The Woman in the Wallpaper by Lora Jones

Book Blurb
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 Review
Since hearing about The Woman in the Wallpaper last year I have been really excited about getting a copy and got it on publication day. Historical Fiction is still my favourite genre and this book is set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, a time of change and anger. Add to this a touch of the supernatural, and sense of ‘other’ and you have the makings of a compelling read.

The book is narrated by by sisters Lara, Soffi and Hortense who is part of the aristocracy. Laura and Soffi are devestated after the death of their father in Marseilles and this is made worse when they have to move to Jouy en Jouvent just outside Paris to work in a Wallapaper Factory. The sisters have always been close but divisions start to arise; Soffi feels that Lara gets a better job than her, and Soffi has feelings for Josef, the heir to the factory but he is only interested in her sister. Hortense lives at Versailles with her parents, she is privileged, difficult and blunt. When I first came across Hortense I laughted at her observations and sarcasm, it was refeshing, but as the book went on I found that she was spoilt and selfish. With the Revolution gatherig pace, she is everything the workers in the factory and in particular Soffi find abhorrent, especially when she is forced to marry Josef, heir to the factory. Their different stories were each fascinating in their own way, different outlooks on life and the politics of the time, the different roles they played and their relationships with the same man.

As well as fascinating characters the plot to this book is addictive and at times unsettling. At it’s centre is a love story between Josef’s parents, a love story that is told in the wallpaper used in the house. In that Wallpaper Lara is convinces she sees herself, in situations she has been in and this gets worse when she moves into the house as a ladies maid. Throughout the book there runs a sinister undercurrent as to how Josef’s mother died, with insinuations that she was murdered which plays on both Soffi and Lara’s minds as they both make judgments. I loved the historical aspect to the book, Paris under siege by the revolutionaries, the feelings on both sides that are part of the book and how it effects the poor, using soil to bulk out flour for bread.

I loved Lora Jones writing style, it was descriptive and grabbed me from the first page. Her historical research is a huge part of this book, and she made it easy to read and understand what was happening. She captured the fear, anger and hightened emotions of the period, and took the reader into the heart of the protests. This book took a path I never expected that made the last one hundred pages difficult to read and that gave me a sickening feeling as it hurtled towards the conclusion.

The Woman in the Wallaper was everything I hoped it would be and a lot more. It had an atmospheric and haunting feel that was offset by some witt in Hortense’s story. The characrers were well drawn, I really become invested in their stories, especially Lara who was kind and did what was best for her family. This is a beautifully written book and I can’t believe this is Lora Jones’ debut novel, she is very talented and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.