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Horatio Green
No Man's Street
- GenresMystery
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
20 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 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 20, 2011
This was the first of five mystery novels by the author, who was much more at home writing books about gardening.
The book was a study of contrasts. I adored the language:
"a little man of some sixty summers, with a round face, a high forehead, and a gentle mouth -- a little man whose eyes blinked at the world through thick-lensed, horn-rimmed glasses."
or:
"Bates, an enormous young policeman, of shining and rubicund aspect ..." Can't you just picture that policeman?!
But then there's a bit too much French thrown in for my tastes (I don't speak it or read it); it was quite the done thing at the time the book was written (1954), but seems artificial and rather silly today.
And the plot. Oh woe, the plot! It became convoluted and unhappy, and the revealed mechanism of murder forced and unbelievable.
Not my happiest of books, but I do so like the language!
The book was a study of contrasts. I adored the language:
"a little man of some sixty summers, with a round face, a high forehead, and a gentle mouth -- a little man whose eyes blinked at the world through thick-lensed, horn-rimmed glasses."
or:
"Bates, an enormous young policeman, of shining and rubicund aspect ..." Can't you just picture that policeman?!
But then there's a bit too much French thrown in for my tastes (I don't speak it or read it); it was quite the done thing at the time the book was written (1954), but seems artificial and rather silly today.
And the plot. Oh woe, the plot! It became convoluted and unhappy, and the revealed mechanism of murder forced and unbelievable.
Not my happiest of books, but I do so like the language!
May 28, 2018
A cast of vibrant characters comes to life in this cosy crime mystery. All Nichols' pet hobbies are included - gardening, music, snobbery and even a soupçon of spiritualism. It's an entertaining read, but the denouement is clumsy and various threads are concluded over several scenes. The murderer is baldly revealed and then his actions explained rather than the gradual building up to the final climactic revealing of the name. The reader is not party to what the detective knows so cannot solve the puzzle, and this is the chief weakness of the novel as a mystery.
September 24, 2014
Famed music critic Sir Edward Carstairs is dead, killed with a knife to his back. And the diva Sonia Rubinstein wants to--no, insists on--hiring the retired, and retiring, Humphrey Green to investigate. No one seems very sorry that Sir Edward is dead. His own sister calls him a sadist. But there's something about the way he died that excites interest in a variety of people, including a world-famous conductor, a talented young cellist, and his nephew and heir. Despite some loose ends, this is a stellar performance that ends with a sad, but satisfactory, revelation.
November 26, 2013
If you’re a fan of Nichols, you’ll LOVE this mystery! It’s amazing how he incorporates his love of gardening in with this mystery writing. Not bad as far as mysteries go either.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews