Back when I did my Origins post, I pretty much stuck to my science fiction influences. What I failed to mention was that this same uncle who had nurtured my science fiction reading also had several copies of books about the Toff by John Creasey. I never borrowed any of these books from my uncle, but one day I was in a department store in the mall and saw several paperback volumes of his books being sold for $.50 per book. As a kid this was a bargain too good to pass up and I found myself hooked on the adventures of the Honourable Richard Rollison.
Pat purchased The Toff and the Deep Blue Sea for me for my birthday and I was itching to dive right in and start reading. This is one I hadn’t read before and was anxious to get to. I found the book overall to be very enjoyable, however I would not recommend it as a first read. I suggest if you choose to check out the Toff books that you go to this site to check out the order in which they were written.
The Toff, Richard Rollison, is to me an amalgam of Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. He of course predated Bond as the Toff’s first appearance was in 1933. There is a grounded aspect to Toff not unlike Holmes’ and Watson’s Baker Street settings. In Richard Rollison’s dwelling he keeps souveniers from previous cases on what turns out to be a rather grisly trophy wall. The Toff has the means and the connections to be the wealthy man-about-town who just happens to have the knack for solving crimes. A big part of the enjoyment of the Toff books is the cast of characters who come along for the ride. The Toff has a butler-who-is-more-than-a-butler, not unlike a more serious version of P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves, named Jolly who is generally an integral part of the unfolding mystery. There are also various blue collar and rough and tumble types who Toff has assisted over the years who crop up in Creasey’s tales.
John Creasey wrote 60+ stories featuring the Toff and the interesting thing about that is that rather than sticking to the formula laid down in his earliest novels, he allowed the character and those around him to grow. A good example of this is that Creasey quickly got away from having inept Scotland Yard detectives to having much more educated and realistic police characters.
The reason I don’t recommend reading this as a first Toff experience is that, contrary to the previous Toff novels I have read, there is no recap of who Richard Rollison is, what his expertise is, etc. I think this is important information for folks to have before diving in to this sort of novel.
The Toff and the Deep Blue Sea finds Rollison in Nice, France on the lookout for a young woman who left her home and fell in with the wrong crowd. While there (and not long after the novel opens), an attempt on his life is made, thrusting him deeper into the goings on that he went to Nice to unravel. Not unexpectedly a couple turn up from Toff’s past who play an important roll in the unfolding of the plot. What was different about this book than any of the previous Toff books I have read is that Jolly was left behind in England, and other than a perfunctory phone call he was not a part of the story. I missed him.
Despite that, this was a really fun mystery and it felt great to get back into the world of Richard Rollison after such a long departure (4 years or more since I read my last Toff book?….wow!). I certainly would not call these novels deep in any way and I don’t think they have the polish or sophistication of Fleming’s Bond books, but despite that I find them highly entertaining, mostly because Creasey has a knack for writing memorable, colorful and likeable characters. The Toff books were written at the time when 200 pages was considered a good sized book, and so these novels end up being 180-200 page slices of well-paced action and suspense.
The Toff is a character I am extremely loyal to due to my childhood discovery of his adventures and I am so thankful Pat’s gift sparked me to return to this old favorite. I think I’ll be seeing more of the Toff in the near future.
This is my second read for the From the Stacks Winter Reading Challenge.
Nice review! I do have to say I have never heard of these books. But they do sound fun!
On a side note, my dear not-so-Secret-Santa, I have to say a huge THANK YOU! I got a package today, and it was more than special. Thanks you so much for making this a very special Christmas, indeed!!
If you like the standard detective/adventure novel then you cannot go wrong with the Toff books.
Glad you liked the package and You’re Welcome. I’ve posted more on your site.
Sounds intersting! I hadn’t heard of Toff before so thanks for the review! It’s great to revisit those characters we enjoyed so much as children and still find just as much to read as adults.
I’ve sworn off buying for myself until the holidays are over!! Not only do I have Christmas but 2 days ago was my youngest son’s b’day (money!) and Jan. 6 is my other son’s b’day! (mo’ money!)… argh!
Do you like Dorothy L Sayers? Because, while this sounds a bit lighter and fluffier than her books, there are enough similarities that I’ll try to find the Toff books.
(I thought I wouldn’t like Sayers for years, and then more or less read nothing else for fun when I did discover her.)
KK: I have only “read” one Sayers book, The Nine Tailors. I say ‘read’ because it was actually a BBC production of the story and it was WONDERFUL!!!
Deslily: For the most part my Toff reads come from the local library when I do read them. I went through a period around, like I said, probably 5 years ago when that is all I read. I also pick up used copies when I find them and they are ones I haven’t read. Can’t really buy these in the bookstore anymore. Happy late and early birthday to your kiddos!
I’ve been in the mood for a good mystery lately. It sounds like this is a series I have to pick up!
I’m definitely going to check our library for these. Not only do I think I’d enjoy them, but I have a feeling my husband would really love them!
By the way, did you post a picture of that cover in your birthday post, because I swear I’ve seen it before but I don’t know where?
I was so pleased that you didn’t have this one, or hadn’t read it. I’m glad it was as good as his others.
Yes I did, Debi, it was a very recent birthday gift from Pat!
Just make sure to get one of the earlier novels, Debi, so that you and your hubbie can get the story of who he is and what he does.
this sounds like great fun! there’s also a lovely sense of innocent adventure that i get from your review. is that the right impression?
“innocent adventure” is a good description, JP. Although serious enough in their subject matter, I find the Toff books to be less gritty than the Bond books. Both books are somewhat “innocent” adventures when read today compared to the kind of fiction that is acceptable now. The sexuality, etc. is often more hinted at, or even if it is blatant, it is certainly not the same as what is the norm on television, etc. in today’s society. I like the nostalgia factor I get from both writers: Fleming gives me more of a historical nostalgia and Creasey’s nostalgia is more of that feeling of the time period in which they were written, the whole aura. If that makes any sense.