The historical time period has been described vividly. The character that most stole my heart was the impish pickpocket, Albie. Salter, the twisted, lonely, Silas, the artist Louis Frost, even the pet wombat Guinivere, all were easily imagined by the reader. The tragic Whittle sisters, the evil Mrs. This brilliant cast of characters were all well wrought. Some books, like this debut by Elizabeth Macneal, is well researched with loads of factual information thinly disguised. This novel is set in the mid nineteenth century and back then, for the average person, times were far from good.Īnother thing I appreciate about historical fiction is that I always learn something from it, no matter how much fictional license an author takes, there are always elements of truth within. The more I read historical fiction, the more I’m convinced that the phrase “ the good ol’ days” is a misnomer.

She has exchanged her reputation, her sister’s regard, and any kind of relationship with her parents – for her freedom. The character of Iris Whittle was inspired by the true life female artist of the time, Lizzie Siddall.

Louis is a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. In exchange, Louis will teach her how to paint… When she is tempted by him to come and work as his muse, his model, she leaves her sister Rose – and her reputation – behind her. It is young Albie who introduces the artist Louis Frost to the lovely Iris. She is also envious of Iris’s artistic talent. Salter, free of her twin sister who has been bitter towards her ever since she contracted small pox. Free of the drudgery of working in the doll factory, free of the tyrannical Mrs. Our protagonist, Iris Whittle, longs to be free. When his sister ‘entertains’ customers on the bed, Albie lies under the bed and holds her hand. At only seven years of age, he has seen it all. Albie lives in a squalid room beneath a brothel with his sister, a prostitute. Remember, this story is set during the time of Charles Dickens, so the reader immediately thinks to compare him to Oliver Twist. In, a poor area of London, lives the diminutive, toothless, pickpocket Albie.

Book the doll factory