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Historical gothic fiction that takes on progress, industry, and the actions of questionable men.

Summary: 1820: Sophia Ashmore-Percy reluctantly accompanies her husband James to a remote Greek island, where he searches for rare biological specimens. Once there, however, she sets on her own voyage of discovery—stumbling across the very creature he is looking for, making an unexpected connection with a local woman, and ultimately reconsidering her marriage, life, and own desires.

Decades later, audiologist Henry Latimer is sent to the home of industrialist Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy and tasked with curing the man’s young daughter, Philomel, of her deafness. But Henry, eager to escape a troubled past, quickly becomes obsessed with the fascinating nature of Sir Edward’s business: spinning silk with a rare and magical breed of spiders. The extraordinary silk shields sound, offering respite from bustling streets and noisy neighbors. The result is instant tranquility, as wearers experience a soothing calmness. Yet, those within earshot of the outward-facing silk are subjected to eerie murmurs that amplify with proximity. Bystanders suffer the consequences of this unnerving phenomenon, manifesting in physical and mental afflictions ranging from headaches and drowsiness to severe cases of madness.

As Henry becomes entangled in the allure of the silk and Sir Edward’s charm, he glimpses a more sinister family history. The closer he ventures into the inner circle of Carthmute House, the more he unravels the horrifying underbelly of the silk business.

Review: The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins is gothic historical fiction that comes to a conclusion that leaves you feeling a prickle of unease as to how real everything felt while reading, especially in the last few pages.

Henry works to help people hear. Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy has a daughter who can neither hear nor speak. The two men find each other, and Henry manages to find himself invited to the Ashmore-Percy house to help the daughter, Philomel. Ashmore-Percy also owns a factory that produces a curious silk from rare spiders that can affect how one perceives sound.

But there is more to the spider silk, Ashmore-Percy, and the town that Henry discovers as he tries to ingratiate himself in the household as a way to escape his own demons.

The story is interspersed with diary entries from Sophia Ashmore, whose husband is the one who first brought back the spiders. Sophia’s story is one of discovery and survival, one where an island community harnesses the delicate nature of spider silk to help them through the stages of life. The very same spider silk that ends up ensnaring Henry in Sir Ashmore-Percy’s schemes a generation later.

With aspects of forbidden desire, hidden conspiracies, unsaid motives, and a town caught in the web of something that they do not understand, this story kept me riveted from the first page to the last. It is not a happy story, but it is one of self-realization and survival. And maybe one with a little bit of hope tangled up in a silken web of hidden truths and sticky lies.

Final Thoughts: Much darker and tied to industry and profit and the machinations of men than I expected. Good atmosphere and tension and character development (for Henry). Recommended if you like darker historical fiction with a bit of magical realism and a lot of bad choices all around. I read this as an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher. Publication date is August 20th, 2024.