The #1 international bestseller and The New York Times Editor’s Choice “As lush as the novels of Kate Morton and Diane Setterfield, as exciting as The Alienist and Iain Pears’ An Instance of the Fingerpost, this exquisite literary thriller will intrigue book clubs and rivet fans of historical fiction.” –A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window “A lush, … author of The Woman in the Window
“A lush, evocative Gothic.” —The New York Times Book Review
“This terrifically exciting novel will jolt, thrill, and bewitch readers.” —Booklist, starred review
Obsession is an art.
In this “sharp, scary, gorgeously evocative tale of love, art, and obsession” (Paula Hawkins, bestselling author of The Girl on the Train), a beautiful young woman aspires to be an artist, while a man’s dark obsession may destroy her world forever.
Obsession is an art.
In 1850s London, the Great Exhibition is being erected in Hyde Park and, among the crowd watching the dazzling spectacle, two people meet by happenstance. For Iris, an arrestingly attractive aspiring artist, it is a brief and forgettable moment. But for Silas, a curiosity collector enchanted by all things strange and beautiful, the meeting marks a new beginning.
When Iris is asked to model for Pre-Raphaelite artist Louis Frost, she agrees on the condition that he will also teach her to paint. Suddenly, her world begins to expand beyond her wildest dreams–but she has no idea that evil is waiting in the shadows. Silas has only thought of one thing since that chance meeting, and his obsession is darkening by the day.
“A lush, evocative Gothic” (The New York Times Book Review) that is “a perfect blend of froth and substance” (The Washington Post), The Doll Factory will haunt you long after you finish it and is perfect for fans of The Alienist, Drood, and Fingersmith.
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A stunningly confident first novel with a real sense of period and place… thoroughly engrossing.
It is the imperfections of the authors characters that make this book so compelling. Iris with her twisted collarbone, Louis with his secret & Silas’ obsession. It builds slowly, layer upon beautiful layer, until the reader is sitting on the edge of their seat, breathless yet addicted to the prose. My favourite read for 2020 so far.
A sharp, scary, gorgeously evocative tale of love, art and obsession.
The Doll Factory by author Elizabeth Macneal is a disturbingly dark thriller. The women of the era set in 1850 London were treated with very little respect unless you were of a certain class. Iris and Rose are twins who were happy children but later before her marriage, Rose was stricken with polio, which left her face and body filled with scars. Iris always felt that Rose resented her for her clear skin, They work side by side each day in a doll factory painting faces. Iris seizes a chance to change her life and breaks away from her respectable job to become a painter’s model. Now Iris has been shunned by her family and has attracted the attention of a madman. I appreciate the author allowing Iris to fight her horrible fate and become a survivor! The book is well written and held my interest, but I was repulsed by the graphic descriptions of animal cruelty.
Publication Date: August 13, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
The setting is 1850’s London on the cusp of the Great Exhibition, where carefully curated art and other creative efforts are given the honor of display. It is also a London with vast social inequality and the lower classes whose back bears all the effort with little hope for gain. The portrayal of this bifurcated city is rendered by Elizabeth Macneal in The Doll Factory, a thriller that highlights the challenges of the era. Iris and Rose toil under the supervision of their abusive employer, painting and preparing dolls for sale. They are captives to their life station, both being disfigured and indentured to the work by their parents. There is little expectation for their advancement or possibility of choice. While Rose is resigned to this fate, Iris is more inclined to rebel and follow her artistic dreams. Meanwhile, Albie is introduced as an endearing “street rat” who cobbles together a living by sewing basic skirts for the doll shop and collecting dead curiosities. These last are supplied to Silas, the local taxidermist who mainly sells his works as props for painters or for costume adornment. When Iris rises to the attention of a young and rising painter, she sees this as an opportunity to recreate her life. Still, she is torn between loyalty to her sister and family, personal values, and the potential for excitement and adventure. She agrees to model for Louis in exchange for painting lessons but becomes increasingly enraptured by her benefactor and the art world he inhabits. Meanwhile, Iris has also caught Silas’ eye and the lonely and disturbed man has evil designs of his own for her. The Doll Factory serves as a commentary on how women’s choices and opportunities are predicated on their dependency on men. Iris is traded and bartered as an object, as a doll painter, a model and subject of dangerous erotomania for Silas. Macneal’s novel is thrilling, fast-paced and the setting is painstakingly described to reflect the horrors and despair experienced by the lower classes. It falls a bit short in the romantic scenes, which seem overwrought and unnecessary. There is also a divergent subplot about Louis’ past life that detracts from the main story. Despite this, The Doll Factory will definitely quicken its readers’ pulses while also unflinchingly depicting the beauty and filth that coursed through London at the time.
Thanks to the author, Picador, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
What a powerhouse this book was! Macneal manages to bring 1850s London to life in all its squalor and seediness. Silas is just the kind of unusual, dark character that gets your attention and brings on a case of ‘the revulsions,’ while Iris, with all her dreams and ambitions, is the perfect heroine who just wants to live a life as a painter. From the very beginning, I never knew how this story would end. Would Iris realize her dream of becoming a painter? Will Silas find his perfect showpiece to set off his unusual collection? I loved the story and the world Macneal evoked, but I loved the characters too. Little Albie is a child to be cherished for sure. But this is dark, poor, dangerous London and none of the characters has it easy trying to survive. And that’s just what this novel is about–survival among the dimness of a city full of tricksters, thieves, and the unknown.
A period piece blending the beautiful art of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood with remarkably crafted characters from the era’s underworld.
What a deliciously creepy book! I have never read a book written by Elizabeth Macneal but this will not be my last one. It took a minute to get into and to figure out the characters but once you are in it, you just can’t put it down! Thanks for the nice creepy read Elizabeth.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Doll Factory
By: Elizabeth Macneal
*REVIEW*
When I saw the cover of The Doll Factory, I immediately thought of The Bell Jar. It’s just an odd thought I had because of the cover art. I’m not going to discuss the plot, you just have to read it, rather I’m interested in the emotional impact. This story is set in 19th century London, a time period I’m very glad I wasn’t born into. Life was an atrocity for women and the poor, full of grime, sub human living conditions and crushing hopelessness. The dream of escape was a diamond dangling always and forever out of reach. This story chronicles the daily struggles of these people, particularly women and artists.
In addition, the art world of the time period is accessed. All of this has obviously been greatly researched because the author renders the time and place in a vivid picture. The characters here are simply trying to survive through misfortune and maybe a bit of good fortune. It’s a dark story, even though at first it might not seem that way. The obsessive nature and madness of one in particular is sharp, sinister and menacing. If you juxtapose this against another who is harmless, basic and good hearted in the face of adversity, what might happen? Which
characteristic prevails-madness or goodness? It’s a story with an underlying subtlety of dark versus light. I felt like the atmosphere had a very macabre and abysmal presence building to the end. We all know that people are capable of really anything. It’s thought provoking and chilling. Honestly, it becomes eerily scary the further you read and stays with you. The Doll Factory is definitely a memorable read!
The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal is set in Victorian London at the time of the Great Exhibition. A shopgirl, Iris wants to make her place with aspirations as an artist. These aspirations are unachievable to a girl in her place in the world. A taxidermist, Silas, has taken a liking to her and has her in his sights.
Iris currently works with her twin sister Rose in Mrs. Salter’s Doll Emporium doing sewing and painting of doll faces. Rose contracted smallpox while Iris did not thus Rose to have scars on her face that keeps her from wanting to go out and do things even meeting a man. So to her, her life consists of staying where she is at whereas Iris wants to become a painter.
Silas, a misfit whose life consists of stuffed animals, sometimes not very well. He gets his animals from an orphan, Albie. He has brought a two-headed dog to Silas that he wants to enter into the Royal Acadamy. His attraction to Iris has taken to him stalking her.
Iris happens to meet Louis, he wants her to model for him and she wants him to teach her how to become a painter, thus begins a friendship that turns into an affair. She does eventually paint a picture that is entered at the Royal Academy along with a few by Louis. She does not know though the dangers that confront her so she is basically unawares when her life is in danger from Silas and she walks right into a trap.
This book gives a reader into the life of Victorian London, the artist’s life, the mean streets of London, the harshness of the people on the streets. This book is a gothic thriller with beautiful, graphic if not gruesome descriptions of life in Victorian London. The characters of Rose, Iris, Albie, Louis, and even Silas were well written. I almost felt sorry for Silas, almost, when reading about his earlier life with his childhood friend Flick.
I love a good thriller and this one was a pleasure to read! Read it in a few sittings!
Set in Victorian London, The Doll Factory is well-written and Elizabeth Macneal knows her stuff when it comes to creating atmosphere. The story is dark and has a Gothic feel, which is fitting with the setting, and it has the potential to be the page-turning thriller promised in the blurb. However, it doesn’t quite live up to that potential until the last twenty percent or so of the book. The pacing is quite slow and drawn out, and while I can appreciate atmosphere, there are some details I could’ve happily done without. I really didn’t need to know the state of decomposing animals every single time one was mentioned. I know what happens when things decompose, and reading that description once was more than enough for me. The same can be said for taxidermy. After reading some of those descriptions once, the rest start to seem like filler and after a while, I started skimming those parts. As I said, things do pick up toward the end, but the rest could’ve done with some serious tightening up. I think this one boils down to just not the book for me, and someone who appreciates the more graphic descriptions would probably enjoy it more than I did. In the end, the book has its pros and its cons, which left me somewhere in the middle. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t particularly like it either.
The Crystal Palace was built to house the first International trade fair. Championed by Prince Albert, the exhibition hall was a showcase of the Industrial Age’s newest inventions. The art displays impacted Victorian taste and inspired an interest in Japanese and Moorish art. Objects included the rare, like the Kooh-N-Nor diamond, and the commonplace, like three Kentucky-made bed quilts. Then there were the curiosities of which the Victorians were so enamored. Fourteen taxidermists had displays like stuffed kittens sitting at a table having tea.
The Crystal Palace is at the center of Elizabeth Macneal’s novel The Doll Factory.
It is Dickensian in its sweep of characters.
There are the enterprising street urchins Albie and his sister, children who take up any work to provide for themselves–including prostitution and providing dead animals to the taxidermist Silas Reed.
Silas, damaged, unloved and unloveable, is one of the most interesting and chilling villains, more complicated than Bill Sykes and less self-aware than Uriah Heap. Silas is most drawn to curiosities, things both grotesque and lovely.
Silas is fixated on the girl Iris, whose collar bone was broken at birth, leaving her with a marred beauty.
Iris works painting porcelain doll faces with her sister Rose. Iris longs to escape the drudgery of her work, secretly painting with dreams of being an artist. Rose’s gorgeous beauty was ruined by smallpox, leaving her bitter. Albie earns a bit by sewing simple skirts for the dolls.
And into this mix we have Louis Frost, a bohemian artist in the new renegade school of art called the Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood.
Louis needs a model for his painting. Iris longs to escape the drudgery of doll faces, secretly painting with dreams of being an artist. A pact is made: Iris will model for Louis and he will teach her to paint.
Iris blossoms under Louis’s tutelage. But a jealous Silas fantasizes she really loves him. We are taken into a horrifying descent into Silas’s sick world, with a Gothic plot twist, and a climactic ending.
I loved this journey! As a devotee of Victorian Age literature and art, and for the page-turning thriller ending, it was perfect.
I was given access to a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
An astonishingly good debut. The Doll Factory reminded me of The Crimson Petal and the White, Fingersmith and Vanity Fair but had a richness of tone that was uniquely its own. Macneal writes with utter mastery, creating a lushly intricate world peopled by living, breathing characters you can’t help but fall in love with and a plot that rattles like a speeding carriage to its thrilling conclusion. I couldn’t put it down. You won’t be able to either.
Thank you to Net Galley, Simon and Schuster, Atria Books and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the ARC of The Doll Factory in exchange for an honest review.
I was excited to read this novel due to all the positive reviews. This novel is set in Victorian England and is about a man who has an obsession with a woman. The man, Silas, is creepy!!! He is a taxidermist – especially loving odd creatures – and a killer. He sees Lily, who has a deformed collarbone, and becomes obsessed with her,, to a dangerous degree.. Lily is oblivious to his attentions. There is also a tale of romance between Lily and her love of painting and Louis, her mentor. And, finally, there is a story of love and loss between Lily and her sister, Rose.
The tale is sinister and dark. It also beautifully illustrates the grittiness of 1850s London. The author writes very descriptively and you could sense the sounds and smells of the city. I like how it described the art world, the struggling artists, the Great Exposition in London. I also liked the descriptive writing about the desperate times and the struggle of the poor.
#NetGalley #AtriaBooks #AtriaEmilyBestler #SimonandSchuster #ElizabethMacneal
The Doll Factory is brilliant, with a refreshingly original quality, beautifully orchestrated narrative, great characters, and some fascinating background detail.
A well written story that gets darker as it goes on. It was a little creepy towards the end and I really expected a different ending. Thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for the early copy
This Gothic thriller takes place in Victorian London in 1850. Gothic isn’t my usual genre but I did like this strange story. There are plenty of weird characters starting with Iris and Rose who are twins and who work side by side in a doll factory. Rose is scarred from smallpox and Iris sustained a broken clavicle when she was born and is left with a deformity that causes her to hunch over. Street urchin Alfie sews doll clothes and collects dead animals for creepy Silas who is a taxidermist. Silas becomes infatuated with Iris so there are lots of twists and turns in this story. I would have liked to have seen a little bit more expansion on the ending. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this very different book.
5 out of 5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a wonderful Gothic historical fiction that will reel you into this beautiful, chilling world. Set in London 1850, The Great Exhibition is being erected in Hyde Park and all of London is excited! Twin sisters Iris and Rose spend much of their time working, They paint and dress expensive China dolls for Mrs. Salter, their laudanum addicted mistress. Life is rather bleak for the sisters but then Iris meets Louis Frost a fantastic painter and she agrees to pose for him in exchange for painting lessons. Iris desperately wants to be a painter but as a woman she is nit taken seriously. She is a pretty girl, an object for men to gaze at.
Iris then meets Silas, a taxidermist who becomes obsessed with Iris and will do anything to make her his. As the story goes on and Silas’ obsession grows the book becomes darker and darker. This was a richly written story of obsession and desire with the backdrop of Gothic London.
The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal a four-star read that will twist you. I will be honest and admit that historical fiction isn’t usually my cup of tea. But I just loved the cover and decided to give it a try and I’m glad I did, it was a compelling mystery that will twist your thinking and have you obsessing over the details as well. When you consider this is a debut novel, the detailing is amazing as sometimes I find in a debut, they take it too far, but Elizabeth Macneal got the balance just right. Silas was weirdly a favourite character of mine, he was a character that made your skin crawl in the best way ever, you just knew that if you were to meet him, that tiny part of your brain that warns of danger would have you crossing the street and staying away, he was that well written you can’t help but know he will stay with you long after you have finished with the words of this novel.