What do you think?
Rate this book
Trouble at Toff Towers
Meet Louisa Toff, a St Thinnian’s old girl who still lives by the old school motto: “Outdo and move on”. Louisa enjoyed her heyday in the 1960s/70s (when she was a top model with the Bone Idol Model Agency) and is now trying her best to stay in the limelight, cashing in on today’s celebrity culture, helped (well, hindered usually) along the way by an assortment of madcap characters. Louisa, or ‘Ell - The Glowering Inferno as she was (unfairly, she thought) christened by the Press, is happily married to millionaire Jack Toff and goes to great lengths to keep it that way. After all, it is easier and quicker to have sex with Jack than to make up an excuse not to and when you’ve found someone like that you hang onto them!
Both ‘Ell and Jack get along famously with her ex-husbands, Hugh Jass and Stu Pendous. Hugh is very good looking if rather vain. He was one of the most celebrated actors of the 1960s/70s. Stu is a rock singer. You remember The Who, of course. Stu was front man for their rival band The Why. They split up when two of the members died. It was (almost) classic rock n roll. You’ve heard of people choking on their own vomit. Well, these two choked on each other’s! Stu made a swift exit and formed his current band, The What On Earth Four.
‘Ell stumbles from one crisis to the next, constantly trying to manipulate the Press to her own advantage. Things rarely go smoothly but, with the help of her Analyst, Di Laffin and her PR Agent, Sue Perdooper, she usually manages to take something positive from each unfortunate experience, and there are plenty of them! However, she does manage to enjoy some success with various business enterprises and it is when she launches her Food For Toffs range and gets mixed up with Sardino Codleone of Finned-Us Frozen Foods that things start to get a little (more) complicated (than usual) at Toff Towers.
Both ‘Ell and Jack get along famously with her ex-husbands, Hugh Jass and Stu Pendous. Hugh is very good looking if rather vain. He was one of the most celebrated actors of the 1960s/70s. Stu is a rock singer. You remember The Who, of course. Stu was front man for their rival band The Why. They split up when two of the members died. It was (almost) classic rock n roll. You’ve heard of people choking on their own vomit. Well, these two choked on each other’s! Stu made a swift exit and formed his current band, The What On Earth Four.
‘Ell stumbles from one crisis to the next, constantly trying to manipulate the Press to her own advantage. Things rarely go smoothly but, with the help of her Analyst, Di Laffin and her PR Agent, Sue Perdooper, she usually manages to take something positive from each unfortunate experience, and there are plenty of them! However, she does manage to enjoy some success with various business enterprises and it is when she launches her Food For Toffs range and gets mixed up with Sardino Codleone of Finned-Us Frozen Foods that things start to get a little (more) complicated (than usual) at Toff Towers.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2013
2 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Anne Ullah
2 books12 followersAnne Ullah, writing as Rigid Bones, writes for Newsleak which is part of Comedy Chords. Trouble at Toff Towers was her first novel writing as Louisa Toff. Trouble at Toff Towers II: Another Heap was published in October 2013. A Trouble at Toff Towers trilogy is planned, with the third book expected in early summer 2014.
Find Anne on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anneullahwri...
Visit http://www.tofftowers.com/ for all things Toff Towers, including Anne's blog.
If you're on Twitter you can follow Anne and some of the characters from Trouble At Toff Towers:
Louisa Toff: @RigidBones
Jack Toff: @JackToff1
Stu Pendous: @PendousStu
Hugh Jass: @OfficialHJass
Sue Perdooper: @SuePerdooper
Anne: @FlyingAunt
Get into Trouble at Toff Towers on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TroubleAtToff...
Anne is originally from Doncaster, South Yorkshire. She now lives in Cyprus where she spends her time practising yoga (very badly), swimming and knocking back the odd glass of cold Pinot Grigio. Anne also spends a great deal of time in East Sussex.
Find Anne on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anneullahwri...
Visit http://www.tofftowers.com/ for all things Toff Towers, including Anne's blog.
If you're on Twitter you can follow Anne and some of the characters from Trouble At Toff Towers:
Louisa Toff: @RigidBones
Jack Toff: @JackToff1
Stu Pendous: @PendousStu
Hugh Jass: @OfficialHJass
Sue Perdooper: @SuePerdooper
Anne: @FlyingAunt
Get into Trouble at Toff Towers on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TroubleAtToff...
Anne is originally from Doncaster, South Yorkshire. She now lives in Cyprus where she spends her time practising yoga (very badly), swimming and knocking back the odd glass of cold Pinot Grigio. Anne also spends a great deal of time in East Sussex.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 13, 2013
An excellent romp through the complicated life of an ex model. Light hearted comedy reading I would be happy to recommend.
January 21, 2014
Quintessential Farce, 13 Sep 2013
I am not a fan of high farce. It embarrasses me. Those plays like "One Man, Two Guvnors", films like "Mr Bean" and "Mama Mia", sitcoms like "Miranda" and "Big Bang Theory", all dreadful. Forced fun reminiscent of Aunty Susan, who's husband left her for an older man, shrieking riotously at that balloon passing game but ultimately crying into her gin when alone.
But I do love words. I'm partial to a pun or two. This book drew me in, kept me wondering if it was possible to run out of funnies. Where punning is concerned this book is relentless. It bludgeoned me into it's basement, and tortured me with pun after glorious pun. It's the literary equivalent of the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken in Sweden, it gave me Stockholm Syndrome. It did cruel things to me but I love it, and will defend it to the death. I hate it too, but at least I'm good company for Aunty Susan.
When they inevitably make this book into a West End hit or a sitcom, I will watch it, along with the millions of other broken souls, and we will laugh and laugh and laugh, whilst the cruel powerful writer Ms Ullah will be counting her millions and baiting muscled, oiled, young Eastern European toy boys with JK Rowling.
I'm off now to laugh in my "Miranda and James Cordon" shrine, but please buy this book. Highly recommended. Too cheap. It should be at least £10. Thank you Ms Ullah. Thank you. Thank. You. You. You.
I am not a fan of high farce. It embarrasses me. Those plays like "One Man, Two Guvnors", films like "Mr Bean" and "Mama Mia", sitcoms like "Miranda" and "Big Bang Theory", all dreadful. Forced fun reminiscent of Aunty Susan, who's husband left her for an older man, shrieking riotously at that balloon passing game but ultimately crying into her gin when alone.
But I do love words. I'm partial to a pun or two. This book drew me in, kept me wondering if it was possible to run out of funnies. Where punning is concerned this book is relentless. It bludgeoned me into it's basement, and tortured me with pun after glorious pun. It's the literary equivalent of the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken in Sweden, it gave me Stockholm Syndrome. It did cruel things to me but I love it, and will defend it to the death. I hate it too, but at least I'm good company for Aunty Susan.
When they inevitably make this book into a West End hit or a sitcom, I will watch it, along with the millions of other broken souls, and we will laugh and laugh and laugh, whilst the cruel powerful writer Ms Ullah will be counting her millions and baiting muscled, oiled, young Eastern European toy boys with JK Rowling.
I'm off now to laugh in my "Miranda and James Cordon" shrine, but please buy this book. Highly recommended. Too cheap. It should be at least £10. Thank you Ms Ullah. Thank you. Thank. You. You. You.
September 30, 2013
What a fun read from a fellow Indie author! I got it as a freebie on Amazon and really enjoyed it. I'm not usually a fan of journal entry chapters, but the book was so well done and funny that it really held my attention. Anyone who enjoys women's fiction will get a kick out of this novel, which, though funny on the surface, has a deeper undertone just below. Touches upon such themes as middle age, the desire to go back to what we once were, and taking a look at where we've unexpectedly ended up. Well done!
August 20, 2014
Written in the form of diary entries, Anne Ullah has a real talent for comedic writing reminiscent of Tom Sharpe (a personal favourite) complete with puns, hilarious misunderstandings and general debacle. I love the fun names and the fact she repeats the context every time they are mentioned. It's a true laugh out loud book. Anne is brilliant to come up with the concept together with weird and wonderful characters. I highly recommend it as a light hearted read and great pick-me-up. Anne just proves eccentric English humour is alive and well …
January 28, 2015
*I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review*
Review also seen at http://beentherereadthatreviewedthebo...
If you can read the synopsis of Trouble At Toff Towers without raising a smile, I’d suggest this book isn’t for you. Personally, I loved all the fun names (and all the connotations that came with them!) and the ridiculously dramatic events which have happened in Louisa’s life.
The book is written in the form of a diary (Louisa’s), which isn’t normally something I like to read. However, in Trouble At Toff Towers, it’s so expressive and fun. Some of the things that were said did make me laugh out loud.
The other characters were great fun too! I especially liked Edna (Bucket), and how her accent was written…
Eh up. It’s me, Edna (Bucket). Sorry, but “madam” is avin’ a bit of a lie down at t’ moment. She sez she’s exorsted. Huh – she’s exorsted! Worrabout me? She ‘ad me runnin’ all over t’ chuffin’ city this mornin’ tryin’ ter get ‘er some “ultra-tight, ultra-flared jeans”. O’ course, ah offered ter lend ‘er a nice pair o’ slackd – beige or navy – whichever she preferred but oh no, that weren’t good enough for ‘er. It ‘ad ter be t’ jeans – two sizes bigger than she normally (admits she) teks.
Luckily, she wasn’t speaking too often as I don’t think I would have found it so funny having to read like that for the whole book!
One slight negative feeling I do have of Trouble At Toff Towers is that there didn’t seem to be one definitive moment which changed the direction of the book (the moment where the drama increases at some point from the middle to the end). Yes there were lots of various ups and downs in ‘Ell’s life but I can’t single out one moment in the book where the plot peaked. It seemed to run at the same pace throughout which whilst not necessarily a bad thing, it does make it a bit difficult for me to pinpoint the reasons why I enjoyed Trouble At Toff Towers so much.
But it was a cheerful read – a book to pick up when you’re looking for something to lift your mood and make you smile. After all, there can’t be many people who want to read hard-hitting books one after another.
All in all, if you’re wanting a book dealing with serious issues and full of a complicated plot, you’re not going to find it here. But if you’re looking for a fun, light-hearted read, then picking up Trouble At Toff Towers and reading about the crazy life of an ex model is the best choice.
Review also seen at http://beentherereadthatreviewedthebo...
If you can read the synopsis of Trouble At Toff Towers without raising a smile, I’d suggest this book isn’t for you. Personally, I loved all the fun names (and all the connotations that came with them!) and the ridiculously dramatic events which have happened in Louisa’s life.
The book is written in the form of a diary (Louisa’s), which isn’t normally something I like to read. However, in Trouble At Toff Towers, it’s so expressive and fun. Some of the things that were said did make me laugh out loud.
The other characters were great fun too! I especially liked Edna (Bucket), and how her accent was written…
Eh up. It’s me, Edna (Bucket). Sorry, but “madam” is avin’ a bit of a lie down at t’ moment. She sez she’s exorsted. Huh – she’s exorsted! Worrabout me? She ‘ad me runnin’ all over t’ chuffin’ city this mornin’ tryin’ ter get ‘er some “ultra-tight, ultra-flared jeans”. O’ course, ah offered ter lend ‘er a nice pair o’ slackd – beige or navy – whichever she preferred but oh no, that weren’t good enough for ‘er. It ‘ad ter be t’ jeans – two sizes bigger than she normally (admits she) teks.
Luckily, she wasn’t speaking too often as I don’t think I would have found it so funny having to read like that for the whole book!
One slight negative feeling I do have of Trouble At Toff Towers is that there didn’t seem to be one definitive moment which changed the direction of the book (the moment where the drama increases at some point from the middle to the end). Yes there were lots of various ups and downs in ‘Ell’s life but I can’t single out one moment in the book where the plot peaked. It seemed to run at the same pace throughout which whilst not necessarily a bad thing, it does make it a bit difficult for me to pinpoint the reasons why I enjoyed Trouble At Toff Towers so much.
But it was a cheerful read – a book to pick up when you’re looking for something to lift your mood and make you smile. After all, there can’t be many people who want to read hard-hitting books one after another.
All in all, if you’re wanting a book dealing with serious issues and full of a complicated plot, you’re not going to find it here. But if you’re looking for a fun, light-hearted read, then picking up Trouble At Toff Towers and reading about the crazy life of an ex model is the best choice.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews