The Clockwork Girl cover art

The Clockwork Girl

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The Clockwork Girl

By: Anna Mazzola
Narrated by: Penelope Rawlins
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About this listen

Paris, 1750.

In the midst of an icy winter, as birds fall frozen from the sky, chambermaid Madeleine Chastel arrives at the home of the city's celebrated clockmaker and his clever, unworldly daughter.

Madeleine is hiding a dark past, and a dangerous purpose: to discover the truth of the clockmaker's experiments and record his every move, in exchange for her own chance of freedom.

For as children quietly vanish from the Parisian streets, rumours are swirling that the clockmaker's intricate mechanical creations, bejewelled birds and silver spiders, are more than they seem.

And soon Madeleine fears that she has stumbled upon an even greater conspiracy. One which might reach to the very heart of Versailles....

A intoxicating story of obsession, illusion and the price of freedom.

©2022 Anna Mazzola (P)2022 Orion Publishing Group Gothic Historical Historical Fiction Horror Romance Victorian Scary

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Critic reviews

"Evocative, chilling, compelling." (Tammy Cohen)

"Breathtakingly good." (Abir Mukherjee)

"This intricate and twisting story kept me guessing until the end. An absolute masterpiece." (Jennifer Saint)
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it's a good story, well performed but the story goeas on a bit, but it's an easy and enjoyable listen.

Nice story but nit sure it will stay with me

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The book is good. The setting is atmospheric in the 18th century Paris with streets and the king's palace reeking of detritus and danger. One learns to survive, though cost of that is high. The book is elevated to the exceptional by the great narration. Penelope Rawlins gives unique voices to all of the many characters with correct pronunciation.

Madam de Pompadour toys with the King.

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I’m not sure what to say about this book. I’m also suffering from a cold so very concerned not to take that out on the author , who seems a genuinely decent human being on Twitter! Anyway, I suppose my honest review is that the book felt saggy in the middle. The set up is great -young woman sent by dodgy police officer to spy on possibly crazy inventor- but then several subplots took away the focus and things got hinted at. The end was very good. I just felt that perhaps the subject matter and plot deserved a harder approach than it got. I’m also happy to say that Madam de Pompadour is quite the star here as in life.

Good

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I enjoyed the narration as well as the story - this book works very well as an audiobook. The narrator does the novel proud.

An enjoyable tale

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Loved this book. It’s mysterious clever and confusing at the start But persevere and all is revealed and explained in the end. The narrator is good with different voices. Would recommend

Mysterious, unusual, intriguing to the end

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Juliet Stevenson could read the phone - it would be a delight. Her voice perfectly supported a thought through good story. I really enjoyed it!

Good yarn

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Thoroughly enjoyed this story, loved the characters and agency of the women involved. Really good.

excellent

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Enjoyable but rather slow in the middle. The mispronounciation of some of the French names is infuriating.

Good story but overly long

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I really enjoyed this book as it was a proper story which maintained the listener’s interest.

Engaging story

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really enjoyed the book, a great original story that keeps you guessing right to the end.

fabulous

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