Honeywood File The: AN ADVENTURE IN BUILDING [Paperback]

H.B. Creswell CRESWELL (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2005

In this first U.S. publication of a richly comic classic-originally published in England in the 1920s-the pitfalls and vicissitudes of home building are presented in sharp and unforgettable detail, in the form of letters to and from the architect, a hapless young man named James Spinlove. In his valiant attempts to create the Honeywood mansion for Sir Leslie Brash, Spinlove encounters a motley collection of contractors, surveyors, plumbers and town planners-to say nothing of intensely litigious lawyers, and Sir Leslie Brash hmself, along with his good lady. The Honeywood File follows the rich tradition of wry English humor. It also contains a great deal of valuable and still-pertinent information about building a house.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...full of human nature; and full of useful information lightly conveyed, for everybody concerned with domestic architecture. -- Arnold Bennett

Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897334736
• ISBN-13: 978-0897334730
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,117,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Homebuilding and Human Nature, April 21, 2001

By 

Anthony Cole (Welwyn Garden City, Herts, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honeywood File The: AN ADVENTURE IN BUILDING (Paperback)

Building a home, or anything else for that matter, requires you to do business with a wide range of people, bankers, landowners, officials, builders, tradesmen and even architects. An understanding of how to deal with varied human natures is therefore valuable, and will make the project go more smoothly.

Such understanding is best acquired in the University of Life, as there are very few good textbooks. However, there is one book that was specifically written to illuminate the interpersonal difficulties that arise when building a home. Although "The Honeywood File" was first published in 1929 and describes the construction of a country mansion for Sir Leslie Brash in the English county of Kent it deals primarily with human nature, and human nature does not change. Nor do many of the practical mishaps and changes of mind that can arise when building a home. My copy is dated 1972, but confirmation of the timelessness and universal relevance of this book is provided by its recent republication in the USA.

"The Honeywood File" is in the form of an amusing exchange of letters between Sir Leslie, his architect James Spinlove and a range of more or less honest major and minor characters. After reading it you may decide that the best way to approach your project is to appoint an architect, but even if you don't you will still be better equipped to deal with the vagaries of human nature.