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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this one! I liked the mystery, I liked the length.
The only reason I knock it down one-star is that the 'romance' between John and Nell was non-existent and them marrying after knowing one another three days is a little ... odd.
Other than that, I enjoyed it and I can't wait to read my next Heyer book!
The only reason I knock it down one-star is that the 'romance' between John and Nell was non-existent and them marrying after knowing one another three days is a little ... odd.
Other than that, I enjoyed it and I can't wait to read my next Heyer book!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
This story is not about the romance.
It's an mystery with a dash of romance on the side. A great mystery story, but a mystery nonetheless. I don't care what the cover looks like. I don't care what the tags say. This is a mystery with a hero who just happens to have recently met the love of his life.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy this book. It's a straight forward mystery with a great cast of distinct characters, led by a dashing and very endearing hero. Most enjoyable though, is the vocabulary. Heyer has a real gift for word selection. I didn't know that I needed to know the words "slumguzzle", "gapeseed", and "goshswoggled", but I did. My life is infinitely better for having coming across these gems.
Also entertaining is perhaps how many times our dear hero, John Staple, is described as "big". Truly. It could make a great drinking game.
All in all, it is a fun and light-hearted read... just not quite what I was expecting. Still, a very pleasant surprise.
It's an mystery with a dash of romance on the side. A great mystery story, but a mystery nonetheless. I don't care what the cover looks like. I don't care what the tags say. This is a mystery with a hero who just happens to have recently met the love of his life.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy this book. It's a straight forward mystery with a great cast of distinct characters, led by a dashing and very endearing hero. Most enjoyable though, is the vocabulary. Heyer has a real gift for word selection. I didn't know that I needed to know the words "slumguzzle", "gapeseed", and "goshswoggled", but I did. My life is infinitely better for having coming across these gems.
Also entertaining is perhaps how many times our dear hero, John Staple, is described as "big". Truly. It could make a great drinking game.
All in all, it is a fun and light-hearted read... just not quite what I was expecting. Still, a very pleasant surprise.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Lovely and sparkling, though clearly more a mystery than romance
One of the country-house settings with the usual smuggling plot, as the hero has to make friends with a new family, and he seems other than he is. There were some funny scenes in it, but the heroine was so boring I don't remember her at all.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is one of the few Heyers I didn't actually read back during my Heyer phase in 09-11. I think I wasn't as interested because it sported a mature pair - Captain John Staple (29) and Miss Helen (Nell) Stornaway (26). Still picking it up now when I just felt like reading more Heyer, it's actually just as good as the others! Of course it is, it's Georgette Heyer!
John is a champ, he's an oddball and can always be found doing random things, such as becoming the gatekeeper of a toll gate when he arrives at it by accident only to find it looked after by young Ben. So he becomes the gate keeper temporarily, taking on a new identity until he becomes embroiled in a mystery.
Nell, is the granddaughter of Sir Peter Stornaway, the squire of the locality. And she frequently passes through the toll gate, which is how she meets and falls in love with John.
While the romance is a good part of this novel, unlike her other regency stories, it does take a passenger seat for once. It's adorable and sweet, but for me, in this Heyer, I was more amused by the interactions of John and all the other supporting characters, such as: Chirk, the man who doesn't want to be a highwayman anymore, Ben, the kid who was left behind, Sir Peter, the future grandfather in law, Stogumber, the Bow Street Runner, and my favourite! Mr Babbacombe! Mr Babbacombe is the friend that John was on his way to visiting before he got lost and thus sidetracked. Why do I like him? Because he's the source of amusement in this book! The funny character, the piece of comedy that Heyer always includes in her works, see:
About The Toll-Gate, it's similar to Heyer's other Regency Mysteries: [b:The Talisman Ring|32108|The Talisman Ring|Georgette Heyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388203991s/32108.jpg|1232335], [b:The Reluctant Widow|311096|The Reluctant Widow|Georgette Heyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327943029s/311096.jpg|1435688], [b:These Old Shades|311182|These Old Shades (Alastair, #1)|Georgette Heyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386920834s/311182.jpg|2682162] (but this one is Georgian and not Regency), and maybe a couple more which I can't remember right now off the top of my head! But again, unlike some of these aforementioned titles, the Toll Gate is mystery first and romance second.
Again, good fun for lovers of Austen! Where Jane Austen is serious, Georgette Heyer's regencies generally come off as incredibly funny! And the Toll Gate, when I really got into it, and was no longer spaced out from being sick, totally grew on me--I'll say though, there's a lot of cant usage going on, thieves cant/highwayman cant/cant I don't even know the proper name of.
John is a champ, he's an oddball and can always be found doing random things, such as becoming the gatekeeper of a toll gate when he arrives at it by accident only to find it looked after by young Ben. So he becomes the gate keeper temporarily, taking on a new identity until he becomes embroiled in a mystery.
Nell, is the granddaughter of Sir Peter Stornaway, the squire of the locality. And she frequently passes through the toll gate, which is how she meets and falls in love with John.
While the romance is a good part of this novel, unlike her other regency stories, it does take a passenger seat for once. It's adorable and sweet, but for me, in this Heyer, I was more amused by the interactions of John and all the other supporting characters, such as: Chirk, the man who doesn't want to be a highwayman anymore, Ben, the kid who was left behind, Sir Peter, the future grandfather in law, Stogumber, the Bow Street Runner, and my favourite! Mr Babbacombe! Mr Babbacombe is the friend that John was on his way to visiting before he got lost and thus sidetracked. Why do I like him? Because he's the source of amusement in this book! The funny character, the piece of comedy that Heyer always includes in her works, see:
‘Well of all the infamous things!’ Protested John. ‘I never asked you to look after the gate today! Where is Ben?’
‘You may well ask!’ said Mr Babbacombe. ‘All I know is that he was here when I arrived, over an hour ago! I went in to wait for you, and he must have gone off then, for I hadn’t been in the dashed place above fifteen minutes when some fellow out here started shouting gate! By the time he’d shouted it a dozen times, I could have strangled him! Told him so. In fact, we had a bit of a turn-up.’
‘Do you mean to tell me you’ve been fighting everyone who wanted to pass through the gate?’ demanded John.
‘No, not everyone. I planted that fellow a facer but that’s all.’
‘Except for telling the doctor’s man that you had something better to do than to keep on opening the gate,’ interpolated Nell, with a mischievous look. ‘ And I made hat right! I’m afraid Ben seized the opportunity to play truant.’
About The Toll-Gate, it's similar to Heyer's other Regency Mysteries: [b:The Talisman Ring|32108|The Talisman Ring|Georgette Heyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388203991s/32108.jpg|1232335], [b:The Reluctant Widow|311096|The Reluctant Widow|Georgette Heyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327943029s/311096.jpg|1435688], [b:These Old Shades|311182|These Old Shades (Alastair, #1)|Georgette Heyer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386920834s/311182.jpg|2682162] (but this one is Georgian and not Regency), and maybe a couple more which I can't remember right now off the top of my head! But again, unlike some of these aforementioned titles, the Toll Gate is mystery first and romance second.
Again, good fun for lovers of Austen! Where Jane Austen is serious, Georgette Heyer's regencies generally come off as incredibly funny! And the Toll Gate, when I really got into it, and was no longer spaced out from being sick, totally grew on me--I'll say though, there's a lot of cant usage going on, thieves cant/highwayman cant/cant I don't even know the proper name of.