
Member Reviews

‘The Doll Factory’ is an extraordinarily accomplished debut from Elizabeth Macneal. Just as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood at the centre of her novel painted the world they imagined in vivid colours that still move and delight the viewer today, so she too creates an incredibly vivid and entirely plausible mid-nineteenth century London with her words. Her characters come to life through her superb use of speech and delineation of motive, behaviour and physique. Iris, the young woman around whom the narrative revolves, is spirited and determined but tied by her circumstances. One of the literate lower class, she spends her days painting porcelain dolls for pampered children whilst her twin sister Rose dresses them.
When Iris has the opportunity to escape this drudgery by becoming the PRB artist Louis Frost’s model, after much hesitation and the promise of art lessons from him, she leaves her sister and begins a better, fuller life. However, unbeknown to her, she has also caught the eye of taxidermist Silas Reed. Whilst one might, on first thought, wonder if Macneal has named her lonely craftsman after the Silas Marner of George Eliot’s nineteenth century novel, it is soon clear that he is far more dangerous than the original Silas could ever have been. Ambitious, predatory and unstable, he poses a very real threat to Iris even though Louis writes him off as harmless and weak, having seen him dealing in stuffed animals for his friends’ paintings.
Macneal builds the tension in the narrative with tremendous control as we watch Silas move nearer and nearer to his terrifying goal whilst, ironically, Iris grows happier and happier through the blossoming of her artistic talent and her personal life which, until now, has been practically non-existent in London’s brutal Victorian patriarchy. This novel is not only a tremendous literary thriller – I defy readers not to be feeling pretty desperate on Iris’s behalf in the final chapters – but it is also an exploration of creativity, power, social class, despair and love. The ending is perfect. Just as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood used symbols to add depth to their wonderfully constructed depictions, Macneal captures the future of her characters in a similar manner. To say more would be to spoil the final revelation!
My thanks to NetGalley and Picador (Pan Macmillan) for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

This book is one of the best thrillers I've ever read, and trust me, I've read plenty! It quite literally kept me reading into the early hours of the morning.
Usually historical fiction isn't my go to genre, although I do love studying History. Macneal portrays Victorian London in such a rich and interesting way, that I couldn't help but be captivated by it. I believe it's also portrayed in such a realistic manner - all the poverty, social class conflict as well as the societal constraints of the time.
I love that the story is set in London, as I've lived there all my life, I was really familiar with the places that were mentioned in the book and it was cool to imagine them as they used to be. Even for a reader who isn't familiar, Macneals lavish description will completely immerse you in Victorian London.
Iris Whittle is a young woman who yearns to be a painter, as that is her greatest passion. However, her life is a far cry from the creative life of an artist, as she wiles away her days in Mrs Salters Doll Emporium with her twin sister Rose, miserable and unfulfilled. I really enjoyed reading through the perspective of Iris, she is so wilful and really comes into her own through the course of the story.
Alongside Iris's journey, we also meet Silas Reed, an eccentric and somewhat sinister collector of curiosities. He has spent his life searching and creating unusual artefacts for sale in his strange Soho shop. However he has a far darker interest in Iris, an obsession which grows deeper and more twisted as the story progresses...
Interwoven through the story are a host of secondary characters, most striking of all: Albie, a young street urchin wishing for a better life for him and his older sister who has resorted to prostitution. Albie is such a mischievous and sweet character, any reader will enjoy his perspective.
I also found Iris' twin sister, Rose, a nice contrast, as she is more embittered and resigned to her lot in life, whereas Iris sees a way out - when she meets Louis - and is more of a fighter.
I also enjoyed the emphasis on Art and specifically Pre Raphaelite Art, as it was cool seeing iconic painters like Millais and Rosetti come to life, albeit with some creative license I'm sure! Louis Frost - who sees Iris and sees her as his new muse - is a fictional member of the PRB, is the epitome of a dashing and elusive artist.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I can see it being really popular on it's release next year. It's such a great Victorian thriller and is so well written, I can't speak any more highly of it!

My thanks to PIcador/Pan Macmillan and Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read THE DOLL FACTORY.
I want to say 'wow' but I'm not sure it's even good enough for this amazing novel.. Elizabeth Macneal took me into her world and kept me there. I felt totally immersed in the story and by the end I was cheering, willing Iris to succeed. I read a lot of historical fiction, but this was so very different. What a debut!
The story is set in London in 1850, when The Great Exhibition is being erected in Hyde Park. Iris is introduced to Silas by little Albie, an urchin. To her it was just an ordinary introduction, forgotten in moments, but Silas saw it as something else completely. He is unable to forget her and wants to possess her. He is utterly obsessed by her and his raison d'etre becomes making her his. Silas is a taxidermist, a collector of bones and deformed animals. For him Iris is but another specimen to add to his collection.
Wanting to change her life from the drudgery of Mrs Salter's Doll Emporium, she throws caution to the wind and becomes a model for pre-Raphaelite artist Louis Frost. Iris also loves to paint and she agrees to model on the condition that he will also become her teacher. This is the life she has longed for, but Silas' desire is overwhelming him and he won't be satisfied until he has her in his grip...

This book is about twin young women working in a doll factory in quite early Victorian London. Iris longs for escape, while Rose is more resigned to her situation, keen to appear respectable and do as her parents wish. Nearby, the Crystal Palace is being built for Prince Albert's Great Exhibition and items are being sought for both this and for the Royal Academy's annual exhibition. It is these things that will change the twins' lives forever as they get caught up with the burgeoning Pre Raphaelite movement and a shady taxidermist called Silas.
I really loved this book for so many reasons. Firstly, the setting felt vibrant and interesting - this is London as the centre of innovation and full of opportunity. However, it's also a London that is dangerous and seedy, and Macneal does not hold back from portraying the poverty and prostitution in the city that exists alongside the promise of the future. I also loved the character of Iris, a woman prepared to take risks to be free to paint. The Pre Raphaelite artists themselves are also engaging subjects for a novel, although quite sanitised if what I've read about them elsewhere is to be believed! Finally, the sense of tension sustained throughout the book is cleverly done as Silas changes from odd loner to something much creepier.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who likes historical fiction. My only quibble is the title - it's a bland and unexciting title for something that offers so much more than the story of a doll factory.

What a book! Loved from the first chapter to the last. Rich, vivid depiction of Victorian London and brilliant characters in Iris and her sister Rose, who paint dolls faces but who long for so much more. Iris dreams of being a real artist and is introduced as a model / muse to Louis, much to the horror of obsessive Silas, a mysterious and creepy “collector of artifacts and taxidermy, who wants Iris all to himself.
A thriller against a backdrop of Victorian art. Loved every page.