Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution Kindle Edition

I've come to believe that reviews of books and music are just an exercise in personal taste, so take this with a grain of salt. It may not be your cup of tea, but I give this book high praise. When I first heard of the book, it sounded moderately interesting, but I didn't expect to be as good as I felt it was after finishing. Indeed, there are parts that are hard to read, because of the sheer horror of human behavior in that period. But that was the true story. During the Reign of Terror, apparently inspired by the American Revolution but overlayed with inhuman behavior, Robespierre and his cronies put to death an estimated 40,000 people, most of whom were guilty of nothing. Marie Tussaud, nee Grosholtz, was eyewitness to it all and in many cases was more or less forced to create wax images of the contents of the guillotine basket. Ever since I was a child, the French Revolution has invoked its own psychological Reign of Terror on me, and this was no exception. Even though this book is historical fiction, you truly feel as if you were there. As difficult an experience as it was, I was thoroughly engrossed and extremely glad I read this book.

This book is a hard review. It's more of a 3.5 if you can get past the first 200 pages.The book is about Marie Gresholtz who lives with her uncle Curtius and her mother Anne. They have a place on the Boulevard in Paris where they have rooms with wax statues that they use to tell the news. They are friends with many of the soon to be "patriots" in the French Revolution and they also have had King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette visit the wax museum. After this visit Marie Gresholtz is called to tutor Princess Elizabeth, King Louis XVI's sister, in the art of wax sculpting.As the book continues we learn how the revolution starts, the many people included in it, the tightrope balance between being a patriot and/or a royalist. All through this time we keep up with many characters, including Gresholtz's 3 brothers, the royal family, the patriots, the dressmaker and many others. Also there is Henri, Gresholtz's next door neighbor and love interest and Lichin the shops only other employee, a teen boy who mainly announces what the attraction in the shop is that day. The book follows her from the beginning of the revolution to after the revolution and The author does do one of my favorite things about her books an afterword on what happens to some of the main characters.So why in my opinion am I not giving this a higher review? Her Egyptian books were excellent, descriptive and hard to put down. This book put me to sleep many times. It does have action at some points and the last 200 pages speed up with complete action but it took so long to get there and so many characters, I would lose the way.I did learn a lot about the French Revolution that I never knew. The wax news was interesting but a little too much was put in about it. The royal family are just visits here and there and those have more to do with wax modeling and religion then any of the intrigues going on. I would still recommend this book to historical fiction people and book clubs, especially history ones.

Wonderfully written novel combines a fantastic story and the upheaval of the French Revolution. The young Marie is taught by her 'uncle' (her mother's significant other) the craft of modeling figures, which are then elaborately dressed and displayed in dioramas the Paris public clamors to see. Their family business is so successful, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette take an interest and the King requests that Marie spend time at court teaching his sister, who already has an interest in creating in the medium and desires to produce figures of all of the Saints.As tensions grow in Paris over issues with the monarchy and food shortages, Marie, her mother and 'uncle' must tread uneasily between the people and the royals. They cannot have their alliances questioned by either faction, and do everything they possibly can to give the appearance of their neutrality. Their very lives depend on it. Marie is made to create death masks of dead nobles whose heads have been paraded through the city. When the King and his family are forcibly removed from governance, everyone associated with them is also arrested and Marie is imprisoned. Each day she fears beheading, as the guillotine is in constant use. She believes her brothers, member of the Royal Guard, to have been killed.Although the novel is not entirely historically accurate, it is a good representation of events and is written so well and so thrillingly, I had a difficult time putting it down.

One of my FAVORITE historical-fiction writers. Too often the genre is an excuse for bodice-ripping “divorcée erotica” which is NOT my cuppa tea - and I’m also picky that it’s heavy on HISTORICAL FACT and just fiction in conversations and so on - bc I don’t want to learn faulty history!!! I’ve read every book by Moran and she always delivers solid, impressive, engrossing & addictive books - often about amazing women and with any romance being plot-driven. For readers slightly picky for high-quality writing- you cannot gonwrong with Michelle Moran!!!

Having visited Madame Tussaud’s London Museum back in 1974, I distinctly remember the French Revolution exhibits. I confess to knowing very little about Tussaud’s personal involvement until reading this book. While I did not particularly enjoy the grisly accounts of the many atrocities of the revolution, they are the reality of history. I found her story fascinating. The author makes the period come alive in a very personal way and presents a unique insight into the events of the French Revolution. I did not want to put this book down! The author was very faithful to actual events and historical timelines. Any variances due to literary license are detailed at the end of the book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves history and stories about incredibly strong women.

I bought this book after reading the other 3 Michelle Moran books. I appreciate her writing isn't the best out there but I find the eras she writes about interesting and her writing style easy to read.The book is set during the 1700's prior to and during the French Revolution. I knew little to nothing about Madam Tussaud or the French Revolution so this seemed like it would be an interesting read. However, I think the title is a bit deceiving. The book isn't so much about Madam Tussaud as it is about the Revolution - Madam Tussaud, known in the book as Marie, is merely the eyes through which we see the revolution . This meant that you don't learn that much about her wax museum and you never really feel that connected to her. Marie seemed very two dimensional and throughout the book seemed almost indifferent to the sufferings the revolution bought about as she appeared only to care about how much money her exhibit was making. I felt that Moran tried to cram a bit too much in to the story. She mentions so many people and events that sometimes it's a bit hard not to get lost. I think if she had cut some of this out the book would have been quite a lot shorter and easier to follow. Once the revolution finished so did the book so I felt Marie's story didn't really end satisfactorily as it was very abrupt.Despite this, the time period is fascinating and Moran sticks very closely to historical fact. The book has given me a real desire to go and find more about the French Revolution. I felt her writing was better in this book than in some of the previous ones which made it feel more adult. An interesting read about a traumatic, bloody period of history but let down by the main character and overly in-depth portrayal of events.

Madam Tussaud is the story of a woman driven by the need for financial security and acceptance. She has a rare talent for remembering faces and a gift for wax modelling - combined this means she creates life-like replicas in wax of the 'celebrities' of her day.The first chapters skillfully show how Marie aligns herself to the French royal family at a time of flux when rebellion is in the air. The book maps how the rise of Marat, Robespierre and Danton, at the expense of royalty and the old regime. As the revolution gathers momentum we find Marie's family finding it increasingly difficult to evade the finger of suspicion being pointed at them as royalist supporters. It is only Marie's skill at wax modelling, and hence recording great leaders of the revolution, that save her from jail, but as the story progresses she discovers even she has limits.Madame Tussaud is a well written and evocative book, that brings to life the horror of the French Revolution. Some of the passages (the massacre of the Palace guard) were difficult to read but hit the right balance between gore and Marie's bravery in going to find her brothers' bodies. What remains with me after finishing this book is the sense of how the revolution gained momentum it sacrificed morality.I highly recommeneded, if somewhat disturbing in places, read.

Once again a gripping and gritty novel by Michelle MoranAnother book that I couldn't put downThe reader is at times challenged to face the bloody and violent details of the French revolutionWhile carrying deeply about Marie (Tussaud) and her family and friendsI would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good read and has an interest in history

I found this book to be interesting and gave lots of information about a period in history (French Revolution) which I had limited knowledge. I found the character of Madame Tussaud to be a little emotionless and found it difficult to connect with her. At times the book was brutal and there were times I almost gave up - however I persevered and finished it. I give my ratings on how many of my friends I would recommend the book to and as at the end of this story I felt I would have to carefully pick people to recommend I only gave a 3 star rating.

downloaded ok, informative book about Madam Tussaud as not as much known about her but did find a little repetitive, not quite the calibre as her previous books.