I have a bit of a, I admit, macabre fascination with the point where a seemingly normal person becomes unable to function in society and slips into madness. It was so stinking creepy watching these interactions play out from two conflicting perspectives and the way Silas builds up scenes in his mind that then become real to him, even though they never happened. But for Silas, the moment becomes everything. In fact, Silas’ role in society, in general, seems to be a forgettable one. It was magnificent and creepy.įor Iris, meeting Silas is an entirely forgettable moment. ❧ Oh, the worlds people can build up in their minds, based on one singular moment experienced two entirely divergent ways. Because it’s surprisingly easy to rationalize madness, as it turns out. The real pleasure of the read comes in the character development and watching things unfold, even if you know where it’s ultimately going.

If you read the blurb, you pretty much know the entire plot of this story, so there’s not many twists and surprises to be had. The Doll Factory transports the reader back to Victorian times in a vivid depiction of life, death, art, and just a smidge of crazy mixed with a Gothic atmosphere. Sure, it’s cute and really cool to watch, but I’m not going to let it eat me.

I will always show up for dark, scheming, less-than-sane characters who I would never want to meet in real life, thank you.īecause they’re fun.

Silas has only thought of one thing since that chance meeting, and his obsession is darkening by the day. Suddenly, her world begins to expand beyond her wildest dreams-but she has no idea that evil is waiting in the shadows. 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. For Iris, an arrestingly attractive aspiring artist, it is a brief and forgettable moment but for Silas, a curiosity collector enchanted by all things strange and beautiful, the meeting marks a new beginning. In 1850s London, the Great Exhibition is being erected in Hyde Park and, among the crowd watching the dazzling spectacle, two people meet by happenstance. In this “sharp, scary, gorgeously evocative tale of love, art, and obsession” (Paula Hawkins, #1 bestselling author of The Girl on the Train), a beautiful young artist in Victorian London is stalked by an insane collector of curiosities who may also be a serial killer.

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal