The Doll Factory is a 2019 gothic historical fiction novel by Elizabeth Macneal set in 1850 London in the run-up to the Great Exhibition. It follows an aspiring artist Iris Whittle, who paints dolls at Mrs Salter's Doll Emporium for a living alongside her smallpox-scarred twin sister Rose, who sews dresses for the dolls. Iris becomes involved with Pre-Raphaelite painter Louis Frost and taxidermist Silas Reed.
The novel was adapted into a six-episode series that premiered on Paramount+ in November 2023. It stars Esmé Creed-Miles as Iris, Éanna Hardwicke as Silas, Mirren Mack as Rose, and George Webster as Louis.
Tropes present in The Doll Factory include:
- The Artful Dodger: Albie is a savvy young street child who works odd jobs for both Silas and the Doll Emporium.
- Ascended Fangirl: Iris dreams of becoming an artist, and ends up becoming a model and Muse for a Pre-Raphaelite painter in exchange for painting lessons.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: The sex worker Bluebell, who is killed early on.
- Hallucinations: Silas seems to hallucinate interactions with people, causing him to have a very distorted view of reality.
- Historical Domain Character: Real life figures including Pre-Raphaelite painters John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, as well as model Elizabeth "Lizzie" Siddal show up in the story.
- I Am Not Pretty: Both Iris and Rose have self esteem issues, Iris' stemming from her twisted collarbone and Rose's stemming from her smallpox scars. Even if they are not unattractive young women, their "flaws" ostracise them.
- Male Gaze: Deconstructed in the So Beautiful, It's a Curse sense. Iris grows uncomfortable with how objectified she is as a model — her likeness is literally turned into an object for men to purchase. This has additional implications for a young unmarried woman in Victorian London, as it's a job that lacks respectability and leaves her reliant on Louis.
- Oblivious to Love: Or oblivious to obsession. Iris has no memory of ever meeting Silas (suggesting he may have even hallucinated their first meeting), unaware of his stalkery fixation on her.
- Redheads Are Ravishing: Many of the female characters in the story, including models like Iris and Lizzie and love interests like Flick, are red heads.
- The Resenter: Rose, whose face is covered in smallpox scars and who lacks marriage prospects as a result, is bitter and resents her formerly identical twin Iris. It's further compounded by her belief that Iris is to blame for her former love interest Charles leaving her, as Iris brought him to visit Rose when she was ill.
- Secret Other Family: Louis has been hiding from Iris that he was married to a mentally unstable woman named Sylvia, with whom he had a son. His justification when she finds out is that he was worried she would not accept his offer, and also that he did not intend to develop feelings for Iris.
- Taxidermy Is Creepy: Silas' job and desire to become known for his unique taxidermy informs his overall unsettling vibe from his first scene. Albie calls him a "dangerous man", and it's initially presumed Albie is simply creeped out by the taxidermy.
