Have you ever been to the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition? I like to go from time to time and it’s always fun despite the huge crowds of people, which make it a struggle to actually see the paintings. One striking feature of this exhibition is the amount of art. It’s here, there and everywhere in one big aesthetically organised chaos. I couldn’t help laughing at the descriptions in The Doll Factory. The story is set in 1850 – 1851, but apparently some things haven’t changed.
The Doll Factory is a dark, gothic piece of historical fiction revolving around art, love and obsession. Iris and her twin sister work at a doll factory in London, where Iris paints the faces of the porcelain dolls. She dreams of becoming an artist, but with her limited means, not to mention being a woman, this dream seems out of reach. When Louis, one of the pre-Raphaelites, asks her to model for him, Iris grabs the opportunity with both hands and gets Louis to teach her the basic techniques of painting.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Victorian London as a setting and Macneal certainly brought it alive. I could smell the unpleasant odours in the small alleys and feel the excitement at the Great Exhibition. I suffered with the poor girls at the factory, but enjoyed having tea at a fancy cafe with elegant ladies. The author moved with ease from the lowest outcasts to the privileged elite; from the masses restricted by social norms to the artists who rebel against the establishment. Class was very much a concept.
The focus on the art scene and the pre-Raphaelites was also a highlight for me. Reading about the dynamics within the pre-Raphaelites group, the relation between artist and model and Iris’ development from amateur to a real artist was great fun.
The story is narrated by Iris, who in some ways comes across as the typical heroine. With a strong mind and a passion for art, she steps outside the usual boundaries of society to pursue her dreams. Having a deformity of the collarbone, her chances of a successful, i.e. prosperous, marriage are considered low and in her parents’ opinion the doll factory is her best shot at a “happy” life. Generally, the novel has a lot to say about the position of women and their limited options in life. When accepting to become a model, assessed as being just marginally better than prostitution, Iris’ family cuts her off completely. She has to pay a high price to pursue her dreams and despite her independent mind, she is constantly torn between her new bohemian life and the old traditional values.
Whereas I enjoyed reading about Iris, I was less keen on the other central character, Silas. Normally, I love exploring a mind filled with darkness and obsession (does that sound weird?!) but perhaps Silas was just too much. There was nothing subtle about him, no fine balance between normality and madness, no utterly satisfying process of slowly realising that all may not be right with him. From the very beginning he was revealed as a creepy and highly disturbed character with no redeeming features. And if you are not keen on animal cruelty in your literature, you may find some of the scenes with Silas repulsive.
All in all, I enjoyed this debut novel immensely and the art scene in Victorian London has to be one of the most appealing settings, I’ve come across in a while. Also, I was surprised by the ending; all along I thought, “I know where this is going”, but as it turned out, I didn’t.
The audiobook includes an author interview, which I will highly recommend listening to. It will be interesting to follow Macneal going forward.
Title: The Doll Factory [2019] Author: Elizabeth Macneal Format: Audiobook, narrated by Tuppence Middleton Genre: Historical Fiction, Gothic thriller
Ah I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this novel so much because it’s one of the novels that convinced me that historical fiction really is a genre for me too. I started my review at the time with ‘Well I am a real fan of historical novels from now on’. I was impressed also by the wonderful descriptions but also that it could blend the romance and thriller genre so well. No obligation at all but if you’d like to read my review: https://bit.ly/3m0dDyT
I’ll be reading and reviewing her next novel soon: Circus of Wonders which is also set in the Victorian era. I think it’ll have interesting themes as well and will definitely show how it feels to be treated as an outcast because of your looks.
It really is a great example of historical fiction, so I can easily see why it got you convinced. I didn’t actually know how to describe the genre, it certainly is hist fic, but as you say, romance and thriller elements are included as well. Very cleverly done! Just checked out your review and left a comment. 😊 I will look forward to your review of her next book. Let’s hope it can live up to this one!
It’s very kind of you to have read and commented! I hope to read more novels like this one, where you really delve into the Victorian era. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for her next novel!
I would love to read more novels like this as well. And I am glad you enjoyed Victorian London, it’s one of my favourite settings. I will join you and cross my fingers for the next McNeal – I think it has a circus setting!
It has a circus setting, I can’t wait to read it. I enjoyed The Corset too if you want to read another novel in this era and I just added The Plague Letters to my reading wishlist. I hope to read at least one or two historical novels this year too.
I’ve seen The Corset getting good reviews, so that is certainly a possibility for a future read. I hope you have luck with your historical fiction choices, so you will continue with the genre!
Glad to hear you enjoyed this one too! It was one of my favourite reads of last year and I’m excited to see what else the author writes.
I know! I still remember your excellent review. 😊 It really was a great read and I too look forward to see what the author comes up with next.
It’s now quite some time since I read this, but your review rekindled my memories of a satisfying read. But yes, Silas isn’t anybody any of us wants to meet, particularly in Victoria London
Not sure I want to meet Silas in the streets of London even today. And taxidermy isn’t my favourite thing either, I much prefer to look at animals, whilst they are alive (although I guess it does have its uses).
Would you believe that when we lived in France, there was a nearby village with but a single shop … a taxidermist’s?
Oh no, you are kidding! 😲 What an *interesting* choice. No grocery shopping, but you can always get a taxidermy fox, in case you should run out during the weekend. 😁
To be fair, it was, I guess, a workshop rather than a shop!
Yes, but still…
Added to my list. Thanks.
Hope you will enjoy it!
I’m also obsessed with books set in Victorian London so this book has been on my TBR for a while now. It was great to hear your thoughts and I’m glad you enjoyed the book! It’s made me want to read it even more now 🙂 x
I don’t know what it is about Victorian London, it just seem such an interesting setting to read about. 🙂 I would love to hear what you think about this one, so I hope you will write a review if/when you get to it.
I’ve always thought it might be because there were so many changes happening at that time with the industrial revolution and social reform etc.
Thank you! I’m looking forward to getting to it.
Yes, I think you might be right. Also, I have this romantic picture of London back then, which I know is completely false. In reality, I probably would hate being transported back to that time, but it’s great in fiction.
Definitely agree!
I haven’t heard of this and it sounds wonderful. I love it when novels include actual people and events!
I love this as well! When reading Dickens, I always think about what the places he describes look like today. And the last time I walked down Regent Street, I wondered where the doll factory would have been located.
I found this book extremely unpleasant. I had an ARC with unfortunately no mention of taxidermy (and I think a warning about animal abuse should be have been included) so I didn’t know what was ahead – all I knew is that it was a Victorian / artist themed gothic read! I think, take away the whole Silas part of the story and it would be much improved and not so gross.
Normally, I am not too sensitive, when it comes to reading about unpleasant stuff, but I actually agree there should have been a warning regarding animal cruelty, which many people prefer to avoid reading about. Quite a few have mentioned, they had to skim over the scenes with Silas. Despite of everything, I don’t think the story would have been the same without Silas, but in my view some of the chapters could easily have been less explicit without loosing their impact.
Oh wow, sounds like something right up my alley, I love Victorian London too! Darkness and obsession sounds fun too (though I guess if it’s too much it loses its charm), so I might actually look this up and give it a try
If you like Victorian London, this is a very good choice. Mcneal’s descriptions are so vivid, you almost feel you are there. Silas wasn’t my favourite antagonist ever, but he certainly was creepy. Also, he was quite an important driver for the storyline to progress.
That’s good enough for me, I think! Even if I do end up disliking him, if the rest of the story is good, it won’t really matter 🙂
Exactly! There was so much going on besides from the plot line including Silas.
I don’t know what’s wrong with this name, but I don’t recall any character named Silas who wouldn’t be a villain/dark/obsessed personality 😉
Hehe, I hadn’t thought of that. Silas from The Da Vinci Code was pretty creepy and obsessed. There is also a Silas in Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, who used to be evil, but now he is good. Of course, he is also a vampire, so maybe your theory still holds. 😉
Maybe it’s the sibilant pronunciation? I can imagine it can sound a bit hissy 😉 Pity, though, the original Latin meaning was actually really nice 🙂
Yes, perhaps you are right. It can hardly be a coincidence. I had to look it up, but apparently it means forest / wood, which I mostly associate with positive things. Of course, in psychology, forest can refer to the dark, hidden depths of the mind and in thrillers a forest might be one of the most common crime scenes. 😉
I just imagined whispering Siiilaaaassssss… 😂😂😂
😂😂😂
Sounds good! Thanks for introducing me to the Exhibition, I had no idea.
Have you read The Blue? a historical mystery in the British world of art, a century before this one (Derby Porcelain). It’s really excellent: https://wordsandpeace.com/2018/11/27/book-review-the-blue/
I checked out your review of The Blue. It certainly intrigues me. The combination of historical fiction and suspense is perfect for me and the porcelain angle is interesting as well.
Wonderful review! I too love the setting and this historical pieces sounds all the more wonderful for making the most of it. By the way, I find it so fascinating that your whole blog is content protected! Not a single thing can be copy pasted haha! Did you run into copyright issues recently? 😮
Thanks Lashaan! Haha, yeah I had a case of my content appearing on another web page (with higher Google ranking than me!! 😏😆). Anyway, it isn’t a big issue, so I will probably remove the protection again at some point.
I’m glad you enjoyed this! I love Victorian London settings too! Have you read ‘Things in Jars’ by Jess Kidd? Ok back to the book. Although I didn’t really like the ending, I enjoyed it overall and thought it was really very well written and told. And I’ll never ever forget Silas. Brilliant review, my friend!
I am sure, it will happen sooner or later that we will strongly disagree about a book, but I am with you on this one. I didn’t like the ending either. But perhaps it is because, I expected something different? Who knows… In the audiobook the author talks a bit about the ending, which was quite interesting. I haven’t read Things in Jar, although I’ve considered it. Thanks Jee!