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 I feel bad saying this of a debut novel which won the 2018 Caledonia Award (an international competition for unpublished novels), but my reviews are always honest, so here goes...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

A thoroughly enjoyable, if somewhat grim at times, tale. I particularly loved the characters of Albie and Iris and found Silas to be totally creepy. The writing was very evocative of 1850s London and you could almost smell the smells and see the unpleasantness of the areas in the book. Recommended.

Loved, loved,loved this book. Intense and scary it is evocative of 1850's London. You can almost smell the streets , so wonderful are the descriptions. The characters were well drawn and the story so different than your run of the mill thriller. Five stars!

Iris and her twin sister work in the doll factory, a dark dreary shop with a mistress who's addicted to laudanum. Iris has a passion for painting and dreams of being an artist, but those dreams are beyond reach, that is until she meets Louis.

Silas, has an obsession with weird curiosities that he collects and sells from his workshop, where he practices taxidermy. But Silas has a new obsession.... Iris, and will go to any lengths to possess her.
A fabulous dark gothic tale of love, obsession and the down right weird. I loved this.

Set in the gritty, mean streets of 19th century London, this book explores the lives of two sisters and what happens when Lily (one of the sisters) become involved with Silas who becomes obsessed with her.

The book is beautifully written by an author who knows her subject, the detail graphic as she details the squalor and depravity of London just before The Great Exhibition. However, in certain areas, the level of detail became much too graphic for my enjoyment. I prefer something lighter to read, escapism, and this book concentrates on the darker side which made it quite difficult to read in places.
Heavy going, but if you enjoy reading about obsessive behavior and squalor, this book might be right up your street.

I loved this courageous tale of overcoming odds which seem to be stacked against you. Although stomach-turning in parts, it was a real joy to read and I would highly recommend it.

You know when a book you have heard a lot about lives up to and actually exceeds expectations? That!
This book is a gem. I was immersed in 19th century London in all its diversity, colour and squalor. This has to be a film - I could see it, smell it (yuk) and cast it.
I would describe this as a Victorian thriller. The tension builds and I found myself on the edge of my seat as it reaches its dramatic conclusion.
It has been an absolute pleasure to read and review this book. It is going to be HUGE. Thank you #Picador #NetGalley and Elizabeth MacNeal. I loved #TheDollFactory I would give it 6 stars if I could.

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!!!