review follows:
There was so much to like in this one...the satirical portraits of the neighbors, the loving descriptions of cats and gardens, and the great chapter on discovering art. Still very Wodehousian, and more mellow and kind than the first book of his I read.
These books feel like memoirs or biography while you're reading them, and they are evidently based on the author's real experiences, but they are lightly fictionalized from what I can tell.
November 13, 2019
Lovely to revisit Merry Hall with it's wonderful cast of characters, including Our Rose, Miss Emily and, of course Oldfield. One or two new characters in this one, which has moved from the garden to the house.
July 2, 2009
I have read part of Nichols trilogy years ago and have never forgotten it. These are "gardening books" but they really are a sweet memoir to a time and place gone by. I had laughter in my heart after reading them.
Laughter on the Stairs is a wonderful book in Nichols' long list of writings. I loved it from start to finish. I enjoyed his casual but intelligent humor. I couldn't help feeling an attachment for a man who was passionate about his gardens, his home, his cats and more. I think about writers like this -- he was among the generation of British who survived two massive wars, but still sought calmness, comfort and beauty. What a great legacy he left with these books.
Laughter on the Stairs is a wonderful book in Nichols' long list of writings. I loved it from start to finish. I enjoyed his casual but intelligent humor. I couldn't help feeling an attachment for a man who was passionate about his gardens, his home, his cats and more. I think about writers like this -- he was among the generation of British who survived two massive wars, but still sought calmness, comfort and beauty. What a great legacy he left with these books.
August 15, 2013
I read about Beverley Nichols in a blog post at Ciao Domenica, Books that Sparkle. Domenica lists some books that make her world a little brighter for her having read them and since I had read all but two of the books on the list and liked them very much (The Code of the Woosters, Gaudy Night, A Room with a View, Excellent Women) I decided I needed to look into William Boyd's Any Human Heart and something by Nichols.
During his lifetime (1898-1983), Nichols wrote some 60 books and plays -- novels, mysteries, short stories, essays, autobiography, children's books, books on travel, politics, religion, cats, and parapsychology. My library still had a copy of Laughter on the Stairs, published in the US in 1954, one of a trilogy of books about a Georgian house the author bought and renovated in Surrey, called Merry Hall in the books.
Nichols' narrative voice is delightful. Here he is on geraniums:
. . . throughout the whole year there are geraniums, which to me are a sort of "test flower," for long experience has taught me that people who do not like geraniums have something mentally unsound about them. Sooner or later you will find them out; you will discover that they drink, or steal books, or speak sharply to cats.
Nichols is devoted to his cats, One and Five (best perhaps not to ask about what might have happened to Two, Three, and Four.) The descriptions of his recalcitrant but talented gardener and his long-time butler, Gavins, verge occasionally on the hilarious.
His neighbors, mostly ageing spinsters, are a delight. But he sometimes doesn't know quite what to say to them when they ask what he has been writing. "I can never think of anything to say except 'a book' -- an answer which may be true but can hardly be described as a riposte."
Nichols spends a good deal of time and money on his gardens but his house goes pretty much unfurnished. His description of a gift that finally pushed him to buy some furniture is charming.
If one were to say that one's life had been radically changed by a set of walnut chairs, the statement might seem precious. It is the sort of thing that aesthetes used to say in the nineties. That does not worry me much. There were many periods in history which were less worthy, in almost every respect, than the eighteen-nineties, and one of them, in my humble opinion, is the nineteen-fifties.
Here he is describing a walk in his orchard to see the spindles (Euonymus):
After the spindles were the thorns, one of which had gone slightly mad, and produced quite the wrong sort of leaf below the graft. (Trees, I am sure, can lose their reason, just as much as human beings. I have several insane silver birches, to which I am greatly attached, and a half-witted hamamelis mollis . . .)
He is a bit philosophical about ruts:
Why this passion for shaking people out of ruts? I am devoted to ruts. Moreover, most of the people who are in ruts are much nicer, and much happier, than the people who are not. To speak of ruts as though they were undesirable is the sign of a coarse and callow mind. Ruts are the wise old wrinkles that civilization has traced on the earth's ancient face.
Laughter on the Stairs (1953) is the second book of a trilogy about Nichols' house in Surry. The others are Merry Hall (1951) and Sunlight on the Lawn (1956.)
During his lifetime (1898-1983), Nichols wrote some 60 books and plays -- novels, mysteries, short stories, essays, autobiography, children's books, books on travel, politics, religion, cats, and parapsychology. My library still had a copy of Laughter on the Stairs, published in the US in 1954, one of a trilogy of books about a Georgian house the author bought and renovated in Surrey, called Merry Hall in the books.
Nichols' narrative voice is delightful. Here he is on geraniums:
. . . throughout the whole year there are geraniums, which to me are a sort of "test flower," for long experience has taught me that people who do not like geraniums have something mentally unsound about them. Sooner or later you will find them out; you will discover that they drink, or steal books, or speak sharply to cats.
Nichols is devoted to his cats, One and Five (best perhaps not to ask about what might have happened to Two, Three, and Four.) The descriptions of his recalcitrant but talented gardener and his long-time butler, Gavins, verge occasionally on the hilarious.
His neighbors, mostly ageing spinsters, are a delight. But he sometimes doesn't know quite what to say to them when they ask what he has been writing. "I can never think of anything to say except 'a book' -- an answer which may be true but can hardly be described as a riposte."
Nichols spends a good deal of time and money on his gardens but his house goes pretty much unfurnished. His description of a gift that finally pushed him to buy some furniture is charming.
If one were to say that one's life had been radically changed by a set of walnut chairs, the statement might seem precious. It is the sort of thing that aesthetes used to say in the nineties. That does not worry me much. There were many periods in history which were less worthy, in almost every respect, than the eighteen-nineties, and one of them, in my humble opinion, is the nineteen-fifties.
Here he is describing a walk in his orchard to see the spindles (Euonymus):
After the spindles were the thorns, one of which had gone slightly mad, and produced quite the wrong sort of leaf below the graft. (Trees, I am sure, can lose their reason, just as much as human beings. I have several insane silver birches, to which I am greatly attached, and a half-witted hamamelis mollis . . .)
He is a bit philosophical about ruts:
Why this passion for shaking people out of ruts? I am devoted to ruts. Moreover, most of the people who are in ruts are much nicer, and much happier, than the people who are not. To speak of ruts as though they were undesirable is the sign of a coarse and callow mind. Ruts are the wise old wrinkles that civilization has traced on the earth's ancient face.
Laughter on the Stairs (1953) is the second book of a trilogy about Nichols' house in Surry. The others are Merry Hall (1951) and Sunlight on the Lawn (1956.)
April 29, 2018
Rather like a long visit with a clever, chatty old friend, this book has a lot less garden and nature than Merry Hall, but still plenty of flowers. Plus the reader gets taken inside the house. There's also a lot more about his neighbors, including a very funny local flower show. And those who enjoyed the first book will glad to see plenty of Oldfield and the cats.
All in all I didn't love this one like I did Merry Hall, but it was fun to read. I'll definitely keep tracking down more of his books.
All in all I didn't love this one like I did Merry Hall, but it was fun to read. I'll definitely keep tracking down more of his books.
October 28, 2015
Another delightful book by Beverly Nichols recounting the many funny stories of his life at Merry Hall. This is the second book in the series - Merry Hall focused mostly on the garden and Laughter on Stairs brings us to the renovation of the house. But my favorite moments are when the village ladies are visiting, gossiping, feuding etc - anything with Our Rose and Emily and new-to-the-village Erica Wyman - is very entertaining. Nichols has a dry wit and good eye for human frailty.
December 13, 2022
An engaging memoir ( no it is NOT fiction ) by a very elegantly witty and entertaining writer .
I had long coveted these books ( the set of three , starting with Merry Hall ) and was thrilled to find them republished .
Now onto the last in the series , “Sunlight on the Lawn”.
I had long coveted these books ( the set of three , starting with Merry Hall ) and was thrilled to find them republished .
Now onto the last in the series , “Sunlight on the Lawn”.
February 11, 2025
A favorite read of the year! This is the second book in the Merry Hall trilogy, about a 1950s British author’s adventures in gardening. Merry Hall was one of my top ten reads of 2024, so I had trouble imagining that Laughter on the Stairs could possibly reach the heights of hilarity of its predecessor. I’m happy to report that it is every bit as enjoyable as Merry Hall was!
Rather than focusing primarily on the garden, like in Merry Hall, Laughter on the Stairs is mostly about Beverley Nichols’ experience renovating the house itself. We get plenty of returning characters, plus some delightful new ones! Mrs. Fortescue, his temporary housekeeper while Gaskin recovers from surgery, and unanticipated superfan of Nichols, had me laughing the hardest. Nichols’ friendship with Miss Mint, the neighbor who is afraid of everything, was unexpectedly touching and made me well up at the end.
I loved the chapter on birds, and the chapter where the new kitten, “Five,” is brought to the house for the first time. And the grand finale of the ultra competitive flower show at the end of the book left me weak from laughter!
What’s unbelievable to me is that these haven’t yet been made into audiobooks! As fun as it is to physically read Laughter on the Stairs, it would truly be next level to be able to listen to someone act out all the characters.
Rather than focusing primarily on the garden, like in Merry Hall, Laughter on the Stairs is mostly about Beverley Nichols’ experience renovating the house itself. We get plenty of returning characters, plus some delightful new ones! Mrs. Fortescue, his temporary housekeeper while Gaskin recovers from surgery, and unanticipated superfan of Nichols, had me laughing the hardest. Nichols’ friendship with Miss Mint, the neighbor who is afraid of everything, was unexpectedly touching and made me well up at the end.
I loved the chapter on birds, and the chapter where the new kitten, “Five,” is brought to the house for the first time. And the grand finale of the ultra competitive flower show at the end of the book left me weak from laughter!
What’s unbelievable to me is that these haven’t yet been made into audiobooks! As fun as it is to physically read Laughter on the Stairs, it would truly be next level to be able to listen to someone act out all the characters.
April 11, 2015
The second of the Merry Hall series, Laughter on the Stairs has a bit more narrative flow than the first volume, the eponymous "Merry Hall," (whew--look at those vocabulary chops! Eponymous. . . step back!) but it still possesses the scatterbrained, amiable "I'm just telling you a few fun stories" approach that makes these books perfect reading material for a busy, cold, stressful April. I could read it a bit, put it down, pick it up again to distract myself from school thoughts, chuckle a bit, and then neglect it for a few days--no harm done. Like the Angela Thirkell books, Beverley Nichols's books are peculiar to a certain type of taste--and at this point, they match mine.
I have heard BN's name, often from British writers, so I've been interested in him for a bit, and finding these three books at a book sale was a perfect stroke of luck, as my $3 investment has been well returned. In this outing, it's interesting to see Nichols's progress in redoing Merry Hall (I do wish there were photos in this re-released edition), and also to see his personality and opinions about his neighbors, his "frenemies," and, especially, the entrance of "Miss Mint," one neighbor whom he truly seems to respect and admire. Seeing how he casts her as opposed to the other women whom he satirizes quite acidly at times is fascinating, and made me like Miss Mint even more because she was clearly unique in the esteem she evoked!
One more book in this series left. . . and I may not rush it, but leave it for another "I need some downtime" stretch. We'll see.
I have heard BN's name, often from British writers, so I've been interested in him for a bit, and finding these three books at a book sale was a perfect stroke of luck, as my $3 investment has been well returned. In this outing, it's interesting to see Nichols's progress in redoing Merry Hall (I do wish there were photos in this re-released edition), and also to see his personality and opinions about his neighbors, his "frenemies," and, especially, the entrance of "Miss Mint," one neighbor whom he truly seems to respect and admire. Seeing how he casts her as opposed to the other women whom he satirizes quite acidly at times is fascinating, and made me like Miss Mint even more because she was clearly unique in the esteem she evoked!
One more book in this series left. . . and I may not rush it, but leave it for another "I need some downtime" stretch. We'll see.
March 20, 2018
I just recently discovered Beverley Nichols when I purchased Merry Hall, but I am now completely enamoured by his writing. Laughter on the Stairs picks up where Merry Hall left off; having made a start at refurbishing the gardens attached to the Georgian house he bought, he now turns his attention to removing mistakes added by previous owners (an anachronism of a bow window! a horrid stained glass window by the main staircase! revolting wallpaper!) and acquiring furnishings that are worthy of the House.
Every time he removes one of the above-mentioned mistakes, along comes Miss Emily to reminisce about how Mr. Stebbings had put that in, and how wonderful it was. Nichols writes with sly, typically-British humor - gently poking fun at his neighbors and deprecating himself. He writes with passion for his home, his garden, the arts and above all, his cats. I think my favorite recurring character is Marius, an exceptionally intelligent man who works for the government in some rather secret capacity. Marius is constantly going off on tangents about random topics or historical persons, assuming his audience is as knowledgeable as he is.
And the scenes concerning the feud/friendship between Miss Emily and Our Rose make me LOL every time.
Every time I read Nichols, I have a notepad handy to write down names of flowers he describes that I want to try in my own garden.
Every time he removes one of the above-mentioned mistakes, along comes Miss Emily to reminisce about how Mr. Stebbings had put that in, and how wonderful it was. Nichols writes with sly, typically-British humor - gently poking fun at his neighbors and deprecating himself. He writes with passion for his home, his garden, the arts and above all, his cats. I think my favorite recurring character is Marius, an exceptionally intelligent man who works for the government in some rather secret capacity. Marius is constantly going off on tangents about random topics or historical persons, assuming his audience is as knowledgeable as he is.
And the scenes concerning the feud/friendship between Miss Emily and Our Rose make me LOL every time.
Every time I read Nichols, I have a notepad handy to write down names of flowers he describes that I want to try in my own garden.
September 23, 2019
Just so you know, there is N.W.H. (Nothing Wrong Here). It’s all just very delightful. Nichols brought us into the house and still included much of the garden in this memoir. I delight in the personalities of him and his entourage. One, Four, and Five—yes, Five!—are as much a part of the story as they would be in daily life. His cats and his naming system keep me smiling. Some quotes I loved are below.
“After all, it was midsummer. And if there is not a hint of madness in our midsummers, if there is not a tinge of lunacy in the burning skies and the drowsy shadows, then there is no sense in having midsummer at all.”
“Oh dear! Why this passion for shaking people out of ruts? I am devoted to ruts. Moreover, most of the people who are in ruts are much nicer, and much happier, than the people who are not. To speak of ruts as though they were undesirable is the sign of a coarse and callow mind. Ruts are the wise old wrinkles that civilisation has traced on the earth’s ancient face.”
“After all, it was midsummer. And if there is not a hint of madness in our midsummers, if there is not a tinge of lunacy in the burning skies and the drowsy shadows, then there is no sense in having midsummer at all.”
“Oh dear! Why this passion for shaking people out of ruts? I am devoted to ruts. Moreover, most of the people who are in ruts are much nicer, and much happier, than the people who are not. To speak of ruts as though they were undesirable is the sign of a coarse and callow mind. Ruts are the wise old wrinkles that civilisation has traced on the earth’s ancient face.”
June 30, 2014
This was a delightful read for anyone who:
1) likes light British humor (Jeeves & Wooster type)
2) likes old British manor houses
3) enjoys gardening and horticulture
4) doesn't mind a few descriptive passages
5) is my dad. I kept thinking of my dad through the whole book and hope I can get a hold of a copy for him!
It's a delightful true narrative (not really a story, although there's a loose plot meandering throughout) of the author, Beverly Nichols, who buys and attempts to refurbish an old manor house in Post-WWII England. He is a bit of a recluse and loves his cats, his plants (almost a bit too much), and poking a bit of fun at his quirky neighbors. There were some delightful passages and several times where I laughed out loud. I realize that this type of book is not for everyone--as I get older, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I have an unusual literary palate. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and am so grateful for good, clean books!
1) likes light British humor (Jeeves & Wooster type)
2) likes old British manor houses
3) enjoys gardening and horticulture
4) doesn't mind a few descriptive passages
5) is my dad. I kept thinking of my dad through the whole book and hope I can get a hold of a copy for him!
It's a delightful true narrative (not really a story, although there's a loose plot meandering throughout) of the author, Beverly Nichols, who buys and attempts to refurbish an old manor house in Post-WWII England. He is a bit of a recluse and loves his cats, his plants (almost a bit too much), and poking a bit of fun at his quirky neighbors. There were some delightful passages and several times where I laughed out loud. I realize that this type of book is not for everyone--as I get older, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I have an unusual literary palate. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and am so grateful for good, clean books!
November 28, 2016
This is the second in the Merry Hall trilogy. I enjoyed it as much as the first. These books are quintessentially nostalgic. They evoke an era which is lost and very attractive, but which really relied heavily on a stark class system, so escaping into it is a guilty pleasure. Clearly not everyone can be this rich or use up this many resources, and so it is a lifestyle which belongs in the past.
September 25, 2016
Nichols is in good form in this second installment of the Merry Hall trilogy. Just as entertaining with his attention turned to refurbishing the house.
May 5, 2021
A very leisurely read. Each chapter is somewhat episodic in nature, so you can pick the book up and easily read just a little bit at a time. Some parts were just okay, some I really liked, and some I loved. 😄
October 24, 2019
I really enjoyed the book . Beverly Nichols is a very entertaining writer.
January 30, 2021
I have to give this 4.5 as I would read BN over again.
The humor, the characters and the simple plot are all delightful. So makes me look forward to spring and watching the garden come to life, again:)
The humor, the characters and the simple plot are all delightful. So makes me look forward to spring and watching the garden come to life, again:)
August 2, 2014
I used to feel that P.G. Wodehouse was at the front of the class for dry British humor... but now, I think that Beverley Nichols' might have stolen his seat while I wasn't looking. He writes about his garden, his home, his patch of England as though he's examining each detail through a magnifying glass. This sounds like it would be tedious, but he is so charming that instead you want each chapter to go on forever.
Nichols is also a master of quietly weaving in references to his favorite painters, historical movements, types of antique furniture, and British figureheads-- reading his books is like having a fireside talk (whiskey in hand) with a funny, sharp great-uncle.
I discovered him first through this book-- Laughter on the Stairs, where he renovates his country home and by the end, I had a list of references to research. I've just checked Merry Hall and Sunlight on the Lawn out from the library and I plan to spend a few nights reading in bed, happily catching up with Mr. Nichols.
Nichols is also a master of quietly weaving in references to his favorite painters, historical movements, types of antique furniture, and British figureheads-- reading his books is like having a fireside talk (whiskey in hand) with a funny, sharp great-uncle.
I discovered him first through this book-- Laughter on the Stairs, where he renovates his country home and by the end, I had a list of references to research. I've just checked Merry Hall and Sunlight on the Lawn out from the library and I plan to spend a few nights reading in bed, happily catching up with Mr. Nichols.
November 11, 2011
English author, gardener and raconteur, Beverley Nichols', second volume in his 'Merry Hall' trilogy continues the story of the renovation of his country house and garden, concentrating on the house in this outing. Eccentric neighbors and friends and loyal but quirky household staff return. In one story, the author and his friends fill a dry well by hand by lugging water from a nearby stream all night in order to ensure the sale of a cottage for their shy neighbor Miss Mint of Bide-a-Wee Cottage and to fool the buyer, an obnoxious author who pretends to be a gypsy and writes terrible, but bestselling drivel about her adventures in a caravan. These are all true stories and I wonder how Mr. Nichols had any friends left after he wrote these memoirs in the early 1950's. The book is illustrated with lovely black and white drawings throughout. For fans of English cozies/memoirs/humor and above all - for gardeners.
May 9, 2015
This is the second book in Nichols' Merry Hall trilogy. While the first book focuses largely on the garden, "Laughter on the Stairs" focuses on the renovation of the Georgian home Nichols purchased not long after the end of the war. Money is not plentiful and there is still rationing, but he is determined to undo the damage of the previous owner. However the book is about more than removing hideous wallpaper and building a collection of furniture around four chairs he inherited; the book also tells humorous stories about his neighbors. His writing is poetic and witty and a joy to read. I love getting a glimpse into the lifestyles and attitudes of people of the late 40's and early 50's in England, and Nichols led an entertaining and unique life.
November 1, 2015
The sequel to Merry Hall, Laughter on the Stairs was equally enjoyable. Reading Nichols' books makes me long for a return to the lovely gardens in the Cotswolds where we lingered many years ago.
Quotations:
"Why did you have to have Five at all" you may ask. 'Surely One and Four were enough." The reason was really psychological...."How old is One?" she asked. "One is six. And Four is five." "It sounds like some frightful conundrum," she said. "But it all adds up to middle age" (168).
"A few paeonies, she continues, would make all the difference in her life. Finally she suggests that one's own paeonies are so overcrowded that if they are not thinned out they will throttle themselves" (228).
Quotations:
"Why did you have to have Five at all" you may ask. 'Surely One and Four were enough." The reason was really psychological...."How old is One?" she asked. "One is six. And Four is five." "It sounds like some frightful conundrum," she said. "But it all adds up to middle age" (168).
"A few paeonies, she continues, would make all the difference in her life. Finally she suggests that one's own paeonies are so overcrowded that if they are not thinned out they will throttle themselves" (228).
May 1, 2009
Nichols is brilliant again. That's the long and short of this book. If you like to garden, have a shy crush on the whole nation of Great Britain and enjoy laughing, then read this series...and I expect (although I have yet to get that far) anything else the man wrote. He's hilarious, he's erudite, he's eminently read-able,and he's genuinely edifying in the process. I can't figure out how a bachelor who claims to not be a rich man managed to buy and then outfit a mansion of the proportion he describes but, I'm extremely glad he did. It makes for very jolly fireside reading before its warm enough to get out there and turn your own soil.
April 17, 2014
Laughter On The Stairs is the second book in the Merry Hall autobiographical trilogy. Written in post war England it chronicles the authors renovations of Merry Hall and village life.
I picked this 1953 first edition up without originally realising it was part of a trilogy and as such have not read the first Merry Hall book. Nonetheless, even alone this book is an enjoyable read and an interesting glimpse into what many people may consider an eccentric life.
Topics covered include a terrible stained glass window and the scheming to get rid of it, property fraud through well shenanigans, cats, flower shows and ghosts amongst other things.
Will be keeping an eye out for the first book now.
I picked this 1953 first edition up without originally realising it was part of a trilogy and as such have not read the first Merry Hall book. Nonetheless, even alone this book is an enjoyable read and an interesting glimpse into what many people may consider an eccentric life.
Topics covered include a terrible stained glass window and the scheming to get rid of it, property fraud through well shenanigans, cats, flower shows and ghosts amongst other things.
Will be keeping an eye out for the first book now.
May 24, 2014
Nichols is gradually restoring and furnishing Merry Hall, the Georgian house which he bought after previous owners had insensitively added unpleasant frills to it. He's also still preoccupied with the garden--Nichols is primarily a gardening writer. The local characters come in for some attention, too, whether the gardener or the neighbors (and in those just post-World War II days, those lines were strictly drawn). But you don't need to have any interest in these things to find the book charming and compulsively readable.
August 6, 2016
I continue to love Nichols' conversational tone and his whimsey. He can make the most mundane of circumstances into something entertaining and magical. I love the small village politics and the addition of new character Miss Mint. I believe that I might adopt her habit of beginning each letter (email in my case) with NWH (Nothing Wrong Here), which is a signal to the recipient that you aren't writing because something terrible has happened.
December 31, 2017
I love everything I've read by Beverley Nichols so far. I feel exactly like Roy C. Dicks who wrote the foreword in this copy "My preoccupation with the writings of Beverley Nichols has been total and all-encompassing." Dicks even traveled to Britain to visit the four homes that provided the settings for Nichols' gardening books. That sounds like a great idea to me.
January 3, 2009
This is the 2nd in the trilogy about his home and gardens. It deals most with inside but all the old friends appear. The ending is fabulous. Written in the 50s but truths are truths and characters are characters and good writing trumps all.
February 1, 2015
i spent a delightful afternoon reading this book. its my second beverly nichols book from last mid century england and it just a wonderful book about his home merry hall and the cast of characters that populated his world...will get the next book if available at the library
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