A beautiful and unique story with a setting that just draws you in. It could however have been a tad shorter, but that's a minor criticism!

I imagine from the premise of this book that it could be really interesting and unusual and a lot of people will enjoy it.
However, for me, I found the prologue irritating with untranslated french words in italics and then so gratuitously nasty with a young boy guillotined that I didn't want to read any more of the book.
Thank you to netgalley and Little Brown books for an advance copy of this book.

An easy five from me. This is an excellent read which, for me, constantly kept me thinking. I had very strong emotions for a lot of these characters, and I was at one point incredibly annoyed at the reaction of one of them, until I thought back and realised none of this was their fault either. I don’t often feel this strongly about characters but this book really got to me, and I’ve never read anything about the French Revolution before so it was a new area for me.

Overall, this captivating, complex, sad, but absolutely riveting book. Loved it.

My thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit that I really was not sure that this book was for me and doubted I would enjoy it as historical novels are not really my thing. As I agreed to review it though I started reading. Three days later ...... I was bereft that it had ended. I adored how this book made you feel that you were there experiencing the French Revolution along with the characters. I was so involved in the book that I felt I had lost friends when the book ended.
Just shows, try something new !

Against the backdrop of rumblings of Revolution in France, Sofi and Lara's lives are turned upside down when their father is killed.

They along with their mother travel to the countryside to work in the wallpaper factory of the Oberst family. Tragedy, love and heartache play out on the mysterious wallpaper lining a secret chamber and soon the girls see instances that mirror their own lives. Will death come once more for their family?

A well researched tale interjected with humanity, undercut with the drama of the impending Revolution!

This was a fabulous change from my usual thriller type reads and I loved the historical references and the gothic vibe that made it difficult one to put down. There are some really good characters throughout the book all with their own unique passions, struggles and stories to tell and as the book progresses these characters tales all begin to interweave. There is a rich and excellently written atmospheric feel accompanying the story and that’s what made the book stand out for me making it one I would recommend especially if you like a good historical story.
My thanks to NetGalley and Little,Brown Book Group UK, Sphere for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Uniquely set in France at the time of the French Revolution I was expecting to understand a bit more of how it impacted women given the 3 main narrators are all women It was a little disappointing in this regard. However, following the twists and turns in the relationships between the three women made for interesting reading The intrigues with regard to parentage of each woman kept one guessing.

I'm afraid I found this a little slow and I could not fully enter into the story. I could not bring myself to care about the characters enough.

I'm sorry about this, as I had hoped to enjoy the book more than I did.

It’s the late 18th century, The Oberst Factory creates the most fetching – and longed-for- wallpapers. But who is the woman printed on the paper? It’s rumoured that the late Mrs Oberst is the inspiration but there’s a murkiness there, with her death dubbed suspicious to say the least. Two sisters begin work at the factory and form a fast friendship with the business heir, Josef. But it’s what is depicted in the wallpaper that is attracting their attention – and honestly, it is so clever and well put together.

It sadly didn't do it for me. For a main reason: boredom. This book was too long, and too slow, where nothing much happened outside of the last ~25% of it. There's no real plot twist, as you're expecting everything because it's either too hinted or said already (for example: in the book, we get to know Hortense before the wedding and we read about her wedding to Josef. Yes, right, but it was already said in the blurb she was Josef's wife so where's the surprise in that...)

The overall story was indeed interesting, especially the ending and the consequences of each of the women's actions. Not everything is black or white, but I do feel like we kind of glossed over Josef's actions and forgave him a bit too easily. The epilogue was done well, it was a good little note to what happened to each of them after all the issues and twists happening in the story.

But yes, I feel like it could have been done with less pages, and perhaps a bit more of personality and emotions, and not only specificities of each ot them. It's a contemplative story, one you read from afar, with no attachment, but still wanting to know what would happen next.


PS: there's some historical inaccuracies that bothered me throughout the book, but the author explained at the end that some liberties were taken. Don't be like me and just gloss over it, instead of checking facts online to make sure you know your own history and what's happening in the book is innacurate lol

Thank you to Lora Jones, Little Brown and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I would recommend this to fans of historical magical realism set around the 18th century, such as The Binding, The Miniaturist, The Silence Factory, and The Embroidered Book. It's closest to The Miniaturist in the way inanimate objects start to reflect real life. Due to its similar setting to The Embroidered Book, you could almost believe they were happening at the same time. One story from the point of aristocracy, one from the point of the workers.

It's a gothic tale set in the French Revolution, complete with the obligatory mysterious off-limits attic room. It's intense from start to finish, full of twists and characters you can't help but mistrust. No one is who they seem to be.

The hardback is lovely as one could hope, with beautiful endpapers showing the wallpaper design. If you covet it as much as I do, you can buy wallpaper designed by Lora Jones herself. It's called Wallpaper that Changes and it's created in support of The Trussell Trust, a UK-based anti-poverty charity and community of food banks.

The Woman in The Wallpaper is Jones's debut novel coming out on 20th February 2025.

I give The Woman in the Wallpaper 5 stars!

A drama set within the time of revolutionary France within the backdrop of a wallpaper factory. With three female POVs it was interesting to see the female role in both of these settings from women's marches and protests to women's role in production. It also gives the viewpoint from workers and the higher classes. The author's note at the end is very interesting.
Although fascinated with the time period, location and the production of wallpaper, I didn't quite believe in the characters and their actions and some traumatic scenes seem to be dealt with quite lightly.
I would recommend this to readers who are new to the historical fiction as it feels very accessible to read despite the length and easy to keep track of what is going on with short chapters and clear chapter headings.

I've been seeing proofs of this go out to people for ages and I admit I was soooo jealous as it sounded right up my street and so audibly squealed when I was sent a digital copy!

Firstly, may I just compliment the cover - it really is very beautiful.

People who have read my reviews before know I generally dislike books any longer than 450 pages (and even that is at a push). It's not that I have a problem against long books in themselves, it's just I've only ever read a handful of those that warrant being that long. And so I'm always apprehensive starting a long book, but I was hoping that the positive reviews I was seeing would counter this.

The attention to detail Lora has gone into is so impressive. I don't know her background, for all I know she might own a wallpaper making business, but the amount of research I'm sure she had to do to get this as detailed as it is seems immense. It does mean I found it a little slow to get going because there was so much specific detail, but overall I came to appreciate the level of detail as it means you can get absorbed more in the story.

Alongside our main story, we also have snippets from characters in Versailles. I'll be honest, I wasn't really sure what those bits were about and how they linked to begin with, but once the two stories start to mix, then it becomes clear and I began to enjoy them.

Our narrators are three women: sisters Sofi and Lara, and aristocrat Hortense. I love reading books that are set in a time where women were subordinate, but with characters who use their voice to stand up for what they think is right. I did initially struggle to differentiate Sofi's voice with Lara's, but once the story gets going, and the two sisters start down very different avenues in their lives, then the differences become clear and the characterisation became deeper and clearer. I didn't like Hortense for the majority of the book (and I think most readers will feel the same). I suppose I did soften around the edges on a couple of occasions, but overall I felt she was a nasty piece of work, but I'm aware a lot of that will come frrom her background.

The wallpaper itself is almost another character. It helps make that which starts as an interesting historical novel, become this gothic, thrilling, political adventure through the French Revolution of the late 1700s.

There are some difficult topics covered: misogyny, racism, feminism, crimes, violence, abuse, death, rape, but they're handled all very well, and they're balanced by feelings of love and friendship and family and belief.

I said at the beginning of this review that I feel rarely do long books warrant being that long, and that's why I generally don't like them. I did twist and turn whilst reading this. I loved it, let's just say that, I thought it was so rich in detail, character and action, and was really enjoyable. A great promising debut and I think it'll do really well upon publication. But at imes I felt it was just a smidge too long, mainly at the start. So maybe if the first 1/4 of it was just a little quicker, getting to the action quicker, then it might not have been an issue. But to contradict myself here, without that introduction, without that detail and characters and backstory, then we wouldn't have really cared for the characters later on. So I'm on the fence. It's not a negative because most people I speak to love a long book, it's just my preference.

The ending was absolutely lovely. Not necessarily 100% happy or uplifting, but perfect for the story and the characters. Such an impressive debut and I'll be looking out for her future work.

This was an engaging nothing novel set during the French revolution. Sofi and Lara move with their mother to the Oberst Estate after their father is tragically killed, leaving behind Lara's suitor Guillaime. The chateau is spooky, owned by a widower and his son, with a mysterious tower room wallpapered with strange images from his childhood. Both sisters work at the factory, until the son Josef Oberst is forced into marrying the spoiled Hortense, a rich member of the nobility and Lara becomes her ladies maid. If you're looking for a dramatic read with lots of twists and turns, this is for you! I found it a little long and convoluted as we switched between Lara's gothic nightmares influenced by her tower room wallpaper (I assume referring to the famous Yellow Wallpaper story), Sofia struggling to get over her fathers death and poor relationship with her mother, Hortense's bitterness at her marriage, mysteries about Josef's mothers death and trips to Paris to see the nobility being guillotined. It felt like it could have ended significantly earlier but there were more twists and revealed back stories to come. Personally it was a bit dramatic for my taste, but there were some good surprises and a fairly satisfying ending.

This is not the normal kind of book that I would read, it reminded me of Downtown Abbey when I first started it and I wasnt sure I was actually going to enjoy it, but alas I did. The story follows a family of 4, a mother, father and 2 sisters who end up moving to another area. There are many twists and turns along the way and in essence this is a 'who dunnit' style book but also an underlying love story between couples, sisters and son & mother.

This is a gripping story set in France before and during the French Revolution. With a focus on women during this period, we hear the perspectives of sisters, Sofi and Lara and Hortense, the wife of factory owner Josef.

I initially found the changes in pov difficult, however I quickly was able to differentiate between each character and could get a sense for their personalities in the writing.

This extraordinary debut follows three young women from different ends of society navigating the tumultuous landscape of revolutionary France. Following the tragic murder of their beloved father, young Lara and her sister Sofi have found work in the countryside outside Paris at the legendary Oberst Factory, creators of extremely desirable and complex “Toile de Jouy” wall coverings for the finest French houses. A chance meeting sees the two sisters strike up a friendship with Josef Oberst, the lonely young heir to the factory, who lost his mother in mysterious circumstances. His mother’s likeness appears in some of the factory’s creations, unsettling young Lara, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the missing woman. Even more sinisterly, it seems the wallpaper in certain rooms of the family’s manor house somehow depicts scenes from Lara’s own life: can she be imagining this, or is the outside world’s political fever affecting her judgement? At the other end of the social ladder is Hortense, a young aristocrat used to the finest things in life yet suddenly promised in marriage to Josef: she must now sacrifice her comfortable life at court for her family’s status, but outside the palace’s ornate gates, society is smoldering ominously, just waiting for the right kind of kindling to ignite a revolution. Layers and layers of secrets and lies peel back in quick succession, revealing stories and subterfuge that affect all three women. A fascinating and rigorously researched tale that’s heavy on detail from this compelling time period: one for lovers of mysteries, historical adventures and feminist-focused political drama.

Written amidst the background of the French Revolution. The Woman in the Wallpaper follows the tragic circumstances of a working-class family caught up in the whims and deceits of the upper-class. Set within the overall theme of societal revolution is the story of a young boy’s loss and his misguided attempts to resurrect it at the cost of the life of those he loves. The central characters bring with them a strong sense of pathos as we accompany them on their journey. This novel explores the many complex avenues in the struggle for ‘Egalite, Fraternite and Liberte’. The novel is very engaging and well worth a read.

Set against the backdrop of pre-revolutionary France, this story of loss, bravery, obsession and deception uses both suspense and historical events. Told from the point of view of two working class sisters, Sofi and Lara, and the aristocratic Hortense, based in the Oberst wallpaper factory, this novel highlights the plight of women before and during the French revolution.
With political turmoil brewing in France, Sofi finds herself caught up with the revolutionaries and longs to play a part in shaping her country’s future. Lara, however, has other things to worry about – like the resemblance between herself and the late Mrs Oberst and the way incidents from her own life seem to be replicated in the pictures on the factory wallpaper. Meanwhile, Hortense, newly married into the Oberst family, discovers that as a member of the aristocracy she could be in the most danger of them all as the revolution picks up pace.
The novel is narrated by both of the sisters and at first, even though the name of the narrator is given at the start of each chapter, it was difficult to remember which one I was reading about as their voices felt very similar. This improved in the last quarter of the book.
Thank you to @netgalley and @littlebrownbookgroup_uk for this #arc.

111Set against the backdrop of pre-revolutionary Paris, this story of loss, love, bravery, obsession and deception is both a gripping, full of suspense psychological thriller and a rich and vivid work of historical fiction. Told from the point of view of two sisters, Sofi and Lara and the aristocratic Hortense, three very different women bought together by circumstance, this novel perfectly highlights the role of women before and during the French revolution and their public fight and need for change - a subject rarely written about in literature.

This story is exquisite in its historical detail and beautifully poetic in its prose. Full of atmosphere and suspense, the mix of thriller and the uncanny work together perfectly to create a novel that both keeps you on the edge of your seat and chills you right to the bone. Although a bit of a slow burner the pace of the novel works really well and the charac ter development is brilliantly done - i was invested in the lives of all the minor characters just as much as the main ones and I loved how the author was able to brin g all their stories together in a way that was completely uncomplicated and easy to follow.

From the storming of the Bastille to a tower with haunted wallpaper and from the stinking streets of Paris to the decadent rooms of Versailles, I enjoyed every element of this book. It is highly original, shocking in places and tragic and upsetting in others with a twist at the end that was totally unexpected. Perfect for fans of Gothic literature and historical fiction or anyone who has an interest in Revolutionary France I want to thank Netgalley and Littlebrownbookgroup for an advanced copy of this fantastic book. If I was to give one small criticism it would be the characters points of view - they were a little confusing at first and I found it a bit difficult to differentiate between them. This did improve as the novel progressed. However, ths was most definitely a four star read for me 🌟🌟🌟🌟

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