Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Doll Factory
- Narrated by: Tuppence Middleton
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
The Doll Factory
Buy Now for £11.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
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.
Critic reviews
"A sharp, scary, gorgeously evocative tale of love, art and obsession." (Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train)
More from the same
What listeners say about The Doll Factory
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Angela Eden
- 18-05-19
The doll factory
I real enjoyed this trip back in time to the horrors of Victorian London. I found the ending very slightly disappointing but overall it was a very good listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anna
- 26-05-20
Captivating!
I found this audio book to be utterly captivating and empowering! I loved every minute of it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mike
- 28-07-19
Enthralling story with many twists and turns.
I was modeling for an art class whilst listening to this book about art , Painting and modeling.
It felt like a real insight into life at that time. Was a really interesting read. I could not wait to read more.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 19-06-19
Her first novel.
For a first novel it is excellent. For me I found her writing exquisitely descriptive, not just the characters in the story but the way in which she brings London alive at a not so pleasant period in it's history especially for the poor. Although it paints a picture of a time and place I would love to view first hand, it is not one where I would want to have lived. To say I enjoyed this book does not go far enough but I seriously recommend you to listen to this one if you, like myself are captivated by tales of the 1800s.
At the end She mentioned that she has not finished with this period and gives a brief insite to her 2nd book and I can't wait to hear it. 5stars for The Doll Factory. May there be many more from Miss Macneal.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Caitlin Browne
- 22-05-19
Incredibly Vivid
I really enjoyed this book, the way both the author and the narrator describe iris’s process of painting was particularly inspiring, I felt like I too was learning from a master painter
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kazgriki
- 16-09-20
Evocative, imaginative and great story-telling
Wonderfully evocative of the Victoria era, this is an engaging historical thriller. Iris' mentor and lover being a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a bonus as I love the Pre-Raphaelites and am very familiar with their paintings.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- howardyates
- 03-10-19
Gripping historical faction
Terrific description of Victorian London and some of the characters who lived there.
Gripping story of a young woman with artistic talent who sought recognition.
Well narrated and an interview with the author included.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Arianna H
- 05-05-19
Excellent listen!
So richly told, this is an excellent story that takes you right back to Victorian London. Highly recommended.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- bookylady
- 08-08-19
What a stunner!
For me, this was a first novel that lived up to the hype of the myriad of glowing reviews from publishers and bloggers. It was a really satisfying listen and I particularly enjoyed all of its layers which contained a wealth of period detail and social history.
Set in the year of the Great Exhibition, the story centres on Iris who works, together with her twin sister Rose, as a face painter in a Victorian doll factory. Iris chafes against the constrictions of her life and longs to escape and be a painter. But Rose, who was once beautiful before being disfigured by smallpox, is set against her sister’s plans and wants to bind Iris to her family and the dull, limited but safe life they have in the factory.
Chance meetings between Iris and two different men set off a chain of events that will alter Iris’ life forever. Louis, an artist and a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, tempts Iris to become his model and to learn how to paint within his studio. Silas, a maker of curiosities and nick-named The Cadaver, dreams of Iris becoming his friend and of her loving him.
Both men call Iris their queen and grow increasingly to desire her. But as one of them falls in love, the other becomes more and more obsessed. It becomes clear that Iris may well have escaped a life of boredom and drudgery to find herself in a bohemian world fraught with hidden dangers.
The novel covers many different aspects of Victorian life and provides interesting insights into the art world, the lives of women, attitudes to marriage and the world of collecting. Iris is a fantastic character, a woman who knew her own mind and set about achieving her ambition to be a painter.
Tuppence Middleton did a great job with the narration.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Vicky
- 03-06-20
could feel the air
slow bad start, but once I fell for the characters it was a fantastic book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!