It is true, however, that it is not customary to pull down all the houses of a town with the single design of rebuilding them differently, and thereby rendering the streets more handsome; but it often happens that a private individual takes down his own with the view of erecting it anew, and that people are even sometimes constrained to this when their houses are in danger of falling from age, or when the foundations are insecure.
“A man could go far, knowing his rights like you do,” said Granny. “But right now he should go home.” Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters
The duke had a mind that ticked like a clock and, like a clock, it regularly went cuckoo. Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters
Wyrd Sisters (Wikipedia) Wyrd Sisters is Terry Pratchett’s sixth Discworld novel, published in 1988. It re-introduces Granny Weatherwax of Equal Rites.