Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran

Title: Madame Tussaud
Author: Michelle Moran
Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher: Crown, 2011
Source: Library (really, why do I even assume otherwise?)
Read for: Fun!

Marie Grosholtz is an ambitious artist, hoping to reap money and fame from the salon that she and her "uncle," Curtius, run. She goes to public events hoping to capture famous faces for her wax models. Her exposure to the famous is increased when she is invited by the king's sister to spend time at Versailles and tutor her in the art of making wax figures. However, with tensions from the unhappy citizens of France mounting to what will erupt into the French Revolution, Marie is forced to make choices - between royalty and the common citizens, right and wrong, and love and ambition.

I was pleasantly blown away by this novel. I honestly came into it with low expectations. I had a lukewarm experience with Nefertiti - not unpleasant, bear in mind, but certainly not sweeping. I had heard that Madame Tussaud suffered from similar flaws and so I assumed it would be a similar experience. I was unprepared for the torrent of vivid imagery and naked emotion, as well as a healthy dose of history to feed my brain.

Whether she is describing the gown of Marie Antoinette, the stunning architecture of Versailles (and the filth that overlays it), or the depravity of a convict's leer, Moran's writing requires very little effort from the imagination. Everything is described minutely; however, this did not slow down the story for me. Marie lived every moment taking in details of appearance and mannerism so she could realistically create perfect copies in her models, and the presentation of those details worked. It was fascinating to read the way she noted certain features and facial twitches and linked them to the personality of her model. This talent allowed the horrors of the French Revolution to sink in more powerfully than they have with any other book in my experience. It wasn't always a beautiful image that imprinted itself on my mind, but it was always a moving one. With the capturing of such details of brutality and violence came strong emotions that left me strongly invested in the story.

I also enjoyed the history. I am no expert on the French Revolution, but the details of the events along with the historical notes at the conclusion of the book lead me to believe that much of it was factual. I remember going to Madame Tussaud's wax museum in Las Vegas, but I had no idea that she was an artist from the French Revolution era, forced to make death masks of prominent traitors (or patriots, depending on whose opinion it was). I also knew very little about Marie Antoinette other than her youth at the age of marriage and the fact that she was criticized harshly for lavish expenditures during her reign as queen. This book opened my eyes to pieces of history from this era that I had never been exposed to before.

I thought I would only enjoy this book as a francophile, but I enjoyed it on many levels, enjoying the process of learning, the visual details, the relationships and strongly stirred emotions. If you love learning about the French Revolution, read it. If you're a history buff, read it. But even if you're not, there's a great chance that you will still relate to this book strongly. So... read it!

4 stars

Warnings: Violence, non-explicit sexuality