This is a slow burn initially, as a historical fiction novel, very well written and designed to create a true literary marvel. Although fantastically imaginative, it makes it’s supernatural story, both mind blowing and enjoyable. The two different scene settings and times, which the author alternates between, as in early nineteenth century on a Mediterranean island and across to a dark bleak English factory town, later the same century, work well. The two running stories are skilfully spun together as one thread, to give rich effect and stunning climax.

The story has a very strong supernatural phenomenon as it’s driving force. In one or two places, some readers may find credibility stretched. This wonderfully fantastical story is a modern masterpiece of historical fiction. Please read!

Thank you NetGalley for such a rich rewarding eArc.

Most of all, thank you to author Bridget Collins for a truly rich literary gem of The Silence Factory

The cover for this book is stunning, it grabbed my attention straight away and the premise for the story sounded equally as good.

Henry is a widower who sells hearing aids for a living but all he seeks for himself is silence from the outside world. Enter Sir Edward who can give him just that with special silk woven by spiders that when worn one way over the ear blocks out all outside noise and when flipped over and worn the other way the silk creates auditory hallucinations or echoes.

Henry is summoned to the mysterious Sir Edward's factory to try and cure his daughter's deafness. While there Henry becomes obsessed with the silk and it's abilities.

The book has a dual timeline as the story also explores the origin of the silk through the journal entries of Sophia a young woman who has travelled to Greece with her Husband, a naturalist who seeks the rare spider.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me or rather more accurately I probably wasn't the right reader for this book. I don't read a lot of gothic fantasy and I found the writing overly descriptive which stopped me getting into the rhythm of the story. I know this book will be well loved in the hands of the right readers though and if you loved Bridget Collin's book The Binding then you'll love The Silence Factory too.

This book managed to tread that thin line between being gothic and disturbing in its content but never deviating into too much graphic detail or too dark of subject matter - apart from one passage in a diary entry which really affected me, so readers should beware descriptions of pregnancy loss and associated Victorian-era male scientist insensitivity.
The whole concept of this book, with spider silk as a ‘too good to be true’ insulating fabric in a world besieged by noise, ensnared me right from the start and I’m sure there are many others like me just waiting to be caught.

Happy pub day to this book!

As much as I wanted to love this book, I couldn’t bring myself to resonate with the characters and understand the value given to the silk they spoke so highly of. While I could empathise with the power dynamics at play, I ended up more confused than when I started. The way the flashbacks came unpredictably and ended so abruptly only left me with more questions about what was going on.

What I did appreciate though was how complex each character was. Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy was the epitome of charisma and reminded me so much of Dorian Gray, with how his greed led to his eventual downfall. Even though I hated him, he was such a well-written character. My only gripe with the people in this story was the way each of them made me anticipate redemption arcs that never came.

I wished this book had more to it, and I’m not just saying this because I hate spiders. I had hoped for a little more fantasy, depth, and myth surrounding the spiders and their treasured silk, but with everything else going in between Henry and his feelings, what I thought was the highlight of the book suddenly felt like a background.

I would rate this book 3.75 out of 5 stars.

I previously read The Binding by Bridget Collins, which I really enjoyed, and have The Betrayals on my TBR so I was really excited when I saw that this was available on NetGalley.

Bridget Collins has such beautiful, evocative writing and I love anything with gothic undertones which is the case in this story. She creates such interesting, complex worlds that feel lush with detail.

If you're looking for a unique, well-written, gothic tale that immediately draws you in then look no further.

The Silence Factory
Bridget Collins

“They are only spiders, for pity’s sake, Sophia! Interesting ones, I grant you. But it is mere superstition…”

I found this perplexing. The mystery sustains the forward momentum needed to continue as this was slow. But the mystery was interesting and I wanted to uncover the secrets. Namely, is the factory a blessing or an abomination?

“But the silk has enchanted you.”

This is a gothic suspense about a powerful family, the magical and dangerous silk their fortune is built on and the exploitative history they are desperately trying to hide.

It has dual timelines. There’s the 1820 timeline where Sophia reluctantly accompanies her husband James to a remote Greek island to search for rare biological specimens. 🕷️

Decades later we have Henry, an audiologist who visits Sir Edward’s home, tasked with curing his daughter’s deafness. Sir Edward owns the Telverton silk factory.

Henry is eager to escape his troubled past and becomes obsessed with Sir Edward’s world, spinning silk with the rare and magical breed of spiders.

“If deafness were all… but arain silk is perfidious. Sometimes I think it corrodes the human soul. Its silence is meretricious, and its echoes are a curse.”

I enjoyed the storyline revolving around the spiders and their silk. This was interesting, especially as Henry learnt about the silk’s potentially cursed nature that can manifest in various afflictions.

“It is the silk. It is wrong, Mr Latimer. I cannot express it any more simply than that. The silk - is - wrong.”
“It made him - ill. Worse than ill. He is an idiot now,”
“You mean that the noise damaged his hearing?”
“No! Come, Mr Latimer, I of all people know the difference between a deaf child and an idiot one. It would break your heart to see him. The noise damaged his mind.”

The Silence Factory is a historic gothic mystery that is slow and overly descriptive but has so much intrigue at its core. The ending did pick up in pace and tied in nicely.

“He’s going to paint you as Harpocrates - the god of silence, you know.”

Huge thanks to @harpercollinsaustralia and @netgalley. The Silence Factory is released tomorrow, 9th May in Australia.

“You will never drown in too much love,” she said. “It is like water, it finds somewhere to go.”

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Australia for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Silence Factory is built upon an interesting concept; supernatural spiders that a produce silk that blocks all sound on one side (hence the title of the book) and creates auditory hallucinations, or "echoes", on the other.

In the book we're following two timelines as they intersect these spiders. In the first, we follow Sophy, who has been dragged to Greece by her husband James in search of these spiders. This timeline is told through her journal entries which, due to the time setting of this book, are sometimes harrowing and deeply unsettling. In the latter timeline we follow Henry, a young widower who yearns for silence. His work selling hearing aids from his father-in-laws shop in London has him cross paths with Sir Edward, the great-nephew of James. Sir Edward has created a business of selling the otherworldly silk, and Henry is drawn into this world.

The biggest positive of 'The Silence Factory' for me was the writing. It was my first time reading from Bridget Collins, and her storytelling drew me in very quickly. She is an incredible writer, and though I may not have been this particular book's number 1 fan, I am curious to give some of her other novels a try.

Unfortunately, despite the unique premise and amazing writing, this book did not quite hit all of the right notes for me. I found almost all of the characters hard to like, and the story in some parts confusing and hard to follow. In each timeline there was a very small romantic interest sideplot that made little sense in either. The pace was also slow, however I found the suspense built by Collins' writing style made this a non-issue for me.

It is worth noting that this was my first foray into gothic historical fiction, and if you're already a big fan of the genre you may enjoy this book more than I did.

A haunting, often disturbing, gothic tale of mystery, desire, corruption, and suspense.

The Silence Factory is told in dual timelines. The first, through the diary entries of Sophia Ashmore as she travels with her ambitious naturalist husband James to a Greek island in pursuit of the rumoured, yet previously unstudied sireine spider. Sophia forms a close friendship with a local woman, Hira, who may be the key to unravelling the mysteries of the rare spider and its unusual silk.

The second timeline is told years later through the POV of Henry Latimer, an audiologist in the midst of a deep depression following the loss of his wife in childbirth and their infant daughter. Henry is unexpectedly presented with the opportunity to travel to the home of Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy and attempt to treat his young daughter's congenital deafness.

Sir Edward has gambled his livelihood by converting his lace factory to produce silk fabric from the rare sireine spiders, imported to England by his great-uncle James. The unusual silk immediately captivates Henry due to its unique sound deadening properties, though it produces disturbing side effects. Henry is quickly lured into Sir Edward's schemes, like the proverbial fly trapped in a spider's web, and spirals into an obsession that eventually turns ruinous as sinister truths are revealed.

It took me a while to get into the story, but at around the halfway mark something clicked and I flew through the rest. This is ultimately a tale about the misdeeds of men who benefit from societal structures of power, and the abuse of that power towards those deemed "less than" - Greek villagers, women, servants, factory workers and, perhaps most abhorrently, children.

An eerie and haunting story about the captivating properties of a mysterious spider silk that is being industrialised and the impacts on individuals and the community of the town where the factory is.

The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins is a really interesting premise, however I felt that it fell a bit short in its ability to captivate me as the reader and to connect with any of the characters meaningfully.

The story unfolds in an interesting way, told by Henry’s POV in the current timeline when the spider silk factory is established and running, as well as from Sophia’s POV in the past when the spider and the properties of the silk are initially being discovered. The style of narrative delivers a haunting undertone and is extremely well written.

The use of noise and sound is well executed and the mirroring of silence and cacophony throughout allows the reader to immerse themselves in the narrative.

Overall it was an interesting and enjoyable read that was extremely well written. However it is not my usual genre of interest and I would have enjoyed being able to relate or connect to the main characters a bit more.

Thankyou to #netgalley and Harper Collins Australia for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very interesting read however it wasn’t for me. It was very well written and the description of characters was very good. Thank you for the ARC and I hope to read more in the future!

‘Silence is not only silence, sir, it is attention—it is sanity.’

When I was young, I was often told that ‘Silence is golden’. And so it can be, sometimes. The choice of silence may be desired, the imposition of it is not.

Silence is at the heart of this novel. It is set across two timelines: one in Victorian England, the other two generations earlier on the fictional Greek island of Kratos. In England, the main character is Henry Latimer, an audiologist and a widower, whose chance meeting with Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy leads him to Sir Edward’s home near Telverton in the hope that he can help Philomel, Sir Edward’s daughter, who is profoundly deaf. On Kratos, the story unfolds through the diary entries of Edward’s great-aunt Sophia, who travels to Greece with her husband James in search of a spider whose silk possesses a mythical unknown power.

These spiders, we learn, have been taken from Kratos to England and are now housed in Sir Edward’s factory where their silk is harvested and made into fabric that blocks out noise. But the process of manufacturing these fabrics is not straightforward. The factory is a form of hell for those who work in it. Henry, moved by possibility, especially after his inability to help Philomel, conceives an ambitious marketing strategy.

Amidst all the noise and intrigue, across both storylines, there are many examples of silencing. In Greece, the spiders have a cultural significance and were protected. Sophia herself is silenced by her husband, Greek tradition is ignored, the spiders are stolen. In England, Philomel’s isolation through deafness is compounded by the fact that Sir Edward has forbidden her to use sign language. In the factory, some workers are deafened, others driven insane. And the spiders?

‘So the sounds were only heartbeats and air, transformed.’

Such a gothic novel, in both setting and message. I can envisage the factory, with its infernal conditions, I can imagine the distress of both the Greek women when the spiders are stolen, and Sophia as her husband disregards her. The male characters in this novel use their voices as power, the women must use other ways to get their messages out. The spiders weave a thread which can be used to create silence, but exposure to the thread can cause deafness.

This was an enthralling and unsettling read. Henry, blinded by seeking favour with Sir Edward, takes unacceptable risks. We are reminded that attempts to harness nature can be accompanied by great risk. And, all the warnings were there, in Sophia’s diary!

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

3.5 Stars

*Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

This was an interesting read.

Written quite like a classic with a very Dickensian, gothic flair, The Silence Factory is really the story of grief, enterprise, and the peace that silence brings us in the face of a loud world.

Henry Latimer meets Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy when the latter comes in search of auditory aids for his daughter. Henry becomes entranced by the man’s invention of a spider-spun silk that blocks sound and is soon enticed to join Sir Edward in the town of Telverton to assist in its marketing. But the factory has been having an eerie effect on the people of the town and despite his growing appreciation for Sir Edward, even Henry starts to see that something isn’t quite right with the spiders.

I had an interesting experience here. I really appreciated the stormy, gothic atmosphere of the story, the mystery of the spiders and ambiguity of Sir Edward’s character. I did however feel like a few story threads had little impact and that Henry was frustratingly naive and overly trusting - or arguably wilfully ignorant.

I would recommend this to fans of gothic horror and atmospheric historical thrillers. Probably not arachnophobics though.

Henry dreams of silence. A world without the clattering of carriages through cobbled street, 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 glades to magnificent 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 it’s true cost, will it be too late to turn back?

Sometimes the world falls away when you read a really good book, and this was indeed, a really good book. It was a dark and compelling read that led you down the dark oath of the fantastical and unexpected. An incredible work of imagination that reads darkly realistic but magical in other places. There was something about this book that will stay with you long after you read the last page.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘴

A dual timelines story of supernatural spiders and their silk of strange properties, of Greek myth madness, of the ambition of men.

I loved the Binding, with it's supernatural story of binding memory into books and forgotten queer love. I liked the Betrayals, with it's dark academia theme and patriarchal subversion.

The Silence Factory didn't resonate as much with me. It was enjoyable, especially Sophia's timeline of the discovery of the spiders and the ancient cult of their worship. I loved those sections of the storytelling, but there were only six diary entries of Sophia amongst pages and pages of enormously tense industrial era entrapment of Henry, and of the people of Telverton.

Desire, ambition, corruption, myth, lies, devotion, death. It's all in here, but it mostly made me feel uncomfortable as Henry doesn't realise he's being manipulated. It's unusual for me to feel relieved to finish a book, I guess that means it's a very well written book as it made me feel new emotions. I need to go and read something cute and light hearted to cleanse my palate though.

The Silence Factory is an unsettling and riveting gothic historical read. Original and thought provoking. I cannot say I was very comfortable reading it as it provoked a lot of eerie images but I was certainly moved at many levels. I felt numerous emotions from being horrified (by the nightmarish dark activities) to elated (with some of the more positive outcomes) and certainly captivated by the stunning poetic prose Bridget Collins delivers.

There are so many shades of atmospheric mystery in The Silence Factory. The story invites us into a world surrounded by a special silk, spun by unique spiders from Greece and shows us that nature cannot be harnessed without serious consequences. It cannot be managed ‘like a machine’ as one character states and ‘has more power than you realise.’ Some say this silk is enchanted, cursed even: so frighteningly dangerous. It definitely has a power that reminds me of Gollum’s ring (from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings) in how it possesses its wearer and deforms and twists the body and mind. There is a loss of common sense and willpower and it makes a victim willing to conform to another’s wishes. It is a high price to pay for silence. And Henry is a man who seeks quiet and peace for he has lost two dear people in his life. When Sir Edward comes along with a silk sample and mentions his plans of ‘prosperity and hope,’ Henry falls into a deep well, or one might say a huge web of deceit. He is eager to please the silk factory tycoon and takes risks he may never have done before. I really got a clear picture of Henry’s personality: his flaws but also later his humanity.

The story is told from two viewpoints and timelines. Henry provides quite a vivid detail of the plot that unfolds in Sir Edward’s plans with his silk factory. The thirst for control, power and wealth certainly are high in the tycoon’s motives. But many lives are put at risk and destroyed by the production in the factory of this unusual silk. Henry slaves away trying to help his host initially without realising the part he is playing in releasing a great evil on the world. Until much later when a shocking truth comes to the surface, he then begins to question it all.

The second viewpoint is told by Sir Edward’s Great Aunt Sophia who gives us the history of how these spiders made it to England. They have been brought from Greece by Sir Edward’s Great-Uncle James who was like Odysseus travelling all over the Mediterranean. As Sir Edward says when discussing the painting of his ancestor: ‘He starved and struggled and suffered to bring the spiders back. They are his legacy to the world.” But Henry notices the ‘misery’ on the woman’s face beside James. What story does she tell? Well, we get to hear her account. Plus, her journal remains and it warns of the silk’s wicked powers. This valuable account is given to Henry by Miss Fielding, the governess to Sir Edward’s daughter. She plays an important role in warning Henry many times of the dangers of the silk. Her attempt to set things right and provide knowledge of the past are quite valuable, if only Henry would listen.

Secrets are revealed, plots unveiled and there’s freedom for some who are imprisoned or ensnared. The outcome for Henry is redeeming and I was glad of how the threads came together in a positive resolution for him. Though there is plenty of mayhem and on the edge of your seat hold your breath drama before that point! I won’t say anymore or risk giving away the plot. But the story is well-written, imaginative and one you won’t soon forget. If you don’t like spiders (and I don’t!) the descriptions could be uncomfortable but it did not keep me from reading it and certainly held my attention to the last page. 4.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thanks to HarperCollins Australia and Netgalley for my review copy.

Sorry but this did not grab me. I struggled to read this. I was confused. I disliked the imagery of spiders.

Beautiful evocative gothic novel where spider silk is woven into sound deadening material and people are all eaten by their toxic relationships to one another.
If you are looking for captivating language, this is the book for you. If you are looking for likable characters, you might want to go the other way. There is quite a lot to make you uncomfortable in this book, be it subject matters, point of views from the time era, nastiness and suspense, so be warned. It's smartly built up, the style is impressive but I will admit I kept putting the book down and having trouble going back to it. Not sure what didn't work for me, maybe that lack of interest for the people involved in the story.
More literary and historical fans will probably enjoy this one, especially if they are into the industrial era.

I loved the premise of this story - gothic and the mysterious silk. I also loved the author’s writing style. However this book didn’t click with me and I didn’t get drawn into the characters. Thank you to # NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

With the previous two books, I have some expectations. Unfortunately, the book just falls a little short. Henry is not a likable character or a hero. Most of the times I just feel sorry for the dude for being in the way. The supportive characters are barriers to the story, they are meant to support Henry, not turn him away every time he seeks some assistance in a foreign land.

There, I've said it. It was a disappointment. I feel that the book has too many elements that somehow weigh the book down without making the story enjoyable. Also, too melancholic compared to the previous two.

I've been really into books with a gothic vibe recently so when I saw the cover and read the blurb for The Silence Factory.

While there were definitely interesting elements to the book if I'm honest it really wasn't for me and took me ages to get through.

The writing was nice and the story was unique but it missed thr mark for me.