I loved both The Binding and The Betrayals, so I was eager to dive into Bridget Collins' latest speculative historical novel, The Silence Factory. In late nineteenth-century England, Edward Ashmore-Percy, landed industrialist, is struggling with his silk business: despite the fact that the magical spider-spun silk has the ability to block all noise, it's expensive to make, and few see the need for it. When Henry Latimer comes to his home to examine his deaf daughter, he is captivated by Edward's silk, and decides to try and find a market. But the dark underside of this business is immediately obvious: the villagers who work in Edward's factory and live near it go deaf, but are also troubled by mental disturbances, birth defects and hallucinations. In a second thread of diary entries, we hear from Sophia Ashmore-Percy, Edward's great-aunt, who travelled with her husband to a remote Greek island in 1820; her husband's keen to find and possess the spiders, but Sophia finds herself becoming entwined with the mystical local culture.

Sadly, although The Silence Factory had the makings of something truly imaginative and memorable, it all fell a bit flat for me. Henry's slow realisation of the damage caused by the silk industry takes up the vast bulk of the novel, and it's just so long and unconvincing: surely he would have figured all this out earlier? Because the reader knows that this is dangerous from the get-go, it feels like we're waiting for three hundred pages for Henry to catch up, which makes him such a frustrating protagonist. Collins suggests that he is blinded by his attraction to Edward, but this never rang true for me either, as Edward is so obviously a bad man (all the villains in this are incredibly 2D, which I hated). Having said that, Sophia's diary entries are wonderful - atmospheric, compelling, and thought-provoking about colonialism and extraction in a way that the didactic critique of Victorian capitalism in the rest of the novel is not - and it's such a shame she gets so little page-time. The final chapters of the novel, when Henry finally gets it together, are also darkly dramatic. I'm still a Collins fan, but for me this was closer to her two slightly disappointing short stories in The Haunting Season and The Winter Spirits than her two previous adult novels. I hope, in her next one, she leaves the restrictive apparatus of the nineteenth-century Gothic behind and focuses on the vivid, first-person inventiveness we see in Sophia's sections, as well as in The Binding and parts of The Betrayals. 3.5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley for this review copy.
Very original idea and I like the origin story and the women in this book but the men I found a little irritating and not well thought through.
Setting for the book was perfect, however, and the descriptive prose was beautiful.

This is an amazing gothic historical novel - I loved it. There are 2 timelines and 2 story tellers - the forst is set in 1820 and is told by diary of Sophia who along with her husband are in Greece and come across some elusive spiders that the locals protect . Her husband (not a very pleasant man) wants them and will do whatever to get them. Then the other timeline is 50 years later of a man called Robert who is called upon to help Sir Edwards daughter who is deaf hear again as he is an audiologist. There are so many stories laced in this book and a lot of sadness but a riveting read.

Another excellent book by Bridget Collins! Her wonderfully descriptive writing style keeps you engaged from beginning to end. This story explores the themes of silence and greed and how both can have destructive consequences.

I particularly enjoyed the way Greek mythology is interwoven (pun intended) into the narrative. In the book, we meet a minor character named Philomel, who is deaf and mute. Interestingly, in Greek mythology, there is also a minor character named Philomel who transforms into a nightingale, and female nightingales are mute.

At times in our lives, we all crave silence. In this book, silence is sometimes literally deafening!

Imagine if you found a way to create silence and tranquillity for yourself, but not for those around you. What would the repercussions be for them and, ultimately, for you?

"The imposition of silence on oneself may be good; the imposition of it on anyone else is always an evil"

The only critique I have is that I would have loved to learn more about Sophia Ashmore-Percy and her spouse, James. They played a significant role in the narrative, and I would have liked knowing their ultimate fate.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

I’m a big fan of Bridget Collins’ gothic fiction and this is excellent. Not suitable for arachnophobes, this tells the story of a factory in Telverton which is making silk from spider webs. One side brings utter silence, the other seems to conjure sounds or feelings which drive people a bit mad.
Our hero, Henry, travels to Telverton, in the hope of restoring hearing to the factory owner’s daughter’s hearing. Once in the town he falls under its spell, using his skills to try to gain investors for the silk. But there is something rotten at the heart of the town, and the factory. Can Henry escape from its spell and come to his senses?
This is a properly creepy book. The backstory of how the spiders were imported is chilling. There’s a message here about stealing from nature for profit in the Industrial Revolution which is very clever.
Lots to enjoy here. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

To begin with, the cover of this one is fabulous and immediately sparked my interest. What lies beneath the cover is a dual time line, historical fiction with a touch of magical realism.

I loved the idea of spiders whose threads could be used to create fabric which blocked out sound. Although this was the magical element it felt very authentic and worked well in the Victorian setting. I don’t have a phobia of spiders but after reading this I am more weary of them!

Henry’s yearning for silence is something that a modern day reader will empathise with. The desire for silence was expertly contrasted against the ear shattering noise of the factory. The descriptions of the factory were such that I could feel and hear it.

This is a slow burn novel and although there are some revelations along the way, the writing is concentrated on building the landscape and exploring the character’s emotions rather than twists and turns in the plot.

Silence. It can be either golden or too loud. Something we crave or something we dread. The best possible answer or the one that puts the final nail in the coffin. In summary, an eight letter word that inspires conflicting thoughts.

In what is now her third adult novel, Bridget Collins explores the concept of silence within a C19th setting & adds a touch of gothic influence to her familiar magical realism. "The Silence Factory" follows the recently widowed audiologist Henry Latimer as he finds himself in the employ of Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy & obsessed with the production of the extraordinary Telverton silk. But though it provides an escape from his own troubled past, he uncovers many dark secrets that suggest this opportunity is not all it seems.

Collins delivers her complex story through a dual narrative that alternates between past & present. Each having its own unique style & a shift from first person diary entries to a third person perspective which draws upon them as the truth is slowly revealed. I found Sophia Ashmore-Percy's observations of life on a remote Greek island & the infamous spiders responsible for the noise-cancelling silk particularly engaging. The language use is well-suited to the period & we come to understand her difficult experiences despite a tendency to be indirect (e.g. her strained relationship with her husband, the miscarriage, leaving Hira, illness, etc.). It was also interesting to see how these then impacted events later on.

Henry's plot, on the other hand, was fairly standard for both the genre & Victorian factory town in which it took place. Through him, we learn of his grief & guilt regarding his wife's death, as well as the internal & external debates around the ethics of the industry. For example, the use of child & workhouse labour, injuries sustained & worker rights, & experiments conducted in the background. There is the incorporation of art, mythology, & poetry here too, further adding to the detail in the storytelling.

As for the silk itself, I thought it was an intriguing idea with a dark twist that I would have loved to have seen evidenced more on the page. The cost of the silence it provides, its significance to the island's people & culture, & the nature of the echoes that haunt those who come into contact with them.

Another theme I liked was in the inclusion of deaf child Philomel & her governess Miss Fielding. It reminded me of "A Sign Of Her Own" by Sarah Marsh in its discussions of fingerspeak, schools, & adapting to a society refusing to embrace your differences.

If I'm honest, the opening was a bit slow to get into but the second half moved at a much quicker pace. And, overall, Collins has created an immersive reading experience that leaves you wanting more explanation than has already been provided & with plenty to think about. Especially as the ending is somewhat vague about the future of the characters.

Thank you to @harpercollinsuk & @netgalley for accepting my request to read this eARC.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

I knew the author from a collection of short stories, and it did not disappoint.

Following the gothic epistolar structure combined with some prose narrative we follow Henry through a journey of personal growth and self-discovery, all tinted with an underlying ominous tone.

I found it very entertaining and loved the language, it felt very genuine to the historical context , giving the feeling it could have well been written in the 19th Century.

Well done!

Bridget Collins has done it again.

If you like intrigue, plot twists, extremely well built and complex characters, this book has it all.

This book follows Henry as he leaves his home seeking a new life, only to find himself entangled in a spider silk business and mysterious webs of lies (pun fully intended).
The story mainly happens in Henry's timeline, but with excerpts of Sophia's own experience on a different timeline, told through her personal journal.

Its a fascinating story, extremely well written, which leads to a totally immersive experience.


#TheSilenceFactory

Victorian. Industrial revolution. Magical Fabric that blocks all sound. Forbidden attraction.

I hope that entices you to read this book, because let me tell you I was not expecting the forbidden attraction element and it made me momentarily forget I didnt like a particular character because I was anticipating a kiss so hard.

The victorian, industrial revolution setting comes through strongly and lends itself to building a fantastic novel. The magical elements were explained and told through a dual timeline unfolding of the story and history of the fabric, and I loved both time periods. I was not disappointed any time the point of view switched. I think this was due to the strong character work which had me sympathetic to our protagonists from the first few pages so I was always ready to come back and find out more of their story. Especially when they were in the middle of making a daft mistake.

Read this book for the characters, atmosphere and romantic tension.

Bridget Collins quickly became my favourite author after The Binding. So I was thrilled to read The Silence Factory and the premise got me perfect. Dont read this novel if you are afraid of spiders :) Bridget Collins captures the Victorian era of industrial progress and social disharmony with perfection. The poverty, the lack of workplace regulations, the dismissal of the poor as having rights, the abuse of children within the workplace. It’s all here, in technicolour sobriety. I love how she brings this era to life, highlighting the corruption and greed that drove so many on their quest for wealth and status. And of course what drew me to the title was the relationship between Harry and Edwards!

"Silence is not only silence, sir, it is attention – it is sanity."

In 1820, Sophia Ashmore-Percy and her husband James arrive on a remote Greek island, where he's searching for a very rare spider, the discovery of which he believes will make him famous. As his desperation grows, Sophia settles in, becoming friends with a mysterious local woman, Hira, who will ultimately change Sophia's beliefs about life and love.

Decades later, James' relative Sir Edward, has created something extraordinary. Using the silk made by the spiders James brought back to England, a new kind of fabric is made, one that reflects sound and causes total silence if someone is surrounded by it.

Audiologist Henry Latimer arrives at Sir Edward's mansion, having been invited to see if he can help his deaf daughter, Philomel to hear. But it's the silk that fascinates Henry, and he's slowly drawn into Sir Edward's orbit, believing the silk to be a miracle, even if manufacturing it causes great harm.

I was a tad disappointed with this book because I loved 'The Binding' and 'The Betrayals'. The concept is wonderful but the pace is particularly slow. I wanted a bit more of the magic realism, which I felt was kind of muted. I enjoyed the flashbacks to Sophia's diary of her time on the island the most.

Henry is a weak character for most of the book, too eager to please Sir Edward. However, he does kind of redeem himself so there is that. Sir Edward is an awful man who doesn't care who he hurts if he can produce his expensive magical silk.

When a book is described as gothic, I expect it to have a lot of tension and to be quite dark, both elements of which were absent for me in 'The Silence Factory'. I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it but in the end, I don't think it was for me. That said, I would still read anything else from this author because I loved her previous two books so much.

https://lynns-books.com/2024/05/16/the-silence-factory-by-bridget-collins/
3.5 of 5 stars
My Five Word TL:DR Review : My feelings are all over

I will say that Bridget Collins has a lovely way with words and can set a scene really well. On top of that she’s a skilled author when it comes to blending historical settings and magical realism and her stories usually have a central mystery that hooks you and keeps you reading.

The Silence Factory is a period novel told over two timelines, one relayed in diary format by Sophie Ashmore Percy as she trails round the Greek islands with her husband in his relentless pursuit of mythical creatures and the other, set decades later, narrated by a widower called Henry Latimer, an audiologist who becomes wrapped up in the schemes of Sir Edward Ashmore Percy (the great, great? nephew of Sophie) and his relentless pursuit of money.

Sir Edward’s family made their money from lace but Edward has spent the wealth converting the family’s factory and setting up to spin silk instead. Telverton silk is quite remarkable, it contains qualities that seem to nullify noise, however these remarkable traits must be weighed against the strange madness that its production seems to induce, the tremendous production costs and the overall ill effects that Telverton seems to suffer as a result. Edward has over stretched and his situation is now dire, he needs backers. This is where Henry enters the scheme. Henry is employed by his father in law, working out of a shop in London. The two make for a very melancholy scene. One having lost his daughter, the other his wife. There’s an unspeakable sadness until Sir Andrew appears in the shop. Sir Andrew’s daughter is deaf but he believes she can be cured. This is when Henry meets Sir Andrew and seems to become almost instantly beguiled – simply by a kind gesture. To cut a long story short Henry soon finds himself travelling to Telverton to stay at Sir Edward’s mansion and to try and help his daughter. After a rather unexpected outburst by Henry one evening in front of a prospective backer Sir Edward begins to see potential in the young man helping him to market his silk and so begins their strange relationship.

On the face of it this book has everything I love and then some. And, I confess, I was keen to keep reading, intrigued by the mystery. There is the gothic goodness, the whole setting of Telverton in fact plays into this with it’s oppressive feel. There’s the dual timeline and the diary chapters. In fact I loved the chapters where we jumped to Greece. It has such a different feel. This tiny, sun soaked village with its traditions and sparkling waters. Another setting easily brought to life by Collins.

What worked for me. The writing. So eloquent. This is an author that can set a scene that will burst to life in your mind as you read.

The mystery. Although it feels a little that we don’t fully explore the full potential of this particular intrigue it did keep me reading.

There’s an exploration here of the social issues of the time. The conditions that people worked in. The dangers of the factories. The fact that children were scurrying about cleaning the underneath of dangerous equipment. The blatant disparity and dispassion between the haves and the have nots. Also the treatment of women and the clear depiction that whether wealthy or not, most women had few choices and little voice.

Unfortunately, most of the characters didn’t work for me at all. I’m not going to turn this into a character assasination but Henry, his actions just defied belief. I do understand that he was grieving and lonely, but I just couldn’t come to terms with him at all in fact I totally ran out of patience. Edward, well you could understand his motives, greed and power, and he was just your basic arrogant, self-serving, over-priveledged, selfish horror. Although, now I’m talking myself into a corner because as I write this review I can see that the author has written here three men who badly let their wives down and so clearly they’re not supposed to be likable – but, it’s a gamble isn’t it because whilst I love a good baddie, I do find it difficult to read an entire story without having any characters to root for. Okay, Sophie isn’t a bad character, but at the same time her involvement is a little sparse, I would have loved more of her chapters. The governess of Sir Edward’s daughter was an interesting character but her own reticence made it difficult to latch onto her. (Although I loved the addition of the cousin who looked so much like her – that had a WIlkie Collins vibe for me).

Overall, this is an intriguing story. I loved the period setting and the writing is beautiful. I felt the storyline of the spiders and the silk was a little under explored. I enjoyed the highlight on the social aspects and particularly the plight of the females in this story and the unflinching way that the author doesn’t try to change this in some way – yes, she could have given these women more agency, they could have acted more assertively – and yet, in actual fact, no they couldn’t, they were all of them, always conscious of the lack of choices that they really had.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 3.5 of 5 stars

I loved The Binding so was really looking forward to reading this - if anything I enjoyed The Silence Factory even more! The central premise was intriguing and the story was beautifully told. I was a little worried that the thought of all those spiders would keep me awake at night but we don't actually see that much of them in the story. Their silk sounds amazing though!

The Silence Factory” by Bridget Collins promises a compelling narrative with its intertwining timelines and exotic locales. However, despite its lyrical prose and atmospheric beauty, the novel falls short due to lengthy chapters that drag the story and an overabundance of superfluous descriptions.

However, it still offers a captivating journey for those who appreciate lush prose and intricate storytelling. With its blend of mystery, romance, and familial drama, the novel presents a compelling exploration of the enduring power of secrets and the quest for understanding across generations.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins, UK for ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I was fascinated by this novel, the descriptions of the silk production and the mysteries behind the facade.
There's myth, there's secrets, there's a lot of fascinating details and complex characters.
An intriguing and engaging story I loved.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Synopsis—-Henry dreams of silence.
A world without the clattering of carriages through cobbled streets, the distant cries of drunken brawls, the relentless ticking of the clock.
Then he meets a fascinating, mysterious gentleman who sells just that. Precious silk that can drown out the clamour of the world – and everything Henry is so desperate to escape.
Summoned to Sir Edward’s secluded factory to try to cure his young daughter’s deafness, Henry is soon drawn deeper and deeper into the origins of this otherworldly gift: a gift that has travelled from ancient Mediterranean glades to English libraries.
Ignoring repeated warnings from the girl's secretive governess, he allows himself to fall under the spell of Sir Edward and his silk… but when he learns its true cost, will it be too late to turn back?

My thoughts ….. two stories evolve in this gothic historical novel . Sophia Ashmore Percy in 1820 who travels to Greece with her husband James who wants to find unusual specimens . Also that of Henry Latimer a widow who many years later works with his father in law as an audiologist .
Sir Edward has a daughter who is deaf and enrols Henry to assist him help her .
Henry calls for Edward
Silk produced by spiders have a magical effect . It all begins to unravel, the truth , the abuse and the tragedy’s . A fantastical , gothic historical land of the spiders!

This gothic novel weaves fantasy and magic into a 19th century setting, where spiders weave silk that can bring complete, or a descent into madness. The story takes place across two timelines: one in which we follow Sophia Ashmore Percy and her husband James’ exploration of a remote Greek island. Though they had gone in search of a scientist that had made a remarkable discovery, they arrive to find him dead. While James tries to uncover the secrets of the island’s spiders, Sophia is the first one to find one: throughout her burgeoning relationship with a woman named Hira. This is one storyline I would have loved to see a little more of! I really enjoyed the time spent on this timeline, uncovering the mystery and origin of the spiders and their silk.

The second timeline takes place years later, and follows Henry Latimer, a grieving widow who feels unmoored after the loss of his wife and newborn daughter. Henry discovers the magical silk when Edward Ashmore Percy steps into his shop looking for a device to restore his daughter’s hearing. Mesmerised and impressed by the silk’s power, Henry leaps at the chance to travel to Ashmore Percy’s residence, and meet with his daughter personally. There, Henry begins to unravel the true secrets behind this mystical silk and the factory that manufactures it, as well as the cost for that silence.

The theme of silence is interwoven throughout the novel, which I think is why it works so well as a Victorian gothic. There’s a tension thrumming through this novel, and you’ll want to uncover the secrets of the Telverton Silk as much as Henry Latimer does. ALL of its secrets....!

I have loved all of Bridget Collins novels and this one did not disappoint either.

I loved the duel timeline and it was very well written. Who doesn't love a Victorian gothic?!

✨REVIEW✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Title: The Silence Factory
Author: Bridget Collins
Genre: Gothic Suspense

I found this a slow book to grasp my attention, I felt the mystery sustained the momentum of reading as I was intrigued.

This is a gothic suspense novel about a powerful family, the magical and dangerous silk their fortune is built on and their exploitative history that they desire to hide.

It has dual story lines in two different times. There’s the 1820’s where Sophia reluctantly accompanies her husband to a Greek island in search of rare biological species.

Decades later we have Henry, an audiologist who visits Sir Edward’s home tasked with curing his daughter’s deafness.

The silence factory is a historical gothic mystery which was slow and incredibly descriptive but has so much mystery throughout the book. The ending picked up in pace and I felt the ending tied together nicely.

Many thanks to Net Galley and HarperCollins for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

Publication date: 9th May 2024