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Title: The Silence Factory
Author: Bridget Collins
Pages: 383
Publisher: The Borough Press
Release Date: 9th May 2024
Blurb from Goodreads:
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?
Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop
My Review:
*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley*
Note - I ended up reading the audiobook version of this book.
In 1820, Sophia Ashmore-Percy and her husband travel to a Greek island. While there, Sophia's husband searches for a special spider and Sophia grows close to one of the village women.
Several decades later, widower Henry Latimer finds himself in the home of Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy, a man in the silk business whose daughter's deafness Henry will try and cure.
Sir Edward is an ambitious man whose silk is made by spiders and has the ability to block out sound. However, the silk can also harm those around it.
As Henry becomes entangled in Sir Edward's business, he learns that perhaps there is more to Sir Edward and the spiders than there appears.
I hadn't read a book by this author before, but I'd heard good things about their previous books, so I was looking forward to reading this one.
Sophia and Henry were both likeable protagonists. However, I did like Sophia more, and did find Henry a little annoying at times, but I could understand why he acted the way he did. I felt sorry for both Sophia and Henry, as neither of them had an easy time of things.
The plot was enjoyable and held my attention, but nothing that happened surprised me, and I wasn't gripped. I also didn't feel particularly invested in what happened to Sophia or Henry.
The writing style was easy to follow and I would read another book by the author.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read.
