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The Doll Factory cover art

The Doll Factory

By: Elizabeth Macneal
Narrated by: Tuppence Middleton
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Publisher's Summary

The Sunday Times best seller - as read on BBC Radio 4.

A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice 2019.

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal is the intoxicating story of a young woman who aspires to be an artist and the man whose obsession may destroy her world forever.

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 thought of only one thing since their meeting, and his obsession is darkening....

This audiobook includes an exclusive interview with Elizabeth Macneal.

©2019 Elizabeth Macneal (P)2019 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd

Critic Reviews

"A sharp, scary, gorgeously evocative tale of love, art and obsession." (Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train)

What listeners say about The Doll Factory

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Mystery, intrigue, suspense all here

Loved this book kept you in suspense the whole time. heroine and history is awesome

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1 person found this helpful

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Absolutely fulfils every tick box

I love stories from the 1800s, descriptions of London are bright and detailed and disgusting. Everything about this book satisfied me, from the clear narration, cleverly built plot, macabre details and personalities tempered with kindness and caring. The arts are well depicted and easily understood of the time.
A really great read, well done Liz.

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So engrossing and wonderful!

I absolutely loved this, Elizabeth has a brilliant way of bringing characters to vivid life. I am an artist and the PRB are my heroes, reading this was pure joy. I loved Iris so much! I listened to the ending twice just to cheer her on. Fantastic!

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Amazing, had me on the edge of my seat

Wow, fantastic story and such a great narrator, easy to tell all the characters apart and SO good at building the suspense. Read another review which criticised the ending but I thought it was perfect. Highly recommend, five stars!!

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Loved it

I love dark Victorian novels. This one was wonderful. Not happy that my favourite character died but still I'd listen to it all over again. The ending is perfect for for the main protagonist in the story.

The narrator was exceptional, more often than not I stop listening if I think a narrator is annoying. On this occasion, I personally believe the narrator enhanced the story.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Just not for me

The storyline had promise, just wasn’t the book for me. I didn’t finish it unfortunately

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