Hello Everybody! I recently this gorgeously haunting novel and I’m *shooketh* As I read the blurb, I was sold! London 1850, in the backdrop of art and darkening obsession. I mean, what could go wrong, well, except for the protagonist!
*A physical copy was provided to me by the publishers. This review is in no way influenced by that fact. Thank you Pan Macmillan India.*
Name: The Doll Factory
Author: Elizabeth Macneal
Pages: 371
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
The Doll Factory, the debut novel by Elizabeth Macneal, is an intoxicating story of art, obsession and possession.
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 . . .
MY REVIEW
*Trigger Warning: Animal cruelty and gory details and kidnapping and attempt to rape.*
“Don’t we want to rescue women, and don’t women want to be rescued in turn?”
⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book was one hell of a ride! Set in 1850 London, with mesmerizing writing and deeply atmospheric setting, the author has created a world of art and obsession with multiple layers, showcasing the rich and poor side of the city, with an almost Dickensian portrayal of poverty and London in general.
We’ve Iris, who is sick of her dreary life working in a shop and wishes to paint. So, when she is approached by an artist to model for him, she hesitatingly agrees. She is promptly disowned by her family, including her sister, with whom she had fallen out a while back. Her family considered modelling equal to prostitution and felt Iris was dragging their good name through the mud.
This book is certainly not for everyone. Told from multiple point of views, one of them from the PoV of a psychopath with a obsession with taxidermy, this book borderlines on creepy, thriller and horror. There are various gory details, which is not for the faint of heart and will probably compel you to put down the book for a while but you’ll want to keep going because of the gripping plot.
We also have Albie’s PoV, a street urchin, who procures materials for Silas. Iris has a soft spot for Albie and often gives him money.
It’s just so fucking dark and it shows lengths someone will go to when they obsess over someone. The book also has a feminist touch, through the strong voice of Iris and there is this misguided sense of love and how all the women have to live by certain rules in the society as not to encourage nor discourage men who seek them out. The quote below will explain what I’m trying to say in a more coherent way.
How all her life has been careful not to encourage men, but not to slight them either, always a little fearful of them. She is seen as an object to be gazed at or touched at leisure: an arm around her waist is nothing more than friendly, a whisper in her ear and a forced kiss on the cheek is flattering, something for which she should be grateful. She should appreciate the attentions of men more, but she should resist them too, subtly, in a way both to encourage and discourage, so as not to lead to doubts of her purity and goodness but not to make the men feel snubbed.
Overall, It is a great debut and is quite well researched and definitely a page turner. If you enjoy historical fiction where the dark thriller genre is more prominent, give this a go!
Do you plan to read it? If you’ve read it, lemme know what you think! Bye for now!
Kaleidoscopic Nerdy 