The Toff and the Lady by
John Creasey
pbk out May 05
(Tethered Camel Pub)
at £7.99
To say that John Creasey was a prolific writer is an under-statement. He published no
fewer than 562 books. They have sold around 80 million copies worldwide and at the
time of his death in 1973, they were easy to find though today they are most readily
available in second hand shops. Tethered Camel Publishing have, however,
introduced a new imprint, 'Creasey Classics' and these are two of the first four titles.
Both feature Richard Rollison, alias 'The Toff', a wealthy adventurer not unlike
Leslie Charteris's better-known 'The Saint'. The Toff is not as famous as Creasey's
Scotland Yard man, Gideon, or 'The Baron', both of whom featured in TV series in
the sixties. But he is full of zest, and no doubt his creation owed a good deal to wish
fulfilment. At the start of his first adventure, we are told that Rollison came down
from Cambridge with half a million and a hatred of dullness. From all corners of the
world trickled tales of 'his speed on the draw, his uncanny accuracy with a knife, the
punch like the kick of a mule.' The case begins with an early example of road rage
which leads to the Toff being pitted against an American gangster. Soon he hears tell
of 'The Black Circle' and the game is afoot. 'The Toff and the Lady' is equally
breezy. Creasey was a remarkable man; he founded the Crime Writers Association
and a political party, was a serial election candidate, married four times and travelled
the world. His energy infuses these romps with life. He was not a great writer;
sometimes his tales are not far above comic book level. But John Creasey honours his
promise of undemanding entertainment, and there is nothing ignoble about that.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
The Toff and the Lady by
John Creasey
