This Desirable Plot

by Thelwell

The quest for the ideal home is often a hazardous, if ultimately rewarding experience. Thelwell has studies the rules of the game and produced a book both to instruct and to amuse. Starting with a translation of estate agents' language, he goes on to the techniques of buying and selling a property, the hazards of owning a country cottage and the lunacy of converting old buildings. It's all here, from central heating to surveyors' reports, from stately homes to the back seats of abandoned cars. This is a most desirable property and a snip at the price.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Cartoon, Comics

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, hilarious, light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek and spot on. This is a book of brilliantly executed cartoons depicting estate agents, the properties they are selling and the buyers they attract with their not always entirely truthful patter. The illustrations themselves are excellent, and the accompanying dialogue will be recognised by anyone who bought a house before about 2000.
In addition, this book throws light on society and some of its problems and issues in past decades, so is actually a social history as well.
I love Norman Thelwell's work and turn to his books when I need a chuckle or to be uplifted. You can read this is an hour.

[Edmund Chattoe-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a couple of these in succession makes me realise that it is hard to give each one a distinctive review but that is because he is so consistently good. The stylish drawing doesn't flag, the ironic captions are well in place and the range of topics is impressive. Obviously this one is about house buying and selling not horses but the quality completely holds up. If you like Thelwell you'd have no reason not to like this. If you've never tried him (but like cartoons) you should really give them a go.

[Dr SS]

It is often said, one drawing can convey more than a hundred words. Given this premise, the cartoons by Thelwell in this collection as a book on matters of real estate is a treatise in itself and a few cartoons like "viewing....." are hilarious and relax the mind, some other cartoons like "The thermostat" brings tears if we put ourselves in that situation. An excellent coffee table book to reassure us that whether it is joy or disappointment, we are not alone.

[^ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The nightmare of looking for and buying a home; this is an exemplary guide to the middle classes, to do one’s homework before even thinking about approaching an estate agent. Do you really want to live in the country? Do you really know what you’re letting yourself in for? Not much on highly populated urban living; other than to be warned that a ‘park’ may be a car park rather than a carefully tended green space!

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still have my dog-eared 43 yr old copy that j was given for Christmas. One of the books that fanned the flames of my already awakened interest in language and cognition. I still giggle at listings containing "sought after location" and "a stone's throw from the sea"

[Valerie]

Thelwell takes on real estate sales. I'm pretty sure this is the book that contains the caption "No, no. This is wet rot. THIS is dry rot."