Packed full of things I love to read about...Victorians, The Great Exhibition, Pre Raphaelite Brothers, the history of art and criticism –along with some romance and a bit of creepy gothic horror – what’s not to like?!
Highly recommend!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ecopy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a 'can't put down' novel that I read in two sittings. I think it's a great novel for book groups. I can really imagine it as a TV drama. I bet it won't be long before we see it on our screens!

Excellent book! Loved the characters and it was a great storyline. I would highly recommend this book.

The details and descriptions are so realistic, I felt totally immersed in the world. Loved the banter, conversations and London settings.

In 1850's London, Iris is a young woman who works with her twin sister, Rose making dolls but she dreams of being a painter. She attracts the attention of Louis Frost, an artist who needs a model and persuades her to do this for him, despite the reputation they have and in return he will teach her to paint. She also attracts the attention of Silas Reed, a taxidermist who becomes obsessed and fantasises that he can get Iris to love him. This is a story of love and obsession in how their lives mingle and their paths interweave together.

This is a steady paced story and is told from the perspective of each character, sometimes it jumps back to Iris's childhood which can be a little confusing but explains the strained relationship between the sisters. The story ends with Iris and doesn't give anything on the other characters which is a shame but overall a enjoyable read.

First, let's talk about the exquisite cover. I saw on Twitter that to create this the publishers actually got a real bell jar, had the book title painted onto it and filled it with illustrations. It was then photographed to create the cover. I mean, how amazing is that? As well as being so striking it is also the perfect visual representation of the story.

And what is the story? Well... We are effortlessly transported to Victorian London, Prince Albert's ambitious project The Great Exhibition, a celebration of culture and industry, is being curated and built and Elizabeth Macneal wonderfully evokes the smells, sounds and excitement of London at this time. We meet Iris and her twin sister Rose who work in a doll shop, making the clothes for and painting the faces onto the dolls. Iris catches the eye of two men - for very different reasons. Louis Frost is an artist and wants Iris to be his muse, she is more than a little intrigued as being an artist herself is her dream. But can she leave her sister and leave her job to enter a world she knows nothing about with a man she has just met? Silas Reed is the other person who has Iris in his sights. He is a taxidermist who is exhibiting one of his pieces in The Great Exhibition and wants to befriend Iris. He lacks, shall we say, social airs and graces, so tries to attract Iris' attention in less than conventional ways, some of which take a very sinister turn.

This is a dark yet often beautiful story that weaves the gritty reality of Victorian London with art, love and - crucially - brilliantly crafted characters that are both genuine and loving and deeply disturbing. (In that sense it actually reminded me of another great book I read years ago, The Collector by John Fowles, also a tale of passion and obsession.) I would just have liked a final chapter about Silas as I was left with a few questions about his story...  but overall this is an impressively strong debut book. Elizabeth Neal's tone and style is the perfect blend of sharp and lyrical - she creates vivid characters and such realistic settings, so I'll definitely be popping her on my author watch list. I highly recommend you keep an eye out for The Doll Factory when it's published in May 2019!

I loved this book, from the first page I read. What an amazing debut novel. Written during 1850 and the Great Exhibition. It tells the story of Iris, an aspiring artist, Louis the man she loves, and Silas a taxidermist. It's louis' obsession with Iris, and his illusional need to possess her, which makes it such a chilling read. He will stop at nothing to get her. The writing is very descriptive, and made it so much easier to immerse yourself in the painters studio, or the squalor of the underdogs, the street urchins, the day to day life of victorian London.

Great book. I hope to read more by Elizabeth!

A gripping historical drama that had me hooked right from the beginning. The Great Exhibition forms the backdrop to the book and the historical details are perfectly woven into the story without detracting from Iris's story. This is a claustrophobic and difficult read in places but that ending - wow!

What an unusual yet captivating novel. In places it was dark and the character Silas, completely eerie and frightening. I loved the clever introduction of real figures from history, being drawn into the story and the innocence of characters like Iris and Rose.
In the final chapters, I could feel the claustrophobia of Iris’s imprisonments and prayed for her release
An abrupt ending left me wanting more. Very well written.

This is an excellent read. It's very tense. So tense that I found myself fretting about the outcome because I was very invested in the characters. I loved the setting and the use of the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood as a foil for the development of the plot. It reminded me of a cross between The Crimson Petal and The White and The Collector. Creepy, atmospheric and a real page turner.

This wasn't the kind of book I usually pick up but I did feel glad I read it. The creepy atmosphere and historical details make it a very realistic read The Silas character is a taxidermist who at first seems down on his luck I felt very sorry for him in the beginning as he seemed lonely and misunderstood but as the story moves on he becomes a more sinister prospect.
The book focuses on painters of the preraphalite brotherhood and a brilliant female painter who joins them, She is beautiful and talented one of the first femanists, strong and clever. She has to make her escape from the eponymous doll factory of the title to become a great painter and have an independent life of her own, Silas however has other ideas for her. A great read.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This is a story about Iris who works in the Doll Factory and dreams of becoming an artist. The details and descriptions in this book were great and I sometimes found the storyline a little dark but nevertheless a good read.

This was a gripping read and I would highly recommend it. It tells the story of Iris and her sister Rose who work for cruel Mrs Salter, painting dolls. Iris dreams of being an artist and takes up an opportunity to work for pre-raphaelite painter Louis, but sinister collector Silas is obsessed with her. The setting of Victorian London is rich in detail and full of descriptions which use all the senses. I felt I was there! Some of the detail is almost too revolting but adds to the authenticity of the background. The narrative is fast-paced and the period details beautifully woven into the story. There’s a real sense of impending doom as Silas’s obsession takes hold and I had to keep turning the pages. This was one of those novels that intruded on my daily life in the best possible way - I just couldn’t stop thinking about it and reached for it whenever I had a spare minute. Very satisfying read. Excellent! I look forward to more books by this author.

Great book, very similar to The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock but with more a psychological-thriller-esque plot.

I found this story intriguing with well described historical references and a plot that was somewhat twisting and convouluted. The author provides a beautiful victorian backdrop to a thriller which I found protraced especially in the second half of the book, making it a chore to complete.

This book intrigued me with its description and even though it’s not the usual genre to read I gave it a go. My verdict is this is a very enjoyable, atmospheric tale that swept me up and kept me reading feverishly until the end. A tale of twins, art, delusional love and real love. The ending kept me guessing until the end which added to the tension. The mice made the tale!

This was a great book. The descriptions and historical details were realistic and some were new to me. I’ve read quite a lot of Victorian historical fiction, so new ways of thinking about this era are always welcome: a boy saving for a full set of dentures; the fascination with natural history and taxidermy as the scientific discoveries of anatomy multiplied .The symbol of the Great Exhibition as the visible part of an iceberg, while the gritty filth and ordinariness of Victorian Street life lies below the surface, was an image that came to me while reading. The revelations as the book goes on of the depths of Silas’ madness was very well done. Those mice!
Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Couldn't get in to this complicated,twisted story at all. No empathetic any of the characters who were all weird.

This is being billed as Picador’s debut of 2019, was apparently subject to a 14-way bidding war and has been snapped up for television already. I can never resist a shiny new debut, and this one didn’t disappoint. It’s an evocative, gothic Victorian thriller which starts slow before building a crescendo to fever pitch.

The Doll Factory, Elizabeth Macneal Iris lives out her life working as a seamstress in a doll shop with her sister, but she dreams of being an artist. She gets her chance when she’s approached by aspiring artist Louis Frost, who asks her to model for him and in exchange offers her painting lessons. Iris seizes the opportunity, even though it goes against her parents’ approval and risks her own social downfall. But as she’s drawn into the alluring world of art, she also meets Silas, a strange purveyor of curiosities who provides many of the artists with props for their paintings. And as Iris’s relationship with Louis develops, so does Silas’s slow-burning obsession with her.

This is an incredibly authentic read which draws the reader into the time period and paints a vivid picture of London in the 1850s. The atmosphere from the beginning is one of an underlying darkness, and I found Silas’s morbid curiosities and taxidermy particularly unnerving. The story starts gradually, with alternating chapters between the colourful cast including our protagonist Iris, outsider Silas and a local street urchin, Albie. There is quite a lot of build-up before the story it picks up, but I still enjoyed reading the author’s portrayal of the culture of the time and her vivid characters which jump off the page. Macneal expertly exposes the mind of a lonely psychopath in Silas and I loved her portrayal of the timid seamstress turned rebellious artist and model in Iris. The secondary characters of Albie and Louis were loveable and entertaining too.

Whilst the first part of the novel feels more like a historical drama, as the story develops in veers into an intense thriller which takes a hold and doesn’t let go. I haven’t been so tense reading the last few chapters of a novel in a long time, and the ending left me feeling shaken. This book works on so many levels; it feels like an authentic, well-researched portrayal of Victorian London and the social hierarchies of the time; an exploration of love, art and obsession, and an edge-of-your seat thriller. An excellent debut.

I loved the visits to the Great Exhibition and liked the rest of the tale. I did feel that things were a little more drawn out than they needed to be even though the characters and atmosphere were generally well painted. No spoilers here but one or two of the cast did lack a little depth. Overall though, a rather good read and I think it will be enjoyed by most anyone interested in a tale wrapped around and through Victorian London.