The Woman In the Wallpaper by Lora Jones

In my opinion...

When I was offered the opportunity to review this novel I was hooked by the subject matter- set during the French Revolution- and the author was compared to authors such as Jessie Burton and Stacey Halls, whose books I enjoy.

However, I was strangely reluctant to read it, maybe it was the mention of supernatural wallpaper! I love the way that in Philippa Gregory historical novels you truly believe that an historical character spoke as she writes it, in this case, to begin with, I found the characters predictable and behaving/speaking in a stereotypical way, particularly Hortense. As I read more, I did like the way that we saw events from the point of view of Sofi, Lara and Hortense, and they seemed to find their voices as the story developed.

As I continued to read , I was drawn into the story and felt that the plot flowed with some twists and excellent evocative descriptions. I was truly moved by the final chapters of the novel.

I was impressed by the letter received from Lora Jones when I received my ARC, the research she has undertaken is fascinating and her inspiration taken from the Oberkampf factory near Paris between 1760 and 1818 intrigues me.

Ultimately, in spite of my reluctant start, I did enjoy this debut novel and look forward to reading Lora Jones' next book.

Want to know more?

Paris, 1789. The Oberst Factory, which crafts exquisite wallpaper for the most fashionable French homes, is a place shrouded in mystery. Most enigmatic is the woman pictured in each of its prints, rumoured to be the late Mrs Oberst, who died in peculiar circumstances.

When sisters Lara and Sofi arrive there for work, they quickly form a friendship with Josef Oberst, the motherless heir to the factory. Whilst Sofi's political fervour intensifies, Lara is disturbed by the uncanny way her life appears mirrored in the wallpaper. Meanwhile Hortense, Josef's spoilt aristocratic wife, is similarly unnerved by the scenes that line the walls of her new home. With the mobs growing ever more violent, is she in danger of meeting the same untimely end as the last Mrs Oberst?

As revolution blazes across France, the lives of Sofi, Lara and Hortense are set to collide in unimaginable and irrevocable ways. Can they change what lies ahead, or are some patterns destined to be repeated?

My rating...

I do like unusual wallpaper!

So 3.5 to 4 glasses for this novel

Thanks to Little, Brown book group, NetGalley and Lora Jones for my ARC