I did not get very far with this book. Just wasn't into the taxidermy and animal killing. It is a shame because I loved the idea of the Doll factory, I thought it might be magically.

A very Gothic book that left me feeling more and more depressed as I carried on reading. I felt I had to keep going as various threads seemed to be building towards something unexpected. It was worth waiting for, a great conclusion.

I have always enjoyed reading about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, so was keen to read The Doll Factory.

Set in London during the Great Exhibition of 1850, The Doll Factory tells the story of Iris, her ambition to leave the shop where she works painting dolls, and what happens to her when she meets an artist, Louis Frost, a member of the PRB who has become obsessed by this new ‘stunner’ and wants her to be his model, and Silas, a local taxidermist belittled by everyone he meets, who becomes obsessed by Iris too, but in a much more sinister way (hint - echoes of John Fowles’ The Collector).

There was much I liked about this novel, but there were some elements that bothered me. I loved all the scenes that included the conversations between Frost and Hunt, Millais and Rossetti, and descriptions of the PRB ethos and painting style. The novel was atmospheric and evocative; well-researched with the learning introduced lightly, rather than as huge chunks of tedious detail. I liked the variety of the characters, which at times reminded me of Ford Madox Brown’s painting ‘Work’ (1865).

But I didn’t like the twin sister sub plot, I think it just complicated things and wasn’t needed. In fact at times, it felt to me as if the twin sister was occasionally introduced back into the story, just to move the plot along. And I thought the ending was underwhelming after such a long build up.

I would still recommend this novel however, and I look forward to reading Macneal’s next novel.

Set in Victorian London amidst the opening of the Great Exhibition, The Doll Factory follows the lives of three people trying to make their way in the world.

Silas Reed is a taxidermist with a shop of curiosities who began life outside of London in a pottery factory. He likes to collect things: skulls, skeletons, scraps of life he can preserve. It was his collection of skulls that helped him sell his way to freedom, London and his shop. He is a lonely man of great ambition who smells of decay and chemicals.

Albie is a street urchin whose teeth, all but one, were knocked out by a carriage. He finds dead animals for Silas, he sews underskirts for Mrs Salter’s Doll Emporium and lives with his sister in the whorehouse. Iris, one of the twins at the Doll Emporium always treats him with such kindness even when snapping the flea eggs on his doll skirts.

Iris, whose collarbone broke at birth and heeled twisted out at an angle, used to be the ugly twin until her sister caught smallpox. Since then they have been lucky enough to find work at Mrs Salter’s Doll Emporium, painting the delicate porcelain faces and sewing the outfits for custom ordered dolls, often made in homage and likeness to dead children. Their life is one of drudgery from which Iris secretly wishes to escape. She sneaks out of bed at night and paints using tools it has taken her months to save for. She paints in secret because such longings are improper. Her wild desires threaten the safety of their respectable lives.

When Iris is introduced to Silas by Albie, their lives all begin to turn in unusual directions for Silas works for several of the Pre-Raphaelite brothers who use his animals as still subjects for their work. When one of Silas’s pieces rots, an angry painter loses his model and forces Silas to think of a way he might endear himself once more to the gentleman. It puts him in mind of Iris, with her beautiful red-hair and her unusual frame. She might be a possible model for the painting the gentleman is working on. Though Silas regrets speaking the moment he says her name, the suggestion is made and all their lives change irrevocably.

It’s a fun novel to read, teasing out painful character histories as well as interesting real history about the Great Exhibition and the Pre-Raphaelites. I’m not hugely versed in the period but Iris’s gentleman painter, Louis Frost, embodies many of the interests of the famous founders of the movement not only in his painting but also in his lifestyle. Elizabeth Macneal’s portrayal of Iris forces us to look again at what was possible for women of the time.

The Doll Factory is uplifting and dark, exploiting all aspects of the period and painting a picture of Victorian London that is bound to tantalise.

I have heard SO much about this book already, and it's not out until May 2019. It fully lives up to all the hype though. Told from three perspectives, The Doll Factory follows Iris, Silas, and Albie in 1800's London as their paths interweave and intertwine a lot more than any of them planned.

London. 1850. The Great Exhibition is being erected in Hyde Park and among the crowd watching the spectacle two people meet. For Iris, an aspiring artist, it is the encounter of a moment – forgotten seconds later, but for Silas, a collector entranced by the strange and beautiful, that 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, to become a place of art and love.

But Silas has only thought of one thing since their meeting, and his obsession is darkening . . .

At times, I thought the pacing of this novel was a bit slow. I found myself reading it thinking 'come on, get a move on' willing it to move along a bit faster. However, that is my only criticism. 

The language is beautiful and flowing, the characters are full and rounded, and I loved the art theme and that of the Great Exhibition. There were parts that were very dark - mainly Silas' parts - parts that were heartbreaking, frustrating, and gruesome. It really did have it all. Love, loss, conjoined puppies, and the entitlement of a man who thinks he deserves whatever he so desires. 

Iris works with her sister, Rose, in a doll factory, painting the dolls and making their clothes. Silas has his own shop, preserving and stuffing dead animals, displaying their bones, and dressing them up in clothes. And Albie is the link between them both, taking Silas dead animals and Iris and Rose material for their dolls for as much tin as he can get for them. When the Great Exhibition comes around, Iris gets the chance to model for an artist - much to the disgust of her family - and learn to paint for herself, all she's ever wanted. Silas gets to showcase one of his specimens in the hope it could eventually lead him to a museum of his own. But neither knows just how much they want what they can't have. And they're both about to discover the cost of getting what they really want.

A gorgeous novel and an enchanting debut, The Doll Factory, in my eyes, is well worth the hype surrounding it. It's obsessive, passionate, entitled, deceiving, and you should all totally read it!

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal is the story of Iris who works in the Doll Factory and dreams of being an artist. She becomes a model for the artist Louis Frost and she embraces the world of art.
Iris meets Silas who becomes obsessed with her and the story becomes very dark and sometimes scary.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ooh - this is such a good read. Clear your weekend and settle down to be transported back to 19th Century London where twin sisters Iris and Rose work in The Doll Factory painting faces on porcelain dolls for wealthy patrons to buy.
Elizabeth Macneal builds the suspense as Iris becomes the object of desire for creepy Silas - a taxidermist and collector of the unusual.
With a glimpse into the underbelly of London where poor urchins fight for survival and young girls sell their bodies for pennies, the twin worlds of poverty and privilege are exposed in this novel.
Elizabeth Macneal has written her debut novel with assurance and I look forward to reading her next.

Iris wants to paint, she dreams of being an artist. But in 1850, that's not respectable or rewarding work for a woman, so the nearest she can get is working in the doll factory alongside her sister Rose, painting dolls’ faces day in day out.

A fortuitous turn of circumstances leads Iris to modelling for Louis, a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and a passionate affair ensues. Although with this change, Iris becomes lost to her family who disown her.

Meanwhile Silas, a strange, lonely taxidermist, becomes obsessed with Iris and the story takes a dark turn…

I loved this book. I loved the characters, the romantic first half of the book, to the much darker, more macabre second half. I enjoyed learning about the art of the period and the real life artists who populate the story. Highly recommended.

A beautifully written historical novel with depth and intriguing characters. Even if historical novels aren't really your thing (they're not mine), the characters will charm you and encourage you to keep reading.

I found this book to be disappointing and unpleasant. I feel bad saying this of a debut novel which won the 2018 Caledonia Award (an international competition for unpublished novels), but my reviews are always honest, so here goes...

But I'll tell you what it's about first. This historical novel focuses on Iris, a young woman who leaves her awful job in a dollmaking workshop to become an artist's model. Her twin sister, Rose, disfigured by smallpox and bitter about everything, stays in the job while Iris lives a bohemian lifestyle with the (fictional) painter Louis Frost, part of the Pre-Raphaelite circle. Iris is friends with a kind urchin called Albie, who in turn runs errands for the obsessive collector Silas. Iris is in danger but she doesn't know it...

Reading the blurb from the NetGalley website, I really thought this would be my kind of book. Victorian setting? Check. Pre-Raphaelites? Check. Hints of gothic thriller? Check. But what's not mentioned is that Silas, the 'baddie' of the story, is a taxidermist, a fact that would have made me avoid reading it at all. I mean, there are descriptions of how he does his work. Not only this, there are incidents of cruelty to animals throughout the book but particularly towards the end. To me this seemed gratuitous and was upsetting to read. So... consider that a content warning.

There were other aspects of the novel that I also found disagreeable. Someone near the end of the story gets killed, who should have deserved a happier ending. I can't see how it helped the story at all. Apart from this, there are no twists. It all goes along a predictable trajectory in the second half of the book. I feel that the author didn't grab enough opportunities to surprise the reader. Meaning that this is not actually a thriller. The pacing is quite good, giving the novel a page-turning quality, but the story could have been so much better. It reminded me a lot of The Collector by John Fowles.

What I did like was the meaning of the 'doll factory' itself. It becomes a symbol for how women are viewed and portrayed by society as pretty, weak, fragile creatures with empty heads who are there to be used and abused at men's will. Iris is a strong protagonist who wants to be a professional artist and escape the world of dolls.

The Doll Factory will be published by Picador on 2nd May. Thank you to the publisher Pan Macmillan for providing an advanced reading copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[NB. This review will be published on my blog on 20th April 2019]

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for review copy in exchange for honest review.

Creepy, honest, bare all intimacy, and lunacy all combine in a awesome page turner. This is a unforgeable story that will have you reading all nite.

Set in 1851, at the time of the great exhibition in London. Iris and her sister Rose are destined to spend their lives working in Mrs Salter’s doll factory. Iris, however longs to escape and find her way as an artist. Louis, an infamous artist looks set to free Iris from her humdrum existence but a local taxidermist has a dangerously obsession with Iris. The scene of Victorian London is set just perfectly, the characters have wonderful depth and the story could rival any current thriller. The Doll Factory is a fantastic debut and an incredible read.

One of my absolute favourite books of the year. Cannot recommend this enough - it's beautiful and creepy and utterly captivating.

Wow... i dont know where to start with this book, all i know is it totally consumed me from start to finish.

Twins Iris and Rose both work in the doll factory, where Iris dreams of being an artist, on meeting artist Louis one day, she is given the opportunity to model for him, in return he will teach her to paint.... Iris must choose between leaving the factory and following her dream, or staying and keeping her sister Rose happy.

Along the way Iris becomes the object of creepy Silas's obsession.... he is fixated on her and desperately wants to make her love him in return....
Set in 19th century London, during the great exhibition, the reader is transported back in time and the author does a fantastic job in doing so.. i completely lost myself in this book. One of my favourite reads this year. Would highly recommend.
Thank you to the author, netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read in return for an honest review. 5 stars.

Iris works making dolls with her twin sister Rose and catches the eye of artist Louis Frost, who persuades her to model for him. He's a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, preparing work for the Royal Academy summer exhibition. Albie, the delivery boy who makes dolls clothes also collects dead animals for Silas, a taxidermist who is preparing an entry for the Great Exhibition, and inadvertently brings Iris and Silas together.

The story is partly that of Iris learning to paint and to live, but also the sinister obsession of Silas - which is reminiscent of John Fowles' The Collector. His growing obsession is genuinely creepy, whilst the story of Iris and Louis is enjoyable it feels a little like it could fit into any number of novels about the era, it's the strand with Silas that makes this really gripping. The inevitable closing in made it a compelling read, and there was plenty of period detail of both the glossy and the grubby kind.

I really enjoyed this, although I felt sorry for poor Albie!

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.

A really creepy and atmospheric book I really felt I had been transported to 19th century London. I would recommend this to fans of Barbara Purcell and Jessie Burton.
I felt the characters were very well written by the end of the book you feel that something is missing from your life as they were so real.

This book gave me the creeps . This was not my usual genre of choice. However I thought I would give it a go.
Sadly and unfortunately it was not for me.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

What a well-written and evocative novel set among the sights and smells of Victorian London and the art world at the time of the Great Exhibition.
More than anything it’s a love story as doll factory worker Iris models for artist Louis Frost and he teaches her to paint, but it’s also a fascinating view of the seamy underside of life at the time.
The tension builds up - it’s a tiny bit of a slow burn at the beginning - towards a devastating outcome.
I loved it.

I hope that cover is the final one and not just the one on the proof as it's what captured me and made me want to read this. I'm sure I'm not the only one either!

Set in the gritty, mean streets of 19th century London,(perfect for this time of year) this book explores the lives of two sisters and what happens when one of them becomes the object of obsession of a man named Silas.
It's set at the time of the Great Exhibition which was a major event at the time and the author has a great skill in transporting you to the time and excitement of that time in particular.

It starts off fairly gently menacingly and then builds shrouding the reader in a cloak of uncertainty and gothic goings on. When Iris is painting in the cellar trying to avoid discovery, I felt I was with her reading this book!
Luckily there was no Silas in sight for me - but I was captivate by his shop of curiosities with its dark displays. It is the go to for artists of the time and it was fascinating to see those who came in and out of the store. And what took place when the store closed for the evening.

The themes of art were captivating - I had heard of the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood painting collective and the inclusion of a fictional member was really cleverly done. It was enthralling, fascinating and darkly tantalising.
IT also draws a greatly detailed and evocative picture of life in London at that time - with its squalor in the streets seen largely through the eyes of street urchin Albie.

Apt that for a book about dark obsession, I should now be obsessed with this book.

The Doll Factory by author Elizabeth Macneal is a tense, chilling historical novel! Gothic mixed with love story, I couldn’t put this book down! I loved the character structure and the plot is absolutely amazing! I truly enjoyed The Doll Factory!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of The Doll Factory in exchange for an honest review.