meganmccuenwitt 's review for:

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal

3.0

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I heard about this book on the podcast Tea and Tattle by Miranda Mills. Miranda always has great recommendations and I really loved hearing from the author before I read the book. I was definitely pulled in by the premise: a young woman who an aspiring pre-raphaelite painter. Anyone who has seen a painting from the Pre-Raphaelite Brother knows how dreamy the worlds they create on the canvas are. I’ve always wanted to immerse myself into their world, so with the protagonist of this novel being a model for an artist, it seemed a perfect way to do so.

This novel is sumptuous with Victorian delight. I loved the details of London in this era- from the Crystal Palace, to walks in the Royal Parks, boating excursions along the Thames, and the cobblestone streets filled with adventure. The author did a great job of bringing to life this world and the various details in it. I really enjoyed the Pre-Raphelite painters as characters, as well as Iris and her sister Rose. Albie, the “street urchin” character, was a delight.

I was really surprised by Silas. I hadn’t really understood going into this book that it was more of a dark, even horror novel. When I first started reading, he reminded me of Mr. Hancock from The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gower and I thought he would be a charming character. I WAS SO WRONG. Silas is basically a Victorian incel. This book takes a lot of terrifying turns and I was definitely distrubed by Silas in every way.

I would rate this book a 3.5 out of 5, but I’m rounding down to a three because

Spoiler

Iris has to go through SO MUCH horror and torture and stuff. She finally escapes and frees herself and I love that message, but there is not real closure to any of the plots with her sister and Louis. I would have really liked to see her unite with loved ones and get justice on Silas, instead of her just running out into the street. It seemed really cruel to put the readers through reading ⅓ of the novel of her torture with such minimal details of closure at the end.

The book takes a bit to get into, but once I was about 60 pages in, I couldn’t put it down! I do love historical fiction especially in this time period with art infused- I just had some issues with the ending.