About the Book:
Henry dreams of silence.
A world without the clattering of carriages through cobbled streets, the distant cries of drunken brawls, the relentless ticking of the clock.
Then he meets a fascinating, mysterious gentleman who sells just that. Precious silk that can drown out the clamour of the world – and everything Henry is so desperate to escape.
Summoned to Sir Edward's secluded factory to try to cure his young daughter's deafness, Henry is soon drawn deeper and deeper into the origins of this otherworldly gift: a gift that has travelled from ancient Mediterranean glades to English libraries.
Ignoring repeated warnings from the girl's secretive governess, he allows himself to fall under the spell of Sir Edward and his silk… but when he learns its true cost, will it be too late to turn back?
From the #1 bestselling author of THE BINDING, this is an enthralling story about complicity, desire and corruption – a novel to lose yourself in.
Published by HarperCollins Publishers Australia
Released May 2024
My Thoughts:
Every so often you read a novel that is so blinding in its brilliance: uniquely plotted and beautifully written.
The above quote is from my own review of The Binding by Bridget Collins. In The Silence Factory, she has done it again. The end. Only joking! But seriously, this novel is brilliant. I could not put it down and read it in a day, no mean feat for me as it was 380 pages long and that is getting dangerously close to being a 'big book', which I'm reading less and less of lately. But in truth, when it comes to Bridget Collins, I would read any length of novel. She is an absolute master of the Victorian era gothic historical fiction niche.
First of all, if you're afraid of spiders, this novel will terrify you. This is not a warning to take lightly. Many aspects of this story tread the boards of horror, but when it comes to the spiders, I can only imagine that if they terrify you, you will find this an extremely discomforting read.
Bridget Collins captures the Victorian era of industrial progress and social disharmony with perfection. The poverty, the lack of workplace regulations, the dismissal of the poor as having rights, the abuse of children within the workplace. It's all here, in technicolour sobriety. I absolutely love how she brings this era to life, highlighting the corruption and greed that drove so many on their quest for wealth and status.
Our main character, Henry, is a sad man, He has lost his wife and infant, he works in a job that he doesn't particularly like for a father-in-law he has nothing in common with and feels like a disappointment to. He is ripe for plucking by a manipulative industrialist driven by greed and corruption. While Henry is dazzled at first, by flattery and desire, he slowly begins to comprehend the horror of what he has been drawn into.
Alongside this storyline is another, the diary of the wife of Sir Edward's uncle, Sophie. It details a sordid tale of botanical theft and greed, of betrayal and desperation. Sophie's story just about broke my heart. It's an example of so many historical instances of colonial theft and entitlement.
Needless to say, I highly recommend this one. A stunning, brilliant novel.
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.
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