I loved this immersion in the London of the Great Exhibition and Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. We get a glimpse of the real Rossetti, Millais and Holman Hunt, but by having fictional main characters, Elizabeth Macneal has given herself free rein to invent them wholly.
Lily is a sympathetic protagonist; her situation with her sister and Mrs Salter in the confines of the doll shop is stifling. Her resilience in the face of constrained circumstances and disapproving parents is admirable. The street urchin Albie tugs at the heartstrings too.
I thought tension was built really well through the story; no spoilers here, but let’s just say I was worried about what was going to happen to certain characters (and there were things I didn’t see coming). I recommend this book if you like historical fiction that treats its reader as intelligent and want to be gripped from start to finish. A really strong debut.

The Doll Factory was an immersive, authentic read with an undertone of darkness and a great Historical setting that you just sink into.
It is a pacy read that is part historical drama and part thriller – it has a slow burn start that immediately engages you with this small group of humanity all living around the build up to the Great Exhibition. It is a novel about art and creativity, but also a story of love and obsession, of wanting to escape the bounds of your social standing, about hopes and dreams…
Iris wants to be an artist, she is judged harshly by her family, but when she is asked to become a model for Louis Frost suddenly life takes a turn for the better. However hovering in the background is the strange and menacing Silas – who in one moment of time has singled out Iris for his particular attention..
This novel, despite it’s fairly gentle start, is immediately gripping and vaguely unnerving. Iris, painting in the cellar trying to avoid discovery, Albie, a boy who only wants new teeth, Silas, whose shop of curiosities is the go to for artists of the time, Rose, sister of Iris who suffered a terrible childhood illness and Louis Frost – pre Raphaelite artist and part of a group of like minded friends. We follow this eclectic group and their interactions, meanwhile under the surface there is a feeling of doom, of something dark approaching, which when it comes will leave you breathless…
I loved this because it was different, strangely charming and the author gets over the sense of the time brilliantly. The setting pops and the intricate layers of the story are cleverly woven. I enjoyed the art theme very much, not overdone but set within the character drama unfolding. Descriptively it is beautiful, plus the two halves work so well with the first half being more historical fiction than thriller but then throwing you into an ending that is brutally realistic and heart stopping.
Overall a really excellent debut. Highly Recommended.

I had a good feeling about this book since I heard about it and I am so glad it did not disappoint. "The Doll Factory" is a story of obsession, passion, love and art, excitingly creepy and unsettling, firmly established in its historical setting and atmospheric enough to make my skin crawl.

We follow the story of Iris, who longs to become a painter while toiling in the shop as an apprentice to a doll maker. By chance she meets one of the painters from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) who asks her to pose for him in exchange for painting lessons. Strict and stiff Victorian rules mean that her family and sister disown her, but as she pines for her sister, her life blossoms in ways she could not imagine before. Meanwhile, someone's life changes as well; Silas, a collector and taxidermist - a fantastically creepy and well developed character - who by chance meets her at the construction of the Great Exhibition. Soon he becomes more and more obsessed with Iris and things start unraveling.

I loved the historic setting of the book, firmly established around the Great Exhibition and Pre-Raphaelites (featuring some actual artists and their art), as well as unsavoury details and day to day drudgery of ordinary people. It also speaks of the situation of women, especially those who dare to follow paths different from those traditionally established in society, and of the meaning of art, The book is also full of little symbols, just like the paintings of the PRB, which I found rather clever and exciting to identify. The thriller aspect of the plot is satisfyingly well constructed and I enjoyed the uneasiness of it a lot. And I also liked the ending very much (cannot share more as trying to avoid spoilers!).

All together - a great debut novel, highly recommended!!!

Fabulously written historical fiction set in London in 1850 with this eye catching cover will become the best seller of 2019!

I don’t tend to go for historical genres very often but this one just grabbed my attention from the first chapter. Iris, an aspiring artist, lives her repetitive life working in the doll factory with her sister. Every evening ends the same way every morning began. Painting dolls faces is not quite what Iris wants to do, she wants to paint and create, wants to express herself but with limited resources and money there is very little she can do.

When she receives an offer to be a model for upcoming artist she accepts even if being a model is connected to so much stigma, risking losing her parents and sister but gaining freedom and just going for her dream. Little did she know that short encounter with a collector Silas will change both their lives forever.

Story of love, dreams but also dark imagination and obsession. I have no doubt that this book will do brilliantly and although it was dark and little creepy at times, it was really engaging and uplifting at times.

What an intriguing book! Full of wonderful descriptions and complex characters. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this one

Thank you for a review copy of this book.
Sadly, the Gothic genre is not one that I care for, and I did find some of the descriptions of the taxidermy rather unpleasant.
It is of course a very well written book, and the era is well portrayed, particularly the interactions of the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood. However, I couldn't get to the end. My fault not the writer's.

I'm going to have to read this again to do the prose justice. I raced through this, my heart pounding towards the end as the tension just grows and grows. This is an amazing debut. I read a lot of books, about three every week, and this is one of the best I've read for a long time. What do I love about it? First of all the characters. The main character is Iris, a young woman who works for an overbearing woman along with her sister Rose. Iris is an imposing woman, tall with fiery red hair but with a slight defect, a curved clavicle. She catches the eye of the PRB (pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood) in particular that of Louis Frost (a purely fictional creation amongst real pre- Raphaelites like Millais and Rossetti). Louis persuades her to become his model in return for lessons in art. Her sister Rose is completely different. Once a beauty, Rose is now scarred mentally and physically by smallpox and bitterly resents Iris' escape from the drudgery of their work. Then there is the vile antagonist, Silas Reed, a character worthy of Dickens, who stuffs animals especially those that are malformed. A chance meeting with Iris at the site of the Great Exhibition leads him into a deadly obsession. He is utterly horrible, a deluded narcissist. These are the major players but others are just as well formed especially Albie, a street child who lives for his sister.

The setting is also outstanding. Victorian London in al its filth. This is so well presented that we can hear the sounds, smell the odours and see the deprivation.

Finally the plot. I often have problems with plots. Too many unlikely and unbelievable twists. But this is exceptional;. It is believable. You watch in horror at the machinations of Silas, praying that something will go wrong with his plans. I'm going to stop here, I'm in danger of revealing too much.

This has to be one of the bestsellers of 2019. I foresee great things for it. Outstanding. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Thank you to Picador Books, NetGalley and Elizabeth Macneal for the chance to read and review this novel.

“Picador's most spectacular debut for 2019”

The Doll Factory, the debut novel by Elizabeth Macneal, is an intoxicating story of art, obsession and possession.

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 an 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 a 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……

This magnificent debut novel is set in the world of Pre-Raphaelite art in Victorian London. It hosts a variety of characters: twin sisters who make dolls for their overbearing mistress, a lonely taxidermist with a sinister side, a loveable street urchin, painters, prostitutes and more. This cast that often seem to have nothing in common are all connected by their struggle to survive and find meaning and magic in the everyday aspects of life.

We start with a mysterious girl who spends her nights secretly painting by candlelight, trying not to wake her sister or mistress.  We later learn this girl is Iris, who works at the Doll Factory painting the porcelain heads and limbs of the custom-made orders, while her twin sister, Rose, sews the details onto their clothing. They work 12 to 20 hours a day with little rest and Iris dreams is escaping her life and painting like a true artist.

Our other main character is Silas, who owns Silas Reed's Shop of Curiosities Antique and New. He is fascinated by the deformed beauty in the world and makes up histories for the animals he works on. Silas is a proud man who knows he's destined for greatness and deserves greater respect than he is afforded. A lonely man, he daydreams of his lost love, a girl named Flick, who disappeared when the pair were teenagers and left him heartbroken.

Iris and Silas meet when introduced by Albie, a lovable street urchin who collects and sells dead animals to Silas and also sews skirts and dresses for the dolls made at the factory.  While Iris instantly forgets the encounter, Silas is immediately smitten and is sure that she feels the same. He is so taken with her that when one of the painters who buy his animals to capture in their paintings complains he is unable to finish his latest creation as he no longer has a model, Silas suggests Iris. Louis then approaches her to offer the position and after some negotiations she leaves behind her sister and The Doll Factory to become his model and learn how to paint.

While Iris is enjoying her new freedom and all the opportunities now open to her, Silas is brooding. He has convinced himself that Iris is in love with him too but as moments of reality seep in and he feels rejected by her, we see a worrisome darkness creep in. It seems he will go to any lengths to be with her and make her love him.  Albie sees his obsession and becomes increasingly worried for Iris. He tries to warn Louis but his concerns are dismissed as Silas is seen as a joke, weird but harmless. Will this nonchalance be Iris's undoing or will Silas be stopped before he can carry out his plan?

I was mesmerised by the beautiful cover of this book from the moment I saw it. When I read the synopsis I knew it was a book I needed to read.  I was right. The author has written a captivating piece of historical fiction with characters you will love and loathe, bringing the world they inhabit to life vividly with intricate details of the time period in which it's set. I would highly recommend this book and can't wait to read more from this promising and talented new author.

Out May 2nd.

‘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.