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Father Figure
Beverley Nichols' melodramatic memoir of growing up with an alcoholic father. It caused a sensation when first published, and may or may not be partly fictionalized.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1973
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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, 2017
Wow! That's what I say about this book. History hides a lot, but Beverley Nichols shined a light on a subject so taboo in the 20's that it's shocking to read about it even today.
April 15, 2018
A painful memoir written in Nichols' usual anecdotal style but without the joie de vivre of his many other autobiographical works. His anger boils over at the loathing and contempt inspired in him by his coarse, boorish drunkard father, and slightly touches on the frustration and resentment he feels at the obstinate devotion of his much beloved mother to this sadistic bully.
The theatrical will reading scene - "hatred meeting hatred" - is a stoked up like a Victorian melodrama which then deflates into an anti-climax. Without a victim for his sadism, the evil father is robbed of his power and his drinking ceases abruptly.
The child is father to the man, and the scars of his upbringing in such cruel circumstances follow Nichols through life, hurting him most when they touch on his lifelong love of music.
The theatrical will reading scene - "hatred meeting hatred" - is a stoked up like a Victorian melodrama which then deflates into an anti-climax. Without a victim for his sadism, the evil father is robbed of his power and his drinking ceases abruptly.
The child is father to the man, and the scars of his upbringing in such cruel circumstances follow Nichols through life, hurting him most when they touch on his lifelong love of music.
September 10, 2022
Hugely engaging if sometimes over-pitched horror melodrama about Nichols’ relationship with his abusive alcoholic father. It’s largely a period piece of World War I to 1939, and Nichols’ unflinching and vengeful prose is still shocking, 50 years after the book was first published. A pioneering “misery memoir”
May 19, 2023
Controversial but quite interesting chronicle of B.
Nichol's attempts to murder his nasty father. Quite different from his books on gardening, to say the least.
Nichol's attempts to murder his nasty father. Quite different from his books on gardening, to say the least.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews