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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
The Crystal Palace was built to house the first International trade fair. Championed by Prince Albert, the exhibition hall was a showcase of the Industrial Age's newest inventions. The art displays impacted Victorian taste and inspired an interest in Japanese and Moorish art. Objects included the rare, like the Kooh-N-Nor diamond, and the commonplace, like three Kentucky-made bed quilts. Then there were the curiosities of which the Victorians were so enamored. Fourteen taxidermists had displays like stuffed kittens sitting at a table having tea.
The Crystal Palace is at the center of Elizabeth Macneal's novel The Doll Factory.
It is Dickensian in its sweep of characters.
There are the enterprising street urchins Albie and his sister, children who take up any work to provide for themselves--including prostitution and providing dead animals to the taxidermist Silas Reed.
Silas, damaged, unloved and unloveable, is one of the most interesting and chilling villains, more complicated than Bill Sykes and less self-aware than Uriah Heap. Silas is most drawn to curiosities, things both grotesque and lovely.
Silas is fixated on the girl Iris, whose collar bone was broken at birth, leaving her with a marred beauty.
Iris works painting porcelain doll faces with her sister Rose. Iris longs to escape the drudgery of her work, secretly painting with dreams of being an artist. Rose's gorgeous beauty was ruined by smallpox, leaving her bitter. Albie earns a bit by sewing simple skirts for the dolls.
And into this mix we have Louis Frost, a bohemian artist in the new renegade school of art called the Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood.
Louis needs a model for his painting. Iris longs to escape the drudgery of doll faces, secretly painting with dreams of being an artist. A pact is made: Iris will model for Louis and he will teach her to paint.
Iris blossoms under Louis's tutelage. But a jealous Silas fantasizes she really loves him. We are taken into a horrifying descent into Silas's sick world, with a Gothic plot twist, and a climactic ending.
I loved this journey! As a devotee of Victorian Age literature and art, and for the page-turning thriller ending, it was perfect.
I was given access to a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
The Crystal Palace is at the center of Elizabeth Macneal's novel The Doll Factory.
It is Dickensian in its sweep of characters.
There are the enterprising street urchins Albie and his sister, children who take up any work to provide for themselves--including prostitution and providing dead animals to the taxidermist Silas Reed.
Silas, damaged, unloved and unloveable, is one of the most interesting and chilling villains, more complicated than Bill Sykes and less self-aware than Uriah Heap. Silas is most drawn to curiosities, things both grotesque and lovely.
Silas is fixated on the girl Iris, whose collar bone was broken at birth, leaving her with a marred beauty.
Iris works painting porcelain doll faces with her sister Rose. Iris longs to escape the drudgery of her work, secretly painting with dreams of being an artist. Rose's gorgeous beauty was ruined by smallpox, leaving her bitter. Albie earns a bit by sewing simple skirts for the dolls.
And into this mix we have Louis Frost, a bohemian artist in the new renegade school of art called the Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood.
Louis needs a model for his painting. Iris longs to escape the drudgery of doll faces, secretly painting with dreams of being an artist. A pact is made: Iris will model for Louis and he will teach her to paint.
Iris blossoms under Louis's tutelage. But a jealous Silas fantasizes she really loves him. We are taken into a horrifying descent into Silas's sick world, with a Gothic plot twist, and a climactic ending.
I loved this journey! As a devotee of Victorian Age literature and art, and for the page-turning thriller ending, it was perfect.
I was given access to a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you like Victorian England ala Dickens,this is for you. Though be aware that this novel will give you more detail of the dreary and often gross parts of everyday London living. The Pre-Raphaelites, the Great Exhibition, hard-working women, men, and children all have roles in this novel. In the right hands, this could be an amazing BBC/PBS production.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Started and finished date - 01.04.25 to 03.04.25.
My rating - Three Stars.
I did enjoyed this book but I didn't love it and The cover of book was okay. The paced of plot was well structured. The writing was okay and the atmosphere was pretty great also world building was well done. The ending of book was fine and I feel the characters were bit bland and I would have them to flash out bit
My rating - Three Stars.
I did enjoyed this book but I didn't love it and The cover of book was okay. The paced of plot was well structured. The writing was okay and the atmosphere was pretty great also world building was well done. The ending of book was fine and I feel the characters were bit bland and I would have them to flash out bit
Love, art, obsession all set within Victorian London. Historically positioned in1850- 1851 on the opening of the great exhibition in Hyde park, is a story of two sisters Iris and Rose. Both work in a Doll factory painting faces... Iris, an aspiring artist, yearns for more and runs away with the help of Louis a Pre-Raphaelite painter. She falls in love with Louis, however unbeknownst to her she has another admirer, Silas who has a darkening obsession.....
The first half of the book sets the scene and characters, it's slow in parts but I loved the descriptive history, you can smell and picture the Victorian London era.
Second half is quick paced as the story ramps up, abduction turns dark and lovers are ripped apart....
Silas is a wonderful gloomy character, obviously a troubled past, his obsession with collecting, preservation and obsessive tendancies makes a great villan.
A good story
The first half of the book sets the scene and characters, it's slow in parts but I loved the descriptive history, you can smell and picture the Victorian London era.
Second half is quick paced as the story ramps up, abduction turns dark and lovers are ripped apart....
Silas is a wonderful gloomy character, obviously a troubled past, his obsession with collecting, preservation and obsessive tendancies makes a great villan.
A good story
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
goddamn. this was good. i haven’t read a proper 1800s historical fiction in a while and this. was. delicious. it’s like You based in 1850s London, except without the glorification/fetishisation of stalkers/sociopaths? it’s really really really well written (i love me some unreliable psychopath narrators), and taps into some (unfortunately still relevant) aspects of being a woman in a Society™️. i found the premise really engaging, and the pacing was pretty good. also the aesthetics, my god, the aesthetics!! the symbolism of trapping a copy of something by painting it versus the trapping of the thing itself by taxitermying it!! the juxtaposition of light and life and darkness and death!! if i may have one complaint (and i may, this is my review), i wish there had been a bit more of an ending to tie up some loose ends and see certain characters’ reactions to them. but other than that, if you’re looking for a creepy 1800s sorta thriller, look no further.
(dark romance lovers stay away, this is not that kind of book, and if you are attracted to the main antagonist, please seek professional help girlies)
(dark romance lovers stay away, this is not that kind of book, and if you are attracted to the main antagonist, please seek professional help girlies)