Between his first book, the novel
Prelude (1920), and his last, a book of poetry,
Twilight (1982), Nichols wrote more than 60 books. In addition to fiction, essays, theatre scripts and children's books, he wrote non-fiction works on travel, politics, religion, cats, parapsychology, and autobiography. He contributed to many magazines and newspapers throughout his life, notably weekly columns for the
Sunday Chronicle newspaper (1932–1943) and ''
Woman's Own'' magazine (1946–1967). Nichols is notable for his books about his homes and gardens, the first of which,
Down the Garden Path (1932), was illustrated by
Rex Whistler, as were its two sequels. It went through 32 editions and has remained in print almost continuously. The trilogy chronicled the difficulties and delights of maintaining a
Tudor thatched cottage in
Glatton, Huntingdonshire, the village he fictionalised as Allways. The now
Grade II listed house Allways was his home from 1928 to 1937. The three books were so popular that they led to humorous imitations, including
Mon Repos (1934) by "Nicholas Bevel" (a parody by
Muriel Hine) and
Garden Rubbish (1936) by
W. C. Sellar and
R. J. Yeatman, a satire on garden writers, which included a Nichols-like figure named "Knatchbull Twee." Nichols' next garden and home book was
Green Grows the City (1939), about his modern house and urban garden near
Hampstead Heath, London. That book introduced Reginald Arthur Gaskin, Nichols' manservant from 1924 until Gaskin's death in January 1967. Gaskin was a popular character in the book and was included in Nichols' succeeding gardening books. A second trilogy (1951–1956) began with
Merry Hall, documenting Nichols' travails with his extravagant
Georgian manor in Agates Lane,
Ashtead, Surrey (fictionalised as Meadowstream), where Nichols lived from 1946 to 1956. The books often featured his gifted but laconic gardener "Oldfield". Nichols' final trilogy (1963–1968) chronicled his adapting to a more modest living arrangement, beginning in 1958, in a late 18th-century attached cottage ("Sudbrook") at
Ham, near
Richmond,
Surrey. This was Nichols' final home and garden, where he lived for 25 years until his death in 1983. Illustrations and
dust jacket designs for these later volumes were provided by
William McLaren. Nichols wrote on a wide range of subjects. He
ghostwrote Dame Nellie Melba's 1925 "autobiography"
Memories and Melodies (he was at the time her personal secretary, and his 1933 book
Evensong was believed to be based on aspects of her life). Nichols worked for the
Anglo-German Fellowship in an effort to improve Anglo-Germans relations and delivered speeches to the
Hitler Youth during his visits to Germany, in which he advocated peace. By 1938, he had abandoned his pacifism, and he supported the Allies in the
Second World War. In 1966 he wrote
A Case of Human Bondage about the marriage and divorce of writer
W. Somerset Maugham and his wife, interior decorator
Syrie Maugham, which was highly critical of Maugham. He was disappointed by the reception of
Powers That Be (1966), a book about
spiritualism.
Father Figure (1972), in which Nichols described how he tried to murder his
alcoholic, abusive father, caused uproar and calls for his prosecution. Nichols was also a mystery writer. His five detective novels (1954–1960) featured a middle-aged private detective of independent means called Horatio Green. Apart from authorship, Nichols' main interest was gardening, especially garden design and winter flowers. His many acquaintances in all walks of life included some famous gardeners, such as
Constance Spry and
Lord Aberconway, President of the
Royal Horticultural Society and owner of
Bodnant Garden in North Wales. In 2009
Timber Press, which have reprinted a number of Nichols' titles, published a book called
Rhapsody in Green: The Garden Wit and Wisdom of Beverley Nichols, edited by Roy C. Dicks. Nichols made one film appearance, in
Glamour (1931), directed by
Seymour Hicks and
Harry Hughes, playing the small part of the Hon. Richard Wells. The film is now lost. ==Personal life==