'The Silence Factory' is a compelling tale that weaves together elements of mystery, romance, and the supernatural against the backdrop of the industrial revolution. With a premise centred on the allure of silence and the dangers of unchecked ambition, Collins delivers a story that is both atmospheric and thought-provoking.

The novel follows the journey of Henry Latimer, a widowed audiologist in London, whose life takes an unexpected turn when he encounters Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy, a wealthy and enigmatic figure seeking help for his deaf daughter, Philomel. Drawn into Sir Edward's world of secrets and intrigue, Henry finds himself entangled in the mysteries surrounding a peculiar silk fabric that promises to block out all sound—a discovery with roots that stretch from ancient Mediterranean sanctuaries to the bustling streets of London.

One of the novel's strengths lies in its dual narrative structure, alternating between the perspectives of Sophia Ashmore Percy in the 1820s and Henry Latimer in the present. While Henry's story drives much of the plot, it is Sophia's narrative that lends a deeper sense of richness and complexity to the tale. Sophia's journey on a remote Greek island, her friendship with the enigmatic Hira, and her encounters with a scientist on the brink of discovery add layers of depth to the overarching narrative.

However, despite the novel's compelling premise and evocative setting, there are moments where the pacing falters, particularly in the middle sections where Henry's storyline dominates. As a reader, I found myself yearning for more of Sophia's perspective, as her story proved to be far more captivating and emotionally resonant.

Nevertheless, Collins's prose is as enchanting as ever, immersing readers in a world brimming with vivid imagery and palpable atmosphere. The descriptions of the factory, with its cacophony of noise and its oppressed workers, are particularly striking, serving as a stark contrast to the tranquil beauty of the Greek island where Sophia's story unfolds.

In terms of characterisation, Collins excels in crafting multifaceted individuals who grapple with themes of ambition, desire, and the consequences of unchecked power. While some characters may fall into familiar tropes, such as the archetypal Victorian capitalist or the tragic hero, their complexities and motivations add depth to the narrative tapestry.

Overall, this is another great book from Collins, blending elements of historical fiction, Gothic horror, and fantasy into a mesmerising web (ha - see what I did there?) of intrigue and suspense. Despite its occasional pacing issues and narrative imbalances, the novel offers a compelling exploration of the human condition and the quest for silence in a world filled with chaos and noise.

DNF - As much as this sounded like a great read, I just could not become engaged in the way it was written. Surely other readers won't have such a difficult time but I found that the style was choppy & left a lot to be desired with the plot overall.

The key thing I always find myself mentioning when I talk about Bridget Collins's books, which I do relatively frequently because I loved The Binding so much that it became my entire personality for a while, is the atmosphere. The gothic vibes of this book are absolutely impeccable, and as always the premise is original and fascinating and I just sank into this story and didn't want to leave.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the advance reader copy.

I really wanted to like this book and found I couldn’t get into it.
I had considered not finishing but had heard a lot about this author.

I found the story was too long and the abrupt drop of one of the POVs felt unfinished.

The cover is beautiful and I imagine there are people who will love this book but it wasn’t for me.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

The cover is stunning
The inside just as much so

I was soooo immersed in this from the beginning
stunning book

I enjoyed both storylines of The Silence Factory. As with other Bridget Collins books, the world building, plot and prose of her newest book are just perfect! It is a very descriptive novel that picks up the pace so well, which makes the book very exciting!

I highly recommend The Silence Factory to all gothic and mystery book lovers!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

3.5*
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

In The Silence Factory we follow Henry, an audiologist ending up as an advertising guy for Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy and his industry where he makes a special silk that blocks out all sound of the modern age, who ends up in a gothic mystery surrounding both the silk and Sir Edward, and Sophy, in Spain with her husband on the hunt for a unique species of spider.

I really enjoyed the gothic aspect, perfectly matched with Collins' smooth but flowery writing style. There is clearly something fishy going on under the surface, and it gives you this creeping sort of dread as you get further into the story and the mystery unravels around Henry. The historical aspect is also very well written, and it mostly did feel sort of like reading an actual classic. It's a very atmospheric read, and also a lot more character driven than I expected; I think I would have enjoyed it more than I did if I had been less focused on the plot going into it.

The characters were, despite this being a character focused book, not my favourite. On the one hand, a lot of the central themes involving the characters were truly interesting, like Sophy's discoveries and relationships to herself, her husband and her sexuality, or the more overarching story of the grand plans of men and their consequences for women in their lives. Although most of the story is told through the perspective of a man (whose own journey with grief and loneliness is also very interesting), the women are definitely more central. However, I found the characters to be largely uninteresting, especially Henry; him as torn between his infatuation for Sir Edward and his knowledge that what Sir Edward doing is wrong was interesting, but he seemed naive to such a degree that it felt unrealistic and hard to empathise with. This also made the plot feel pretty slow, up until the ending it felt like nothing had happened other than general back-and-forth around the same issues. The ending, however, was one of my favourite aspects of the book, it tied up both the plot and the character arcs in such a satisfying way, and left off in a surprisingly hopeful place.

Generally, I wouldn't say that this was a bad book, but rather that it wasn't for me. For the right reader, though, I have no doubts that it easily could become a new favourite!

The Silence Factory could fairly be described as a Gothic novel - there is an undercurrent of creepiness and perhaps even an excursion into very mild horror territory - and I mean very mild...it isn't scary (it isn't meant to be), it's Gothic. The story is set in dual timelines which I took to be around 60 - 70 years apart. Unfortunately, the parts of the book set in the earlier time dragged and didn't add anything to the plot. My heart sank every time the focus switched to that era. The later era is better and the relationship between the two main protagonists is nicely drawn with just enough information left out to make it intriguing.

This is a well-written and nicely constructed novel but for me at least there is just something missing to give it a real hook. I didn't find myself in a rush to return to it to continue the story.

Horribly boring. Such a slow start and then the main plot point of the daughter is brushed aside for a whole new story instead! All over the place

The Silence Factory is a haunting and dark historical fiction with elements of fantasy and magic. The writing itself is beautiful, but the tale it tells is full of the vast spectrum of the human condition; love and loss, romance, tragedy, kindness, greed, hope, power and cruelty.

Similar to Collins’ previous books, there is again a touch of magic realism weaving itself through the pages. The story unravels itself over two timelines - a remote Greek island in the 1820’s and England in the latter end of the same century with the two narratives being brought together well.

To sum up it’s a fabulous original creepy well written gothic thriller, full of atmosphere and with a satisfying ending. For readers who enjoy historical fiction with a bit of a twist and something a little different.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book through NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, Harper Fiction, The Borough Press, which did not influence my unbiased and honest review of the book.

First the writing is really gorgeous and I really enjoyed that side of it BUT I wasn't to into the actual book, it was average for me and I did want to know what happened next but didn't speak to me to much and I doubt it will be memorable sadly.

I actually really enjoyed the writing in this book. I love Bridget Collins her book “ The Binding” and the prose made me fall in love with it there too. The story is also very intriguing and well written. It’s just. I was. So. Uncomfortable. Which I believe was kind of the purpose of this book, so I can’t blame it for making me uncomfortable but I just do not like the feeling at all and I keep reading books that are in fact meant to make me uncomfortable. I enjoyed most of it though so it’s a 4 star in the end.

I received an ebook arc of this third adult novel by Bridget Collins and got to about 60% when I knew I needed the beautiful edition in my life!

The Silence Factory tells the dual narratives of Henry and Sophie, both stories entwined by this magical silent spidery silk. Henry is an aurist sent to visit Sir Edward in order to help his deaf daughter and yet Henry discovers this otherworldly gift that has travelled from ancient Mediterranean glades to English libraries. It contains the gift of silence and Henry is so desperate to leave all the noise and clamour of his life behind that he agrees to help Sir Edward promote it further.

He is given the journals of an ancestor of Sir Edward's, Sophie who is married to a scientist, also obsessed with these spiders and their silk, and we read of her desperation to feel some kind of connection with her husband or at least someone nearby, willing to be a friend.

I loved this creepy tale of old houses and spidery silk. I felt so desperately sad for Sophie and her story and loved how Collins intertwined the narratives so the reader knew more than she about her ending. Henry seemed a sad figure too, giving love where it wasn't deserved and desperate to leave his past behind, haven't we all been there? Just a desperately sad tale with those creepy silky spiders nearby.

Perfection!

I was sent a copy of The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins to read and review by NetGalley. This is a really intense and compelling novel with a great sense of place and a believable cast of characters. The author, as always, managed to conjure up the atmosphere and emotion in some beautifully written prose. There were a few anomalies here and there and some moments were a little repetitive, but this didn’t really spoil my enjoyment of the book too much and I still think that it deserves the maximum 5 stars. A great engrossing read.

This was a really creepy story based around extraordinary, imported spiders, who spin webs which have a strange effect on people. A factory was set up which utilised the webs the spiders spun to make curtains, clothes etc.. It also affected the minds and health of the community where it was built. Very dramtic conclusion.

I really liked the premise of this gothic historical novel - some mysterious Greek spiders produce silk that completely deadens sound but also drives susceptible people mad. Grief and madness, secrets and desires: all good fun!

A gothic, romantic, and haunting story which takes place from two povs decades apart. In the early 19th century, a married couple travel to remote Greek islands looking for spiders with mythical qualities. It appears to be a hopeless endeavour and, in the search, Sophia lonely and repressed, finds herself drawn to an enigmatic women. Years later the spiders have been transported back to England, in the height of industrialisation, and Sir Edward is eager to make his fortune with the strange but magical silk the spiders’ weave. We follow Henry Latimer as he is drawn to the home of Sir Edward, his family, and the silk. This novel captures beautifully the greed, exploitation, and exploration of this century. The new noise of the factories and growing cities of the Victorian period which is exhilarating and maddening, and the loss of time which seemed more delicate and mythical.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Now it's official: Gothic stories are not for me. I couldn't wait for this one to end. The prose was beautiful, Bridget Collins writes magically, yet the story was dragging and I felt that it was much ado about nothing. OK, a bit of an exaggeration. Sadly there's not a single character who could be likeable.
I'm not giving up on the author just yet though.

Where do I begin describing this book... This is a story of industrialism in a small factory town in Victorian England where the workers, amongst which are children, are being exploited. It is a commentary on the mistreatment of women by society and the men in their life. It is a story of obsession when it's confused for love and it shows us clashes of cultures and classes through our main characters.

The story has two timelines: one in the past through diary entries of a woman that joins her husband on a scientific expedition. He is in search of a spider that produces a silk that has magical properties. As she is neglected by her husband she finds herself enchanted by a local woman. The timeline in the present (Victorian London) follows a young widower who wants to start a new life and is offered that opportunity by a charismatic factory owner that produces that exact silk that I just mentioned. This story was well-written and it thematically quite unique. The only points of critisism I have are that I was annoyed at times by the blind obsession/lack of critical thinking by Henry, one of our main characters and that the story dragged on a bit too long and it got a bit dull at those points. The story, however, was unlike any other and makes me want to read more by this author.

After absolutely loving The Binding, I was very nervous about picking this one up! I do love the way Collins writes and this gothic vibe was certainly atmospheric. I love dual POV and I think that helped but I’m not sure I connected with the characters and I’m not sure this one hit me with the same impact as the binding, sadly,