A triumphant modern version of a Victorian melodrama. The setting for the story is the industrial revolution but in this case it is not iron or steel that the satanic mill manufactures but a legendary form of silk from a mystical Greek island. Our hero is caught up in the adventures of a charismatic Victorian adventurer who will stop at nothing to ensure his product, which turns out to have dangerous properties, makes him his fortune. The characters are well drawn and each has their own background of love and conflict in a period where personal survival was constantly in doubt. The catastrophic ending reads like a disaster movie and from that moment the no reader could stop reading until the end.
Gripping stuff!

With its tantalising, colourful, and intriguing cover, Bridget Collins latest novel is a disturbing, astmospheric, slow burn of a Victorian gothic mystery with its elements of the magical, blood, and horror. It is beautifully written with its rich descriptions, such as the appalling nightmare conditions in exploitative factories of the period. The story has two timelines, the first from 182o with Sophia Ashmore Percy's journal entries, she accompanies James, her privileged and entitled husband, to the Mediterranean Greek island, hunting for rare spiders, but their scientist friend is dead. An unforseen relationship develops between Sophia and Hira that will change everthing, Sophia's life turned upside down.

The second timeline takes place a considerable time later, widower Henry Latimer is struggling with the darkness of his grief, depressed, desperate to escape the maddening chaos of people and sounds of city life. He works as an audiologist for his father-in-law, the entry of wealthy Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy into his life are to herald changes and worrying turbulence, he appears to answer his need for escape, his desire and dreams of silence. He gives Henry a piece of silk that offers him his precious silence on one side, but on the other side the sounds chillingly reverberate back, leaving nearby listeners facing horrifying consequences. Henry goes to Telverton, seeing his factory, meeting Edward's deaf daughter, Philomel, who he is tasked to heal. As Henry becomes increasingly caught up in the special spider silk business, he is deaf and blind to dire warnings of the cursed nature of the silk.

This is a imaginate, compulsive, intense, unsettling, and immersive read in Collins trademark style and prose, eventually the past and present collide and connect with Henry becoming aware of the true nature of the magical silk business. I think this will appeal to fans of the author, and those interested in the Victorian historical era and many readers new to the author will embrace this gothic mystery too! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Beautifully written but this book wasn't for me. I was really looking forward to reading this book but I couldn't engage with it and found it very slow. I'm sure many readers will enjoy it as it has a good plot or it could be turned into a mini-series for television.

This book was GLORIOUSLY creepy. Collins managed to masterfully create a persistent sense of unease throughout and, even after finishing it, I can't quite put my finger on what it was that had me so unnerved.

The Silence Factory is a dual POV in two different timelines.

The first is Sophia Ashmore-Percy, a wife encumbered with a petulant husband who has gone on a wild goose chase of an adventure in a remote greek village. Then we have Henry, a widower who works in his father-in-law's audiology shop. He is sent to the home of Sophia's distant relative, Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy, to try and "cure" his daughter's deafness and while there becomes infatuated with the industrialist who sells a mysterious, specialist silk created from a rare breed of spider.

While the narrative was compelling, it relies heavily on the spectre of unrevealed secrets. The intensity of the relationships felt off - Henry becomes very quickly infatuated with his new benefactor, finds himself wrapped up in local intrigue and dynamics remarkably quickly and ultimately bumbles through the plot. Sophia felt like a significantly more real and sympathetic character; ignoring her mysterious findings, her story didn't feel out of place with reality.

Despite this. The plot is addictive. I was desperate for answers (some of which were never really forthcoming). Collins' world building details are amazing, you're truly immersed in the scenery of the book.

If you're a fan of subtle gothika, this is an excellent choice for you.

Avoid if you're not a spider fan

I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.
The writing in the book is gorgeous from the surreal and unsettling feel of Teverton, the town forced by economic necessity to produce the magical cloth even though it is destroying their children to Sir Edward’s stately home equipped with a dour governess... Henry, is one of the point of view characters, a young man struggling with grief of losing his wife during childbirth leading to his slow, destructive obsession with Sir Edward makes him at times an unsympathetic character. I enjoyed Henry’s story, his struggle with grief and the eventual resolution of his story. Sir Edward, is shadowy presence through the book and his manipulation of Henry’s emotions for his gain makes uncomfortable reading ( in a god way)
However, I did struggle with Sophia’s story and was found myself speed reading through these chapters ( even though these again are beautifully written. I’m not sure how this added to the overall story except to give us a history of these magical spiders and their webs.
This book depicts a time when industrialists could control a town and its people with employment, a time of child labour and where women had no rights, - this isn’t a gothic love story!
Content Warning
References to death during childbirth ,descriptions of miscarriage

This book was intense, the spiders gave me the fear, characters were good, some I would have liked to know more about. The two timelines were good but I really wanted to know more about Sophia. Very enjoyable read. Thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

There is something that I deeply love about Bridget Collins’s writing, and that is the sense of mystery within her books. Having read The Betrayals some years ago, I went into this book familiar with the author’s writing style and their use of exposition, especially through side plots such as Sophia’s journal entries.

The use of narrative voice is something I love about this book, the changes between Henry and Sophia and clear and distinct. I really enjoyed reading from Henry’s perspective and his change of attitude throughout the book towards the silk and the spiders. Similarly, I really loved Sophia’s story told in snippets at the start of each part as well as her husband’s deterioration.

Collins work within speculative fiction beautifully, writing within worlds that are not quite our own but not so distant that they feel completely alien. This book has cemented my love for the author and I desperately need to get around to reading The Binding.

I would have loved to have seen more between Henry and Sir Edward, I felt a lack of Sir Edward’s character for the last portion of the book. I would have preferred to have seen some sort of closure between the two but I also expected there to be an open aspect to the ending so I am not too surprised.

“Henry dreams of silence.

A world without the clattering of carriages through cobbled streets, the distant cries of drunken brawls, the relentless ticking of the clock.

Then he meets a fascinating, mysterious gentleman who sells just that. Precious silk that can drown out the clamour of the world – and everything Henry is so desperate to escape.

Summoned to Sir Edward’s secluded factory to try to cure his young daughter’s deafness, Henry is soon drawn deeper and deeper into the origins of this otherworldly gift: a gift that has travelled from ancient Mediterranean glades to English libraries.

Ignoring repeated warnings from the girl's secretive governess, he allows himself to fall under the spell of Sir Edward and his silk… but when he learns its true cost, will it be too late to turn back?”

I love a gothic novel, so this magical, historical and sinister read was just perfect for me.

It is a unique premise, set over dual timelines and very atmospheric and intriguing, the only downside for me was that I didn’t really warm to any of the characters.

If you love a historical gothic story I would definitely recommend. It was a lovely way to spend a couple of afternoons.

And that cover! 😍

“The whole world disappears when you enter.”

Pub date: 09.05.24

Thank you very much to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Having previously read The Binding and The Betrayals by Bridget Collins, I was eager to see where her next standalone novel The Silence Factory would take me. The Silence Factory is part Fantasy, part Gothic, Part Suspense novel that follows two separate but related timelines. The first is that of Henry Latimer (a seller of hearing aids,) who has been employed to help the daughter of Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy. Henry becomes obsessed with Sir Ashmore-Percy’s business that produces and sells a magic spider silk fabric that repels noise. The second story line is that of Sophia Ashmore-Percy, aunt to Edward Ashmore-Percy and her life with her husband James at a time when they travelled to an island in Greece on the hunt for the self-same spiders.
Before I even begin on the plot, I have to draw your attention to Collins’ entrancing world building, The Silence Factory is truly a masterclass in the development of such distinct and contrasting worlds, from the dark, grimly gothic southwest based factory town where the silk is manufactured to the brightly coloured, lush, warm Greek island that holds such mystery and intrigue. Another important factor is Collins’ use of language, there is a distinct difference in the language used in the timelines. That of Sophia’s early 19th Century timeline is much more formal when compared with Henry’s in the latter timeline of the story.
Whilst I found a lot about the plot and the key drivers for this gothic decline to be truly interesting and seriously creepy (spiders included,) unfortunately I didn’t feel any empathy for Henry, and this distracted from my enjoyment. I continue to admire Bridget Collins for her eerie and truly beautiful prose, her worldbuilding, use of theme and development of intriguing plots and storylines and found the premise of this book to be interestingly unique and intriguing.
I would advise that there are topics in the book that could be triggering for readers such as the loss of a child/baby, partner, and general mental health but, this is a gothic story that these were intrinsic parts of the characters and at that point I must stop and encourage you to pick up The Silence Factory yourself before I hit spoilers.
Thank you so much HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for the arc of The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

The silence factory by Bridget Collins is a beautifully written, gothic tale. Like her others it is very imaginative and unique storyline. But I found it to be very slow and it didn’t hold my attention or could connect to any characters in this story. In all honesty I struggled all the way though. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad book. It wasn’t personally for my taste. 3 stars from me.

Very intense, dark tale of greed, spiders and desire. Two timeliness, good characters, gothic horror, good read.

First of all, can I just say... I love the cover of this book. I find it captivating and would instantly gravitate towards it on any bookshelf.

The book itself does not disappoint. It is a well written gothic mystery with some horrifying aspects of what mankind is willing to do for power.

The book is split over two timelines and shares the story of Sophia Ashmore-Percy set in the 1820s and later the story of Henry Lattimer, an audiologist who is looking to escape his current life. Both stories are equally captivating and eventually intertwine with some horrifying consequences.

Sophia's story is focused on her power-hungry husband Edward’s manic pursuit of a rare spider specimen. He goes from Greek island to island in his relentless search, almost driven mad with the need to prove himself worthy of scientific accolade. At times, he forgets Sophia is even there, and she takes the opportunity to find her own connections on the island on which they finally settle, leading her to reevaluate her life and love for Edward.

Henry's story focuses on his need to please and earn a place alongside industrialist Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy, who wants to create a silk made from spiders. The silk has extraordinary qualities, and Henry quickly becomes obsessed with it. The silk blocks sound, offering complete tranquillity. However, the other side of the silk has echos that reverberate, causing headaches, sickness, and madness to those unfortunate people who are in its range.

 The more Henry gets entangled in the business pursuits of Edward, the more he needs to question what price he is willing to pay for Edward’s favour and his own success. 

The factory descriptions put me in mind of the cotton mills in the North of England, and the author really painted a vivid picture of the noise, bustle, and danger of such an environment. 

This is not my usual genre. It is a slow burn, and at some points, I found it too slow for me, but I am glad I stuck with it. The ending for me was worth it to see it all come together, and I appreciated the descriptive writing, emotion, and mood of the book.  Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for providing an ARC copy in return for an honest review.

A really brilliant and thought provoking gothic thriller. The titleis wonderfully misleading as although the factory in question does make lace/silk that provides silence it is at the expense of the workers and the whole town it is in. Told from the prospective of two people: Henry who has lost his wife to child birth, who just wants silence. He finds it in a square of silk given to him by the charismatic Sir Edward and he becomes obsessed with both. And the second narrative is from Sir Edward's aunt who accidently brings the spiders who make the magicel silk to her cruel husband when they are on a Greek Island. There is tension from the very beginning when a couple arrive at the house of a man who has died to the dark shop Henry works in and then onto the strange illness that assaults the senses around the Silence Factory and the gothic house far where Sir Edward's deaf daughter lives with her devoted governess. It is story of grief, silence, noise, money, poverty, love, devotion, obsession and ruin. Enjoy!

A gripping and unique tale, and an excellent use of dual timelines. This kept me throughly engaged and would recommend if you’re into historical fiction.

GENRE: Historical Fiction/Magical Realism

MY RATING: 4/5
Characters: 3.5/5
Storyline: 4/5
Writing style/structure: 4/5
Overall enjoyment: 4/5

MY THOUGHTS
Bridget Collins is an auto-buy author for me. All three of her books are so unique, complex, with such lyrical prose that it is impossible not to be captivated. One of the things that she does well in her stories is the representation of queer characters and this book is no different. The concept of this book was absolutely brilliant, as it explores the impact that noise has on someone’s mind, body and soul. It is written with her usual dark, gothic undertones and I was hooked from chapter one.

The story is told in dual timelines. The main story is written in third person in the ‘current day’ (Henry) and the subplot is first person narrative, set in the past, as our main character (Sophia) is recounting her experiences in a diary. I can’t say that I liked Henry. But I think that was kind of the point. He was self-absorbed, naïve and the fact that he was willing to give everything up *couch* revealed in the second last chapter *cough*, to put his happiness above everything else, made me dislike him all the more. I wanted more of Sophia’s storyline, but I can see why we were only given snippets; for the suspense.

Although it is not a 5-star read, it has certainly left an impression on me. This book comes out on 09 May 2024. I was provided an advanced copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

TW: Miscarriage, Death during labour, Emotional manipulation, Torture, Child labour, Mental instability, Spiders (for those with arachnophobia).

I loved The Binding so was very excited to receive this ARC.
This is a unique story, with a similar feel to the Binding in that it tells of an inanimate object that can hold / reflect human feelings. In this case, it's the story of spider silk that can provide complete silence on one side, but can be used to manipulate feelings and people's actions on the other. I enjoyed the story but didn't engage with the characters hugely and found some sections dragging.
TheSilenceFactory #NetGalley

"Silence is not only silence, sir, it is attention – it is sanity. It is sleep for infants, medicine for invalids, rest for the working man – it is money for the man who must think or starve. We build walls to shelter our bodies from the world, but we leave our minds open to assault on every side."

Henry Latimer is summoned to Cathermute House to help Philomel the young daughter of Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy to hear again. When he cannot complete his task Sir Edward offers him a position in his secluded factory but Henry soon falls to the power of the silk and its origins.


A book filled with hope, desire and lost love. This was an enthralling gothic read.

When I requested this on Netgalley I'd never read any books by Bridget Collins but I had The Binding on my bookshelf so decided to read that first and I really enjoyed it and her writing style. I loved The Binding and I loved The Silence Factory just as much.

Told from two perspectives one being Henry Latimers and the other Sophia Ashmore's. This was definitely needed to understand the whole reason of the silk and the factory.

Bridget Collins will be an auto-buy author for me after reading these two books.

Thank you to @Netgalley and the publishers @harperfiction for the digital copy.

I really enjoyed a dual timeline story and this one didn't let me know. Fantastic historical fiction that is really well written. Starts off with a slow pace, but that isn't to the determ of the story. Good strong characters. Very pleased 😀

Having been entranced by the world Bridget Collins created in The Betrayals (sort of familiar, but sort of not), I was excited to read The Silence Factory and I was not disappointed.

The story revolves around Henry Latimer becoming involved with Sir Edward Ashborne-Percy and the opportunity to work with him on bringing products manufactured at The Silence Factory to the public. Yet it is not only the products that Henry becomes obsessed with falling under the charismatic spell of Sir Edward and wanting to become more than an employee.

The story unravels in a duel timeline. One the life of Henry and the strange and unsettling work at The Silence Factory and the second in relation to the discovery of the spiders in Greece and how they found their way back to the UK to be bred and used to spin the unique silk that creates a fabric which is able to quieten and calm a noisy world. Both are heartbreaking tales in different ways.

Henry buys into how useful this new product could be to the world dismissing the tales he is hearing but ultimately as the book draws to its conclusion, we discover what's really planned.

This is a dark, eerie tale, placing us once again in a world we know but don't know. The writing is beautiful and the factory is so realistic you feel like you are walking through it. Some of the spider scenes made me shudder. I'm not a big fan but using them as a vehicle for the plot gave it a sinister undertone.

Overall, it was an intriguing read.

"Poor Echo. I wonder sometimes what it would feel like, to be condemned to say what you never wanted to say, while the most important thing of all is beyond your reach." There was a pause that felt as though something unspoken was hanging in the air like invisible fruit, left unplucked. [loc. 1665]
Bridget Collins' third novel for adults, following The Binding (which I loved) and The Betrayals (which I liked), is The Silence Factory, which I'm still considering. It's a novel about the luxury of silence, about power and powerlessness: it features queer romance, dual narratives, abusive relationships, social class and ... spiders, again. (Perhaps the most fantastical aspect of the plot is that nobody in Collins' version of 19th-century England seems to suffer from arachnophobia.)

Part of the book is formed by the 1820s diaries of Sophia, wife to scientifically-minded and ambitious James Ashmore. James has brought her to the Greek island of Kratos, following the trace of a dead scholar's letters about marvellous spiders, the pseudonephila. While her husband becomes increasingly focussed on his work, Sophia befriends a local woman named Hira, and is drawn into the island's secrets.

The larger part of the narrative is the story of Henry Latimer, recently widowed (his wife died in childbirth) and working for his father-in-law, an audiologist. When Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy (great-nephew of James Ashmore) visits the shop in search of a device that will restore the hearing of his deaf daughter Philomel, Henry is struck by the man's charisma: he soon finds himself on a train to Telverton, with a suitcase of auricles and audinets, where he will test Philomel's hearing himself. Telverton is dominated by the silk factory, and Henry has already discovered that Telverton silk has miraculous properties. One side of the fabric confers blessed, luxurious silence. The other side of the silk gives off 'some sort of unpredictable vibration', which has rendered many of the factory workers partially deaf -- or worse. Henry quickly becomes Sir Edward's assistant and confidant, refusing to listen to the warnings of Philomel's governess. All factories have accidents, don't they?

There are no happy endings here, though the conclusion of Henry's story is undeservedly hopeful. I found it hard to like him, though his situation was pitiable: he's spineless, indecisive and blinkered. Sophia and her story were much more engaging, but she too was under the influence of a selfish, privileged man. James was monstrous in his disregard for his wife: Sir Edward's motivation, in his dealings with Henry, was opaque to me. Collins' writing is luscious and Gothic, and she writes powerfully about the gift of silence, and the ways in which women can be silenced, as well as the horrors of industry and the evils to which knowledge can be bent. I think this is a well-written, fascinating and complex book. I am not at all sure that I liked it.

Warnings for ableism, miscarriage, drowning, cruelty to animals, poverty, torture, emotional abuse, capitalism, spiders.