A Continuation of the Honeywood File
| First Written | 1930 |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Origin | UK |
| Publisher | Architectural Press |
| My Copy | 1980s paperback |
| First Read | February 11, 2026 |
The Honeywood Settlement
Notes
Knowing the tone of these, I didn’t experience the same cringe/dread that the first one engendered, and just enjoyed the trainwreck. One of those books that has me cracking up quietly to myself, while my wife comments ‘I don’t need to know what you think is funny in this book but I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.’
Noted on February 11, 2026
Finally picked up the sequel to The Honeywood Files, which was absolutely one of my favorite books I’ve read over the last few years. It picks up right after the client Sir Leslie Brash has moved into the new house, and continues with architect James Spinlove and the builder Grigblay as they all try to settle accounts… and figure out if they all got what they wanted out of this exercise. The editor, who comments on each piece of correspondence, is as wry and funny as ever.
Noted on February 11, 2026
Quotes
This letter must have been sent to Spinlove pinned to the other papers, by an oversight. It shows Grigblay's business to be conducted in the old-fashioned style that still lingers, with the best traditions of the building crafts, in the provinces, where son follows father to the bench or the scaffold, and the master calls his men by their Christian names, knows the domestic circumstances of each, and distributes joints and poultry among them at Christmas. There may be somewhere in this world happier men than these, associated in more delightful work, but it is a hard thing to imagine.Quoted on February 11, 2026
[after a nearby developer threatens to build ugly cottages next to the property line of the new Homeowner at Honeywood, the editor comments:] This is a happy instance of the way commercial enterprise advances the cause of civilization by establishing blackmail as a recognized source of revenue and of increase to the wealth of the Empire. By building cheaply and rapidly, instead of in the old-fashioned way, not only are larger profits immediately accrued, but future profits are secured by the early need for renewal, and good money earned merely by refraining from building.Quoted on February 20, 2026