The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins

384 pages; Published by The Borough Press on 9th May 2024; Dimensions: 15.9 x 3.8 x 24cm

Atmospheric, Gothic and intriguing.

The cover had me from way back, when I first saw this book was due out. At first I found it hard to buy locally, then I bought from Harper Collins in their half price May bank-holiday deal.

I was intrigued by both the title and the unique cover design. I am always attracted to something different. I got the vibes of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman published in 1892.

There are many themes explored in The Silence Factory from colonialism, grief, women’s place in Victorian society, working conditions, wealth and greed. I felt at unease reading this book, this is not necessarily a bad thing as I like a book to make me feel something. I felt a sense of foreboding.

You will notice the subtle little gold spiders on the cover, these are quite important in the narrative, which I enjoyed learning about. As for writing style The Silence Factory runs along as a double-narrative which admittedly is not my favourite style of writing, although I still enjoyed it.

The physical book is very pretty inside and out with the inside covers also having a floral design.