‘I really have a secret satisfaction in being considered rather mad.’ The name of William Heath Robinson has entered the national vocabulary as a by-word for eccentric inventions and makeshift solutions – and with good reason. His world of cogs, bits of string, magnets and precarious tipping points holds a universal appeal. In this classic collection, Heath Robinson leads a life of leisure, taking a look at some of our favourite pastimes. Seaside holidays, dinner parties with the neighbours and dancing classes are all reimagined and given the Heath Robinson touch in a bid to make them just that little bit easier – whether they needed it or not.

William Heath Robinson was an English cartoonist and illustrator best known for drawings of ridiculously complicated machines for achieving simple objectives, for which his name has become part of our national vocabulary. An illustrator and cartoonist, he wrote and illustrated children's books as well as lampooning the secret weapons being used during the First World War.