A fascinating story. Set just before and during the French Revolution the book opens in Paris in 1789 where an unnamed woman watches three people being taken in a tumbril to meet Madam Guillotine! Going back in time we meet sisters Lara and Sofi who live in Marseilles with their parents. Times are very hard for the working man and there is unrest all over the country. When their father is tragically killed and they are thrown out of their home they travel with their mother to work in the Oberst factory which prints high class wallpaper, just outside Paris. Told from the POV’s of Sofi, Lara and Hortense this is a slow burning and evocative story.

Briefly, it isn’t long before the beautiful Lara catches the eye of the wealthy owners son, Josef. However, Josef is forced into an arranged marriage with spoilt and selfish aristocrat Hortense and to keep her nearby he arranges for Lara to become his wife’s ladies maid. Meanwhile Sofi is becoming more and more involved with those seeking to overthrow the aristocracy. And the strangest thing is happening, the pictures on the wallpaper in Lara’s room seem to be mirroring what is happening in real life!

Whilst Lara is likeable, Sofi comes across as self centred and jealous and Hortense is just another level of narcissistic; although my opinions did soften slightly later in the story. There are so many secrets that have been hidden for years and I had no inkling about any of them. I liked that this was a new setting for me. I read a lot of historical fiction and this was original, and brilliantly brought the terrible conditions of the poor and the treatment of women, regardless of class, to life. A dark and compelling gothic tale. Enjoyable read.

Paris 1789 in the time of the French Revolution.
After their father dies Sara and Lara have been told by their mother that they must find work. So, the pair are sent to the Oberst Factory where they make intricate wallpaper. They soon come to realise that the woman featured in this wallpaper is of the owner’s late wife. Sofi’s political favour grows but Lara is attracting the interest of the owner’s son Josef. Lara who think there is a future in the relationship is sadly mistaken when Josef takes on a new wife Hortense a stuck up aristocratic who hates living in Paris and is in danger becoming like the late wife in fron of the Guillotine.
In the first part of this story, I found it to be an interesting premise but as I read on the storyline for well-drawn out and sometimes felt parts were unnecessary. This is a very long sty and although I did enjoy some of it. By the last 25 % I just skimmed read the rest of this story as I was losing interest. 3.5 stars from me.

Historical fiction for 2025: ‘The Woman in the Wallpaper’ by @lorajoneswriter (out in Feb 25). [AD/PR copy]

I’ve seen a lot of hype for this one - the story of sisters working in a wallpaper factory in Revolutionary France, where appearances are deceptive and the wallpaper itself seems to contain impossible images that mirror unfolding events.

Being impatient, I leapt at the chance of an advanced copy via Netgalley, but there’s always a nagging doubt with hype …

And I’m delighted to report that, for me, this more than lived up to it.

I found it brilliantly plotted with a masterful drip-feed of uncanny intrigue. Each crumb of enlightenment is served with a twist that takes things in new, often darker, directions.

It’s easy to be swept into the world of the factory, its melancholy young master, the sisters, and the mystery of what the printed paper actually shows. The characters, while doing some awful things, are compellingly complicated and sympathetically nuanced. I also loved the gorgeous illustrations that ape the wallpaper designs (swipe for a couple).

Eerily, given the novel’s theme of wallpaper mirroring life, when I was wondering what to photograph for this post, I opened a drawer of my dresser and found some (mock) C18th wallpaper…

Highly recommended if you like your historical novels deliciously twisty with irresistible slow burning tension.

Big thanks to @netgalley for the eARC.

It took a little while to get through but overall this was a mostly enjoyable read.

I liked the idea of the luxurious wallpaper mirroring the sisters lives but I didn't feel particularly enthralled by any of the sisters and wasn't rooting for anyone. It felt overly long and there wasn't enough to keep me reading so I was disappointed.

Thank you to the publisher for reaching out and offering me this ARC.

This was just okay if I’m being honest. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters. Lara was probably the only character that was likeable in any way. Sofi was insufferable. The story itself felt kind of messy and didn’t really seem to know what direction it was going in. It’s a very long book with not much happening inside those pages. Scenes that should have emotionally impacted me didn’t because I just wasn’t connected to any of the characters. There’s also some weird attempt to make us sympathise with a rapist as well. “What he did was wrong but” nope, there’s no but there. I kind of lost any respect for the story at that point. It will be released on 20th February 2025.

Took me a while to fully get into this book as it wasn't my usual genre, it was enjoyable however it's not something I'd go back and read again and I feel like it was lacking something that keeps me on the edge of my seat.

It was good to read a book set during the French Revolution as it is a different background to the usual, but it just didn’t hit the spot for me. I was intrigued by the idea of the luxurious wallpaper mirroring the sisters’ lives but the characters weren’t developed enough and the plot didn’t move along as I would have liked.

I really struggled to read this book and it seemed overly long. The characters are wooden and the sisters' voices are so similar that I had to keep checking whose story I was reading. The story seems very clichéd and the men are stereotypes. Reading other reviews I seem to be in a minority but I'm afraid it just didn't appeal to me.

Set during the French Revolution, this is the story of sisters Lara and Sofi, who go to work at the Oberst Factory, where luxury wallpaper is created for wealthy homes. The design features images of a woman, believed to be the late Mrs Oberst, who died in mysterious circumstances, but also seems to reflect events in Lara’s life. As revolution and violence takes hold in France, what will become of the sisters and the family they are now involved with? This novel is set in a fascinating period not often featured in historical fiction and the ideas behind the story are interesting. However, I did not like the writing style, finding it over-fussy and dramatic, did not enjoy the gothic tone and could not engage with any of the characters. This probably says more about my taste in books than any lack in this one- it was just not my kind of read.

Set in 18th Century France at the time of the French Revolution ,the story follows three women ,two sisters Sofia and Lara and Hortense who is privileged and demanding and the wife of the owner of the wallpaper factory where they are employed. It is a long and at first slow read but captivating with interesting historical details lots of twists and turns and a satisfactory ending. Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

Lora Jones's debut work, “The Woman in the Wallpaper,” is an intriguing historical fiction depicting the gripping events of the French Revolution. The narrative zeros in on three young ladies whose unknown connections are revealed at the Oberst wallpaper factory.

The author skillfully weaves the history depicted in the novel with the thrilling suspense of a mystery. Jones creates vivid images that transport the reader to Paris in the 1780s and describes the emotions and tension of the characters in the style of a first-person narrative. In each chapter, you get to read how other characters also experience the events and their personality shapes their narrative.

To conclude, Lora Jones’s novel “The Woman in the Wallpaper” is an enjoyable historical work. It presents the vision of the past from a fresh understanding. Nevertheless, I would have preferred the primary plotline to be more complicated with frequent changes, and less of a fixed scheme between a few significant episodes.

It took me a few attempts to engage with the characters in The Women in the Wallpaper, but once I did, I was enthralled by the narrative.

This is not a quick read. It is rich in detail (sometimes a little too rich), and the narrative waivers and fluctuates. Sometimes, mere hours go by, and other times, days, weeks, and even years pass between chapters, making it feel a little disjointed. While the story is told from three points of view, Hortense is the lesser of these three leads, although her narrative is the one that propels much of the final sections of the story. Sofi and Lara are both interesting characters, if sometimes difficult to recall which one is which when swept away by the story's events.

That said, the story is enthralling, almost claustrophobic at points, and there are secrets and lies that must be uncovered by the three women as well as about the three women. None of our characters are particularly reliable narrators, all hold something back from the reader which results in the terrifying conclusion to the tale. And aside from the women, the other characters are often not what they seem either. And neither is the wallpaper!

An absorbing and complex tale, it is a delight to read (and well worth persevering through the first few chapters to get to grips with the characters.)

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.

Set in revolutionary France, Woman in the Wallpaper follows the lives of three young women whose lives collide in the most unexpected way.

Full of tension and intrigue, this book is gripping from the start! Set in late eighteenth century France, It paints a vivid and heart-wrenching depiction of poverty, anxiety, and class divisions in the build up to the Revolution. You can’t help but feel a mix of sorrow, sympathy, and frustration as the book flits between each woman’s POV. Sofi, Lara and Hortense are each trapped in their own way, and all are more than what they seem.

It’s not the fastest pace book, it takes a while for the plot to build momentum and it is only in the last 25% or so that it really starts galloping. But the characters captured me from the start and once it gets going it I devoured it. There are plenty of twists and turns I didn’t see coming and it made for an ultimately enjoyable read!

This was a good engrossing read with enough switches along the way in the storyline to keep you guessing.

I really believed in the sisters and their lives. I am immensley grateful I live in sedate and relatively peaceful UK. I only have to watch the news to see many other young women are going through terrible times.

The details of life are good and all in all this is an excellent novel

It took me a while to get into this novel - the beginning seemed quite drawn out. However, towards the middle of the book the plot started get quite exciting. The historical aspect was quite interesting too and I appreciated the research. Still, I'm not keen on books where I really have to persevere which is a shame because the ending was quite exciting.

I was excited to read this book as I love historical drama. There were parts of the book that were really good and kept you hooked but overall I kept waiting for something more to happen. There just wasn’t enough drama and action for me. I liked the characters and the tri-narrative but I just didn’t vibe with it enough. I would pick up another book by the author in the future so it hadn’t put me off completely. It was just missing that little bit of pizzazz.

The Woman in the Wallpaper by Lora Jones

People unable to afford food, complaints about a living wage, disaffection with the wealthy and riots in the streets. Not the UK in 2024, France 1789, the impending French Revolution.

Against this tumultuous backdrop, almost penniless sisters Lara and Sofi find their way to Paris, to start employment at the Oberst Wallpaper Factory. Here the worlds of the desperate poor and decadent rich begin their collision with a fallout of love, hate and death.

Some of the lavish wall coverings produced in the workhouse depict inked vignettes of family occasions; but look deeper. Do these harbour a darker secret? Do they alter over time?

A perfect mixture of history,mystery,passion and sense of adventure.

#doc.reading.room

Sisters Lara and Sofi fall on hard times following the death of their father, and leave their home in southern France for new lives near Paris at the famous Oberst wallpaper factory which supplies the upper class. Lara is always seen as the popular and pretty sister, soon drawing the eye of the heir to the factory, Josef, whilst Sofi must continue to work in the harsh conditions of the factory.

The patterns in the wallpaper start to match Lara's life and along with a feeling that she's being watched, her new life in the Oberst's grand chateau as lady's maid to Josef's spoilt new bride and Lara starts to feel like she's going mad.

This is so well written, full of historical detail but never slow or laboured. Based partly on life during the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille, I highly recommend pre-ordering this for next year 💜

Absolutely riveting. I couldn’t tear myself away from this amazing tale; a totally unexpected gem of a story. It’s an historical novel, based around fact, but with a unique and interesting twist. Much centres on the French Revolution, but views events from a female perspective. It’s rich in period detail which takes the reader right to the heart of events. But more than that, it’s a haunting tale told through three narrative voices. There’s an eerie mystery around a figure represented in a wallpaper pattern…it sounds so improbable, but it’s a cracking tale that unfolds bit by bit. Well written and although slow paced in parts, it’s a story that’s indulgent and compelling. One of the best historical fiction books I’ve read this year.

Atmospheric with plenty of gothicky feels, The Woman in the Wallpaper follows two sisters Sofi and Lara and their changing fortunes against the background of the French revolution.

I enjoyed an insight into women during the French revolution and I was a big fan of feisty Sofi. I also love an unlikeable character (if that makes sense) and they don’t come much more unlikeable than the ridiculous Hortense

Did feel a bit lengthy though and I found myself losing interest in the third quarter or so before it picked up again towards the end.

A really strong debut and would definitely be interested to read more from Lora Jones