A Thatched Roof

Allways trilogy #2

by Beverley Nichols, Rex Whistler (Illustrator)

Beverley Nichols fans, armchair gardeners, and literature enthusiasts will delight in this reprint of the second book in his Allways trilogy, with facsimile reproductions of Rex Whistler's original graceful illustrations and a new foreword by Roy C. Dicks. Nichols's humorous ruminations on life in the countryside, as always, are refreshing. The typical Nichols gardening anecdotes and familiar characters are there, as well as the author's beloved dog, Whoops, an inveterate spy with a habit of leaping to conclusions.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Memoir, British Literature, Classics, Biography, 20th Century

300 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 1932

About the author

John 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.

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Beverley. Why did your parents give you such a girl name? And how did you come to be so very clever? Seriously, I never really found Wodehouse to be all that funny and thought Benson too mean spirited to be funny. You, my dear, dear little man, are truly and most definately funny. In fact, I should caution all readers first cracking open (or powering up as it may be nowadays) a Beverley Nichols work of fiction to take the following cautions: after sipping any hot beverage while reading Nichols, be careful to avert your eyes till it is good and swallowed. Unless you like having it come back out your nose and all over your Snuggy. Perhaps you have sinus trouble and think that might be soothing. If that is the case, gentle reader, than carry on, carry on.
Also, don't dare try to read Nichols on the sligh, like at work, school or during church. It is nigh on impossible to suppress one's sudden burst of laughter and one will be caught. How horrid it would be to have one's lovely Nichol's confiscated by some utter wretch of a schoolmarm or such. It it happens at work, they might sack you but at least you could go home and finish the exquisite book in peace. If you got up and left the house as usual (but go to the library, not work) you might even be able to fool your family into thinking you ARE at work for as long as you need to finish the book.
Next I intended to share with you several humerous anecdotes I highlighted in the book, but, alas, going back, I seem to have got carried away and highlighted the whole dang thing. I can't seem to select few enough. You'll have to read it yourself. It's very similar to the one that came just prior, Down The Garden Path but this time deals with the misadventures he experienced bringing his lovely 16th century thatched roof cottage (I know, insert wistful sigh here) into the modern era. I tell you all, it's just lovely, and so very funny. He does stray into the garden often enough to satisfy those of us garden lovers who are lonely for green growing things in January. In fact, some of his home improvements involved knocking out walls to allow views into his garden or of a particular plant. I love reading about his loony, stuck-up, know-it-all village neighbors and his equally colorful weird house staff. Of course, many reviewers mention the illustrations. Yes, it is that good. Not since Garth Williams (Charlotte's Web, etc) have I seen such line drawings. They are so lovely as to deserve their own compilations. Someone see about that okay?

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming little book to wrap-up summer reading. By the time I was into the second chapter I kept hearing a voice in my head - and realized it was the voice of Hyacinth Bucket from "Keeping Up Appearances" fame. My copy, purchased at the local library book sale, was given to someone by Georgie in 1942 according to the handwritten inscription; the book was published in 1933. Reminds me of P.G. Wodehouse novels, on a smaller scale - the main setting is in a Tudor cottage in the English countryside, hence the title - and I think perhaps the Cotswolds. The cottage was named Allways and was in Cambridgeshire, although I love the Cotswolds, and that is why I place it there. I've stayed in an historic hotel called the Bowlish House in Shepton Mallet two times - in 1984 with my lovely wife before our first son was born and again in 2005, when we were visiting that same son doing his junior year at Oxford. And wondering around the little towns is soooooo charming.

The cast of characters that inhabit the village are sure to be found in any small village: nosy, opinionated and set in their ways. The antics of the author's dog Whoops are prominently featured in two chapters and the laughs are non-stop. The prose is delicious, written in an almost poetic manner, creating warm feelings filled with aromas from the cooking and the garden, just outside the open window. The humor is very dry, almost ironic and the illustrations are beautifully done, so much so that it makes one wish you could live in the house. A fun, airy and light story to lighten the sad state of affairs that our country and world are currently facing.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. I've yet to read a bad book by him.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a charming book - I loved it. I could picture it being made into a BBC series, the characters are so well drawn. I actually preferred this one to the first in the series, Down the Garden Path, which is more well-known. Now to track down the third one....

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with Nichols's usual bon mots this was a true delight. Even though it was #2 in the Allways trilogy, I didn't know that until I was halfway in, and I found it to be a standalone book.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Beverly Nichols but this offering was not one of my favorites. It was a pleasant read and I do love picturing myself in his quaint little world where the first priority when electricity is finally put into the house is to illuminate a garden statue. But my favorite moments are when he tells stories about the neighborhood ladies and telling us stories of the village gossip etc. This book was heavy on decor descriptions and light on gossip.

[Chrystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Balm for the soul.

[Mila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book. I savoured each sentence.

Nichols sees beauty all around him. As an example, here he talks about the blue Bristol glasses that he

"took into the empty Garden Room one evening at twilight, with the idea of filling them with flowers. By accident I set one of them against the window. And having done so, I sat down suddenly on the packing case, with a thump, and forgot all about the flowers, and stared and stared at the blue glass. This was perfect! Here, surely was the ultimate blue! And yet ...not the ultimate blue, for if one stared long enough, at this little glass set in the window, with the dying light about it, one saw a hundred whims and echoes of its own sweet nature. There was a blue that was caressed with green, where the shadows of the damson tree lay across it, and blue that verged to black, at its edge, where the light faltered. There were spaces that seemed almost white, checked and spattered with dancing spirits, glistening with a filigree of silver leaves. There was a blue that was like the blue of secret pools, where the sigh of the sea comes softly from over the rocks, and the sky looks down in wonder at its own beauty."

I love that Nichols loves and personifies plants. "Every night when he went to bed, he opened his window and gently lifted in a spray of wisteria which had clambered up to the glass and was beating its frozen fingers on the pane".

Written in 1933, the book is filled with many stories (so many of them laugh-out-loud funny) about what it's like to live in a cottage that is four hundred years old: lazy housekeepers, water diviners, roof thatchers, and the Lucifer that is electricity.

Here's a cute limerick (about a plant called Xeranthemum) that he included (but it's not his):

We've got a new maid called Xeranthemum
Who said 'I've been living at Grantham, mum:
But my mistress took fright
For I snored in the night,
To the tune of the National Anthem, mum.

I also have to read The Life of the Bee by Maurice Maeterlinck - the book of which Nichols says "I had not read more than fifty pages of this book, which is honeycombed with beauty, before I decided that if I did not get some bees at once, life would be blank and empty for me." Nichols' words about bees are gorgeous.

I LOVE Beverley Nichols' writing. He truly is "warmly poetic and delightfully humorous" as Roy C. Dicks says in the Foreword. I'm so looking forward to reading more of his books.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an unexpected delight! I had heard of Beverly Nichols for a long time and finally took the plunge and read this book, number 2 in a trilogy, although it works just fine as a stand-alone! In fact, it is far, far better than "fine," it is a joy to visit the village (hamlet?) of Allways and Thatch Cottage! It wasn't at all what I was expecting; for some reason, perhaps due to his old-fashioned first name, I thought Beverly Nichols was an old codger when he wrote these English countryside books, so imagine my surprise on viewing the picture of the author as he was at the time (1933) of publication as a young, good looking man with a full head of hair, no less!
The writing is just how I like it, droll, full of personal observations, detailed descriptions that are presented as sidetracks, but which add SO much personality to the narrative! The book is listed as non-fiction and indeed, it is a chronicle of Mr. Nichols' experiences in furnishing and updating his charming cottage. However, it reads like fiction, as we are introduced to several characters, from his put-upon housekeeper to his various neighbors and even to his bee hive and lovable dog!
I even shed a few tears during the last chapter...truly an Englishman's home is his castle! Highly recommended for relaxed pleasure reading which still has substance and relevant insights to the human condition! Now that I know, I will soon be reading more of these treasures!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I enjoyed this book and could not put it down. It was thought provoking. Mr. Nichols has a knack for saying so much in a single sentence. At a point in the book, where he talks about Chopin, I wanted to hear it. We are so lucky we live in an age that I could listen with two clicks on my phone. How lovely to read the words of Beverley Nichols and imagine him in the back ground on is piano.

[Lori Simcik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whereas Down the Garden Path discussed Nichol's adventures in his garden, A Thatched Roof tells of his adventures restoring his 16th century cottage. Nichols enthusiasm is infectious and his ignorance humorous. Throughout all, his deep love of his home shines through.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a delightful read! Really enchanting. Reminded me so much of the thatched roof rural cottage my family lived in during the 50's,when my AF dad was stationed in England. The forward recommended reading "Down The Garden Path" first....too late now, but I definitely want to seek his other books.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a shame that some authors go out of fashion (i.e. Beverley Nichols and Gladys Taber), as one has to search for their out-of-print books that libraries seldom carry anymore. My 1933 edition arrived from a used book store in the U.K. with a cover that was hanging on for dear life, but the yellowed pages were intact. Nichols' amusing, lyrical prose was as delightful as ever as he described his ancient cottage in the country. On my trips to England, I've imagined how wonderful it would be to live in one of the charming thatched cottages, so I thoroughly enjoyed reading about his.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nichols paints a delightful picture of the lovely cottage he lives in in the English countryside. This time he takes us inside the cottage and gives us a look at most of the rooms. His garden also pops up as he is able to bring some of it indoors. The illustrations are lovely but I wish there were more of them.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was first published in 1933. It is a good look at life in a rural English village of the time. ( It was a huge deal when they thought they might get electric lights!) A lot of the writing was very charming, but times were quite different then and there were a few things he wrote that would have people up in arms today!

[Conchita Matson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely. He mentions sitting with a pen trying to express himself by writing poetry but being disappointed that he can’t. The whole book is poetry. I am transported to his cottage and I have walked the garden path and what a lovely path it has been.

[Jeana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming memoir about the country house in the tiny village Beverley bought and the ways he fixes it up, what he finds inside, and the neighbors that come around.

[Holly Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would think I would like to have Beverley as a close friend of mine, if he would have me as such.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second in his trilogy, in this book we leave the garden to explore inside the wonderful old cottage. He definitely shares gardening wisdom on the way. It's hard for him to write without touching on it. Also we get to meet household staff and his new dog.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very gentle book & a suitable antidote to the pressures of the current situation!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Thatched Roof is the second book in Beverley Nichol's Allways trilogy. As evidence of the author's distaste for sequels, this follow up focuses on the house itself, including its re-thatching. Nichols fans can rest assured, however, that all of the gardening anecdotes and familiar characters are there, as well as hilarious new ones such as the perplexing Mrs. Wrench, a temporary housekeeper who cannot avoid feeling inconvenienced by even the simplest chore, and the author's beloved dog, Whoops, an inveterate spy with a habit of leaping to conclusions.

"In these pages, Nichols takes us through the changes to his cottage in Glatton: the installation of central heat, the putting in of electric lights, the careful re-thatching of a roof, the digging of a new well, as well as modifications intended to bring plants inside. Indeed, something is always happening at Thatch Cottage, just like the plants and gardens that act as a constant backdrop -- in both 'it is always "next year." ' Regardless of the subject, however, Beverley Nichols' ruminations on life in the countryside appeal to both gardeners and literature enthusiasts alike.
~~front flap

A charming series of vignettes about the author tackling the mysterious ways of country life, sprinkled with neighboring characters and enlivened by the dog. Truly a true-to-life description of life in the English countryside, ca the 1930s.

[Teaspoon Stories · Rating 3 out of 5]

A favourite aunt of mine who adored cats always had a copy of Beverley Nichols’ “Cats’ ABC” on her bookshelf when we visited – and as a child I was fascinated both by the lovely drawings and by the writer’s name.

Many years later I discovered that this was a male Beverley – and that he’d been a bright young thing in the 1920s with a fashionable coterie of admirers and a little place in the country that he made famous through a series of popular books and articles. This “little place” (aka second home) turned out to be not so far away from where I live in East Anglia.  

I found a vintage copy of “A Thatched Roof” on a stall at St Ives’s market – the St Ives near Huntingdon, not the Cornwall one. This was a wonderful coincidence as Beverley’s little place was itself near Huntingdon.

The book has delightful drawings by Rex Whistler and is full of whimsy and charm – describing the ups and downs of rustic life for a sophisticated townie who moves into a (perfectly restored) thatched cottage with a quaint country garden and even quainter neighbours. 

When you’re in the mood, Beverley Nichols’ stagy anecdotes can be the perfect tonic – exquisitely camp and wryly observant. But I suspect if you read too much - or if you’re not in the mood - his wicked humour might sometimes feel a tad barbed and his camp wit might seem a bit heartless. This is a “bright young thing” whose brightness is perhaps just a bit too dazzling for me …

[Patti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Beverly Nichols' books. They bring me to a time and place that greatly appeals to me. He is a witty writer, a little bit snarky, and makes me wish I could share his experiences.
This book, about refurbishing a cottage in a small English village, explores all things early 20th century country, from bees to the first electric lights in the village.
I especially loved the chapter about his attempt to keep chickens...

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars because it is such a charming book. Published in 1933; his story of his thatched roof cottage that he bought and lovingly tended to. I discovered this Pinterest (which alerts me to books) and found a copy through a library. Such a lovely “period piece” … I will definitely read more of his books.

[Pam Foster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this periodically over a number of months. Just delightful. The descriptions of the thatched roof cottage, its lovely rooms and their renovations were marvelous. Attempts at gardening, some successful, others not so much along with villagers giving advice brought smiles and laughs. Just plain fun to read.

[Meg Perdue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Beverly Nichols and when I found this in a used bookstore, I fell on it like a live grenade!
It is the story of his first little Tudor cottage. Lots of humor and comfort. You won't be disappointed.

[Meta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy Beverly Nichols's books. It is just relaxing reading.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely.

[lv4peace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great trilogy. You have to get passed the old expressions and thought processes. He paints good pictures with his words.

[Kaj Luberti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beverley Nichols second book about his house in the village of Allways takes us from the garden into the cottage...where we bang our heads on the low doorposts, find hidden treasures behind the walls, and see the author as a dedicated dog owner. What might be a surprise to those who only know Nichols as the author of cat books!
It is a delightfull book, and a journey back in time to when some people still had servants, and housekeepers. So some things seem a bit strange to the modern reader. But the strugles of buying an old house and all the bagage that comes with it is of course timeless, and I loved to read how he shapes the house to his liking. A leaking roof is an excuse to go cut reeds in the swamp, and if you ever want to read how central heating and a new water well (in the '30s the country side was not all connected to the water mains, and electricity has not yet reached the village!) can almost lead to poetry, this is the book for you. Not to mention the introduction of electrical light in the cottage...