The Toymakers, Robert Dinsdale
The Toymakers, Robert Dinsdale
List: $13.50 | Sale: $9.44
Club: $6.75

The Toymakers
This Christmas, be completely swept into the magic of this enchanting and utterly gripping book

Author: Robert Dinsdale

Narrator: Ruby Bentall

Unabridged: 14 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ebury Digital

Published: 02/08/2018

Synopsis

Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale, read by Ruby Bentall.

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

Reviews

Goodreads review by Charlotte on January 07, 2021

2021 isn’t going well with my books so far. This book started good and then went downhill 😞☹️ In the beginning I loved this book. We follow young, pregnant Cathy Wray who runs away from home to avoid giving her baby up for adoption. She finds solace in the magical Papa Jacks Emporium, a toy store lik......more

Goodreads review by Kevin on June 29, 2019

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." —Albert Einstein Small-town teen, Cathy Wray, finds herself in the family way. (I'm a poet, yet didn't know it). She is also desperate to escape her parents, who want her pregnancy kept secret and the baby given up for adoption. But......more

Goodreads review by Jules on February 08, 2018

I loved The Toymakers. This was a truly magical and emotional tale. I was sad to leave Papa Jack’s Emporium. It was a safe place so full of wonder, love, friendship, hope and the magic of toys. The whole place came to life in front of my eyes. I was surrounded by toys the whole time I was reading thi......more

Goodreads review by Dannii on March 20, 2018

"Do you remember when you believed in magic?" Set inside a magical toy shop, in the heart of 1940's London, where paper trees grow in front of your eyes, patchwork dogs act like breathing ones, and doll houses are bigger than most city compartments live Kaspar and Emil. Two brothers who travelled, wi......more

Quotes

There is magic at the heart of The Toymakers, a glittery inventiveness that shimmers through the dark corners of a story about love, war and sibling rivalry...Robert Dinsdale's imagined toys are truly glorious...a gripping, moving story. SUNDAY EXPRESS

Like the magic at the heart of the story, this vivid, haunting novel is both vast and intimate. A world war echoes a family conflict, and the delights and dangers of childhood suddenly have vast implications. A wonderful and thought-provoking read.

What an extraordinary and wonderful achievement this novel is! I was gripped, and thrilled, and touched, and above all I was completely swept into the magic of the book...And the scope of the thing! Such a broad chronological range, such sweep, all with the lightest touch. Just astonishing.

truly magical ... Anyone who’s ever stepped inside a traditional toyshop and marvelled at the wonders on display will instantly be captivated by this book, which transports readers to The Emporium in London. Prepare to be charmed by this utterly enchanting tale. CULTUREFLY

A magical World War I novel METRO

Robert Dinsdale’s engaging and enchanting new novel offers the literary equivalent of a Guillermo del Toro film; it is, at its best, a fairytale for adults, with all the wonder – and terror – that that entails. Even as the story takes an inevitably darker turn with the advent of the second world war, it is the sense of joy that lingers in this fine book. THE OBSERVER

The Toy Makers is a gorgeous puzzle-box of a novel, opening to reveal layer on astonishing layer. From the magic of a remarkable toy emporium to the carnage of trench warfare to the personal battles of an exceptional family, this story will delight, amaze and deeply move the reader. Juliet Marillier, author of the Blackthorn & Grim series

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