The first one I will read is "Merry Hall" which is the first in a trilogy, the second book in the trilogy is "Laughter on the Stairs", followed by "Sunlight on the Lawn". The other book is "A Village in a Valley."
Nichols writes about the elegant but rundown mansion and gardens he fixes up and the wonderful people who live nearby in the small village. On the dust jacket it says Nichols' writing is "high-spirited, riotously funny, and, at times, deliciously malicious." Just my cup of tea in reading.
For Book Beginnings I quote the first two sentences in Merry Hall: "Some fall in love with women; some fall in love with art; some fall in love with death. I fall in love with gardens, which is much the same as falling in love with all three at once."
Friday 56 at Fredas Voice asks us to share a bit from page 56. Here goes my choice: "But a glass of champagne, for some mystic reason, is different; it is to wine what Shelley was to poetry; it gives wings to the spirit." This led to Nichols setting a hedge on fire, a rather dangerous feat and a decision fueled by enjoying champagne. My kind of guy, ha ha.
I am linking to Book Beginnings at Rose City Reader
