Martin is surprisingly well qualified to write a guide to housework for men. Not only is he a man himself, but he does a lot about the house. On purely humanitarian grounds he recently took over some of the ironing from his wife; he then branched out into bath-cleaning, fairly regular vacuuming, and washing up after dinner (when he wasn’t going out).
For the purposes of this book, Martin has interviewed many
experts, and can thus provide answers to such burning questions as: ‘Do I Need to Bother about the Controls on the Iron?’ and ‘Is Dust Actually Dangerous?’
The result is a genuinely enlightening read, combining
practical housework advice with touching recollections from the author’s Yorkshire childhood and hilarious scenes from the daily
sit-com of family life.

‘You might not think that a book about cleaning could be
funny but this made me laugh out loud. In the office. During a quiet lunch hour.’
Financial Times

‘Obviously my husband will be getting a pristine copy of
How to Get Things Really Flat. The author takes his task
seriously, but he’s also a funny and fluent writer and this one
just might hang around to become an essential reference book as our two young boys grow up.’
Daily Telegraph

‘Andrew Martin has launched himself as an unlikely domestic god. This bloke’s guide is hilarious.’
Jan Moir, Daily Mail

About the author

Andrew Martin trained as a barrister before becoming a journalist and novelist. His seven novels include five titles featuring the young Edwardian det

more about Andrew Martin