Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

Last week I read Michelle Moran's book Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution. With our trip to France coming up soon, I'm very interested in learning about French history. And, this was a terrific book to learn more about the French Revolution.

Madame Tussaud is a historical fiction book about the famous wax sculptor who lived in Paris during the French Revolution. Born Marie Grosholtz, she learned the art of wax scultping from her uncle. Their museum, Salon de Cire, was better than a newspaper... it didn't just tell the news, it SHOWED the commoners the people MAKING the news. As the Revolution began, the Salon was updated frequently to reflect the quickly changing political changes.

Madame Tussoud, a wax figure (from Wikipedia)

Marie and her family walked a fine line between the Royals and the Revolutionists. And, as the Revolutionists started their murderous rampage, they started 'demanding' that Marie make death masks that they could parade through the streets on their pikes. It was a GRUESOME, deadly time. And, though it was hard to read about some of the realities of the Revolution and the Reign of Terror, it was also incredibly interesting! I highly recommend this book. (Note: there is a short 'bedroom scene' in this book between Marie and someone before she is married.)