It was a decade ago that Neil MacGregor’s A History of the World in 100 Objects launched a publishing trend of books that sought to recount the past through a selection of material objects. In many ways Clive Aslet’s delightful study is a precursor to these works. Though a selection of twenty-one domestic structures that still stand today – from the Norman-era Boothby Pagnell Manor House to a postwar kit house reconstructed to fit 21st century needs – Aslet recounts the evolution of housing in the country and what it reveals about the changes it experienced.

While Aslet’s focus is primarily architectural, he expands his coverage beyond the structures themselves to consider what the form reveals about function. This allows him to present the buildings not just as a reflection of changing needs and tastes, but of what those changes reveal about larger developments taking place in the English society and culture of their times. It’s material and architectural history in its most valuable form, showing how these structures can tell us about the lives people lived and, though them, the broader history of England. As a longtime writer of architectural history Aslet is well-suited to write such a book, yet he wears his knowledge lightly in a work that is never less than enjoyable. While the absence of photographs and floor plans of the houses he profiles is regrettable, supplementing his book with internet searches addresses their absence nicely. Anyone seeking an entertaining overview of English history or to understand how they lived will find Aslet’s book a highly satisfying read, one that demonstrates the value of using English homes as a prism into their past. ( )