Elizabeth Sarah Macneal (born 16 October 1988) is a British writer, author of the award-winning book ''The Doll Factory'', described as a "lush Victorian fiction".

Life

Elizabeth was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 16 October 1988 and is the oldest of four children to award-winning

architect Lorn Macneal and his wife Catharine. She was educated at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

. She studied English literature at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

. After graduating, she did further postgraduate study at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

as a Malcolm Bradbury Scholar, where she gained an MA. Elizabeth is a successful ceramicist, and this has supported her whilst working on the novel. She is based in

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throug ...

in east

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

''The Doll Factory''

The book was first published on 2 May 2019 in UK and on 13 August in the USA. The book explores the complex relationship between Iris Whittle and her artist-admirer, Louis Frost, and Silas Reed, a taxidermist and curio-collector. It is set in

at the time of the Great Exhibition. It links to the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jam ...

and the character of Iris is influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite model, Lizzie Siddal. The book was initially published by Picador in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In the United States it is published by Emily Bestler Books. It has already (August 2019) been translated into 29 languages and the TV-rights have been bought by Buccaneer Media. It is also available as an audio-book.

''Circus of Wonders''

Again set in Victorian England, Elizabeth's second book released in 2021 looks at the world of circus "freaks" and atrocity exhibitions, but from the perspective of one of the persons chosen for such a role due their imperfections, but has a very unconventional approach rather than the standard heroes and villains. The book was published on 13 May 2021.

Awards and honours

* Caledonian Novel Award 2018 (pre-publication) *The Times bestseller *

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

Top Ten bestseller *Radio 2 Book Club pick *Radio 4 Book at Bedtime *Radio 4 Book of the Week *UK bestseller in

Waterstones Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized W ...

, Foyles, W. H. Smith and Amazon.com *US bestseller in

Indie Bound IndieBound is a marketing movement for independent bookstores launched in 2008 by the American Booksellers Association. With resources targeted for "indie" booksellers, it promotes fiscal localism. IndieBound's curated reading lists include the I ...

, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and Bam!

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macneal, Elizabeth Sarah 1988 births Living people People educated at Fettes College Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Alumni of the University of East Anglia British writers Writers from Edinburgh Scottish women writers 21st-century Scottish women writers