The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire . . . but who was this woman who became one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? In these pages, her tumultuous and amazing story comes to life as only Michelle Moran can tell it. The year is 1788, and a revolution is about to begin. Smart and ambitious, Marie Tussaud has learned the secrets of wax sculpting by working … by working alongside her uncle in their celebrated wax museum, the Salon de Cire. From her popular model of the American ambassador, Thomas Jefferson, to her tableau of the royal family at dinner, Marie’s museum provides Parisians with the very latest news on fashion, gossip, and even politics. Her customers hail from every walk of life, yet her greatest dream is to attract the attention of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI; their stamp of approval on her work could catapult her and her museum to the fame and riches she desires. After months of anticipation, Marie learns that the royal family is willing to come and see their likenesses. When they finally arrive, the king’s sister is so impressed that she requests Marie’s presence at Versailles as a royal tutor in wax sculpting. It is a request Marie knows she cannot refuse—even if it means time away
from her beloved Salon and her increasingly dear friend, Henri Charles.
As Marie gets to know her pupil, Princesse Élisabeth, she also becomes acquainted with the king and queen, who introduce her to the glamorous life at court. From lavish parties with more delicacies than she’s ever seen to rooms filled with candles lit only once before being discarded, Marie steps into a world entirely different from her home on the Boulevard du Temple, where people are selling their teeth in order to put food on the table.
Meanwhile, many resent the vast separation between rich and poor. In salons and cafés across Paris, people like Camille Desmoulins, Jean-Paul Marat, and Maximilien Robespierre are lashing out against the monarchy. Soon, there’s whispered talk of revolution. . . . Will Marie be able to hold on to both the love of her life and her friendship with the royal family as France approaches civil war? And more important, will she be able to fulfill the demands of powerful revolutionaries who ask that she make the death masks of beheaded aristocrats, some of whom she knows?
Spanning five years, from the budding revolution to the Reign of Terror, Madame Tussaud brings us into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom.
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I tore through this book when I first read it. I typically stick to ancient historical fiction, like Moran’s other books, but I’m so glad I read this novel. Wonderful characters, a heart-racing plot and beautifully crafted world building.
Wow, I was really impressed with this book! I ordered it as a bit of research in my own French Revolution historical fiction I’m about to start writing. I didn’t expect to be enthralled with it, but I was! It was hard to put it down and then I was thinking about Marie when I wasn’t reading. She had such an interesting and unique and terrible life …
Michelle Moran never fails to please. This is fantastic book – intimate, brilliantly developed characters, informative about a period and events that I knew nothing about. Highly recommended.
One of my top ten favorite books of all time. A fascinating glimpse of that time period and wonderfully informative about the art of wax figures.
Michelle Moran combines the fascinating story of wax sculpture Madame Tussaud with the bloody treacherous history of the French Revolutions. Loved the skillful picture she painted!
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The story of Madame Tussuad is one of the most interesting books I have read by Moran. I love this author and this book takes us up past the French Revolution to the beginning of the exhibits. Very well written and very real to life.
Historically insightful – featuring real people/charachters of the era as they live through the French Revolution.
I am of two minds about Madame Tussaud, Michelle Moran’s recounting of the famous waxmaker in her pre-London fame days.
Marie Grosholtz (later Tussaud) is ambitious, Moran does not let us forget that. She has a great head for business, although more for the numbers than for giving the people what they want: the latter she must still learn at the …
A realistic portrait of the bloody French revolution.
YAWN!! Didn’t finish it.
What an inspiration to experience what may have happened behind the scenes. I had no idea of what it took to survive and later relocate the museum. You won’t be able to put it down.
Have lived in France and loved reading about the past history of places I have seen.
I did not realize that she actually lived during the French Revolution. Which th en prompted me to read about the Revolution in Durant’s Histories. The original book was factual and informative about an art form and how it started and its place in history. I learned a lot in a very readable, unboring way.
As a French school girl I have about the French Revolution and the Terror that followed it but never, never, in these details of course. Fascinating and very well written. Love it.
Omg! This book though! I didn’t even have to read what it was about when I first picked it up, it had me right from the cover! It follows the life of Madame Tussaud, the creator of the wax museums that have entralled millions. Just a fantastic read. Powerful and Educational.
Absolutely loved this book! Very interesting retelling of the French revolution through Madame Tussaud’s eyes.
My favorite all time book. I highly recommend reading it.
Great read! Learned so much of all the important figures of the French Revolution!
Will read more by this author. Well written! And fast paced.