Bookseller Reviews
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Breathtaking. Amazing. Wonderful.
A beautifully magical story that will take your breath away and then break your heart.
The Emporium is a place where magic is created in every toy, and wh... READ MORE
Absolutely blown away.
The Toymakers is stunningly beautiful and an absolute joy to read, if there isn't a prize somewhere in it's future then I'll be sorely disappointed. Dinsd... READ MORE
Just incredibly wonderful!
This review will be a short one but only because I don't think I can put into words how much I enjoyed this novel and how lovely it is. So all I'll say is ... READ MORE
With the first frost of winter....
This book is a glorious snow mottled gem of a story that embedded itself in my mind and I hope it stays with me forever.
Picture, if you can a small empor... READ MORE
Elegantly Magical!
One of my favourite novels in many years, so beautifully described and the characters, with all their flaws, lovingly written.
Please follow young Cathy a... READ MORE
What a book!
I'm a little late in discovering this one but it was fantastic, I read it in a day it was so gripping! The Emporium is a magical place, selling toys that y... READ MORE
The magic of toys
The Emporium is a toy shop in London, on a mews off Regents Street. It opens each year with the first frost and closes when the snowdrops bloom. If that ma... READ MORE
Synopsis
Do you remember when you believed in magic?
It is 1917, and while war wages across Europe, in the heart of London, there is a place of hope and enchantment. The Emporium sells toys that capture the imagination of children and adults alike: patchwork dogs that seem alive, toy boxes that are bigger on the inside, soldiers that can fight battles of their own.
Into this family business comes young Cathy Wray, running away from a shameful past. The Emporium takes her in, makes her one of its own. But Cathy is about to discover that the Emporium has secrets of its own...
A dark enchanting, spectacularly imaginative novel perfect for fans of Jessie Burton's The Miniaturist and Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Cornerstone
- ISBN: 9781785036354
- Number of pages: 480
- Dimensions: 197 x 127 x 31 mm
- Weight: 324g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allWelcome to the Emporium...
...apply in person at London's premier merchant of toys and childhood paraphernalia.
Cathy saw this advert and this is where the story begins. As the empor... READ MORE
Will be the most talked about book of 2018
To say the The Toy Makers is about toy makers is a bit like saying Alice In Wonderland is about a girl. This to me had all the magical qualities of anythin... READ MORE
A rare and magical literary wonder
The Toymakers is a rare and magical piece of literature, one which I feel blessed for having discovered and read. Though I had been approved to review the ... READ MORE
A magical realism historical fiction like no other; lures you in with promises of an enchanted world and keeps you hooked with its captivating story
Set at the start of the 20th century, we meet Cathy, a 15-year-old pregnant girl who is about to be send away to have her baby away from prying neighbour ... READ MORE
Spellbinding!
I was like a child going into that store. The trees, the soldiers and oh! the wendy house. The store comes alive in more ways than one.
It’s a story to d... READ MORE
A fine piece of magic realism – a little long but very good
This novel takes us from 1906 to 1953 in the life of Papa Jack's Emporium in which toys are miraculously brought to life to the delight of shoppers in the... READ MORE
Come along, grab a hand, get ready for your journey into the emporium... Where nothing will ever be the same again.
Papa Jack, Emil, Kaspar, Cathy Wray and Martha, characters who when you explore what they show you, you'll fall into an eternal well of beauty, magnificenc... READ MORE
Bring a bit of magic into your life
The Toymakers is not a book I would normally pick to read as I am not a fan of fantasy/magic type books. The reason I chose to read this is simply down to... READ MORE
Magical realism at it's best.
This book contains everything and seems destined ed to become a future classic and loved by Bookclub’s far and wide.
War, love, family, loyalty and magic ... READ MORE
All consuming and incredibly difficult to put down
There was something about this story that was all consuming and I found it incredibly difficult to put down. While I wasn't a fan of the occasional second ... READ MORE
Uplifting and beautiful book
I loved this book. Hours passed as I was reading without me realising, and even when it reached the small hours of the morning, I could not stop. I wish I ... READ MORE
A dark, beautiful, and poignant story.
The Toymakers was not the book I was expecting it to be, but it was so much more. In parts it was full of beautiful whimsy, childish innocence, and the im... READ MORE
Magical & Gripping
Absolutely loved reading this book, especially over the festive period. Certainly is a 'fairytale for adults' with just the right amount of magic to keep t... READ MORE
Fabulous
This was the perfect christmas read! Magical, enthralling and just a little bit eerie. Filled the The Night Circus shaped hole in my reading life.
Fantastic book
Finished this book today. It was exceptional. It had magic, toys, the wonders of childhood, the horrors of war, teenage pregnancy and escapism at its very ... READ MORE
A bit dull and lifeless
I'm so gutted I didn't enjoy this book as I loved The Night Circus and The Miniaturist. This lacked any of the magic and intrigue of those books and by the... READ MORE
Blending historical fiction and magical realism together to create a magical world full of passion, inspiration, imagination, love, secrets, loss and fear that will always stay with you long after the last page has been read.
What an absolutely stunning, beautiful story this is. I know the year has only just begun but I think I will be hard pushed to find a book to rival this on... READ MORE
If you loved 'The Night Circus'...
This book is for you. I personally liked this book, the plot, the twists. It is more than just a couple of brothers making toys.
Towards the middle it ge... READ MORE
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