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The Doll Factory: Episode 4

The Doll Factory

Episode 4

BBC Radio 4 - The Doll Factory, Episode 4

Silas thinks of nothing but Iris, and tries to find her in the unlikeliest of places.

Silas is obsessed with Iris's rare beauty and finds himself at the Doll Shop as he must see her again. He is profoundly shocked by what he finds there.

Set in London 1850 -1851 at the time of The Great Exhibition, The Doll Factory follows the story of a young woman called Iris who we first meet painting the faces of tiny porcelain dolls. 

Iris burns to become an artist but her modest upbringing and strict working class parents have always meant  this seem to be little more than a dream. She lives with her twin sister, Rose, in a room above a doll shop in Regent Street. When a chance encounter offers the glimpse of a new life she is ready to embrace it. 

In Episode 4, Silas becomes increasingly obsessed with Iris.



Written by Elizabeth MacNeal
Read by Louise Brealey
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Lizzie Davies
Produced by Lizzie Davies
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4

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Set in Victorian London, Elisabeth MacNeal's novel tells the story of a young doll painter

Set in Victorian London, Elisabeth MacNeal's novel follows the story of a young woman called Iris - a porcelain-doll painter who burns to become an artist. Read by Louise Brealey.

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