Like talking to an older avuncular uncle about his life, including being minded by a "Jeeves", in his case Gaskin (who was pronounced by P. G. Wodehouse as being a perfect Jeeves by the way), and then having to cope on his own, learning how to cook. Includes some recipes (two of which demand the use of asbestos mats, shudder) but largely it's an interesting look at how a lone man lived during the early and mid-20th century.

Almost sorry to finish this, a lot is unsaid in this, how his factotum Reginald Arthur Gaskin managed to be a functional alcoholic up to the point of cirrhosis of the liver. The 40 years they spend together almost seems to leap past, but there is a genuine feeling of loss and melancholy when Gaskin dies, a part of Nichols is gone too.

I found it an entertaining read, worth the price of entry for the mayonnaise recipe, which reduced me to tears of laughter.

The Chapter heading illustrations are charming.

It doesn't really deal with relationships, and later it is said that Nichols was homosexual, but the biggest relationships talked about here are between him, Gaskin and their bevy of cats. ( )