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.

I had such high hopes for this book but sadly I could not bring myself to find the patience to finish it. Whilst very well written, animal cruelty and taxidermy are just not topics I would knowingly choose to read about

I'm not sure what to think of this read, it had a perfectly layered storyline, where the characters lives overlapped one way or another. The development of all characters was written really well, especially the psychotic make shift taxidermist Silas. The storyline was dark and twisty. I think Silas' character made the storyline, it had a gothic atmosphere about it. Unfortunately, the book itself was not for me, I found myself procrastinating when I knew I had to finish it. It's a great debut novel but Victorian gothic is not for me.

A tense, at times horrific, historical page-turner. In structure, it felt very cinematic - I'm sure it won't be long until we see this on film.

Iris and Rose are twin sisters, bound together by their sisterhood and job, though their relationship is fraught with past grievances and jealousies. Working in the Doll Emporium, Iris paints the features of lifelike dolls but dreams of becoming an artist; Rose wants a quiet life, safe from scandal and betrayal. But when pre-Raphaelite painter Louis Frost asks Iris to pose for his latest work, everything changes and dreams shift into twisted realities.

In the background to all this is the dark and utterly creepy Silas, whose job as a taxidermist puts him in frequent employ by Louis' group of artists - and directly in the path of Iris. The Doll Factory was brilliantly paced, and I was soon caught up in the whirlwind of Iris' adventure and growing sense of self, as well as Silas' desperate obsession. Think Jane Eyre meets His Bloody Project.

Elizabeth Macneal doesn't shy away from gritty realism and at times portrays incredibly graphic scenes, which embody Victorian London's neglected and unsanitary underbelly while the grandeur and glitz of the Great Exhibition shines above. The book is beautifully written and I was gripped from the start as the tensions build and build towards a shocking climax. Would highly recommend.

3.5 stars

SPOILERS

Nicely atmospheric,set in the 1800's mixing the life of shop girls,street urchins and artists.
Oh,and one slightly unhinged taxidermist. Set to the backdrop of an excited London at the building and opening of the great exhibition.
There was good pace,as Silas obsession with Iris grew and his mental health declined...leading to the inevitable confrontation.
My one complaint about this book,would be that the last part dragged... I think cellar scenes could have been halved.
None the less an entertaining read,and an author I'll definitely read again.

Thanks to Netgalley and Picador for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Doll Factory follows Silas, a taxidermist who following a brief passing encounter with Iris at a fair becomes obsessively infatuated with her. Iris works with her twin sister, Rose, painting dolls in a doll shop while harbouring a passionate desire to become an an artist herself.
Silas sells pieces to artists and when one piece sold to an up and coming artist, Louis, ends up rotting Silas inadvertently slips Iris’s name as a beautiful creature, and Louis ends up asking Iris to model for her in exchange for teaching her how to paint, and the two later become lovers, which heightens Silas’s obsession and envy.
This is a beautifully written literary suspense novel that’s incredibly evocative with a host of vivid, unique and endearing characters. My dissatisfaction was with the uninspiring obsessive stalker-plot that I personally found predictable and reminiscent of many typical psychological thrillers. I’m afraid I couldn’t get on the hype train with this one. While the setting and characterisation were innovative and engaging the story was not. I’m very conflicted about this one. 3/5🌟🌟🌟

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal a four-star read that will twist you. I will be honest and admit that historical fiction isn’t usually my cup of tea. But I just loved the cover and decided to give it a try and I’m glad I did, it was a compelling mystery that will twist your thinking and have you obsessing over the details as well. When you consider this is a debut novel, the detailing is amazing as sometimes I find in a debut, they take it too far, but Elizabeth Macneal got the balance just right. Silas was weirdly a favourite character of mine, he was a character that made your skin crawl in the best way ever, you just knew that if you were to meet him, that tiny part of your brain that warns of danger would have you crossing the street and staying away, he was that well written you can’t help but know he will stay with you long after you have finished with the words of this novel.

I abandoned this book at 28%, which is something I do not like doing.

I found the pace slow, the plot did not seem to be going anywhere, and then I realised that I really didn’t care.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy. Sorry I really didn’t enjoy it.

It’s a pity as the cover is lovely, and the premise looks interesting.

If I pick it up again I will update this review accordingly.

I have genuinely tried to get into this novel on a number of occasions and I'm sorry to say it just doesn't do it for me. Taxidermy and animal cruelty are just not for me.

'The Doll Factory' certainly delivers and it's a worthy debut novel. Whilst not perfect for me, it's well onto the way of being so. The written word choices are at times really beautiful and then absolutely vile; this juxtaposing creates a real style and engagement for the reader. The subject of the novel is certainly nothing like the cover evokes, again cleverly playing with our perception.
In the world Macneal creates we are enveloped into the imposing and secret thoughts of the principal characters, from a young girl trapped and resisted by society, her family, expectations and her gender; a small boy with no childhood having to deal with truly awful experiences and a man trapped in his warped mind who struggles to retain a sense of the real world; a man encased in his creative mind and a girl physically and devastatingly destroyed by illness. The convergence of these characters collides in a fascinating and vivid narrative.
So why not perfect? I can only imagine how difficult it would have been to write an ending for this novel; this is where I felt denied. It's left for the reader to conclude in a sense and I felt immediately shut off from a resolution and wanted to see the lives after the climax of the action. Maybe I'll think differently on a second read? As I devoured this book in just under four hours, I think a re-read would be really interesting.
Overall, hats off to Elizabeth Macneal. If this is your debut, then I'll look out for your future work. (4.5 STARS)

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.

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.