Skip to main content

Review: Madame Tussaud, by Michelle Moran


Pages: 446

Original date of publication: 2010

My edition: 2010 (Crown)

Why I decided to read: I was offered a copy for review

How I acquired my copy: review copy from the author, February 2011

Michelle Moran has been known for her novels set in the ancient world—Egypt and Rome. Madame Tussaud is a departure for her, delving as it does into the world of late-18th century France and the Revolution. Madame Tussaud, nee Marie Grosholtz, made a name for herself as an artist, making wax models of famous contemporaries—becoming involved, as she does so, with some of the major political and cultural figures of her day. It was an era in which everything changed almost overnight (right down to the clothes that people wore), and Madame Tussaud was right there to see it all happen. You almost fell, while reading this book, that you’re there yourself.

This is an absolutely stunning novel that had me captivated from beginning to end. Marie wasn’t exactly a beauty, and she wasn’t wealthy or of the nobility. But her perception of the events going on is astute. Michelle Moran describes the almost hysterical mood of the Revolution and Reign of Terror to perfection, keeping me on the edge of my seat. At first, I was a little bit unsure of how the present-tense narration would work; but I ignored it after a few pages and just let myself enjoy the story and characters.

Due to her work in wax, Marie was able to meet some of the major players of her day; she was even a tutor to the king’s sister. Marie straddled to worlds: she wasn’t of the nobility, but she became semi-familiar to the royal family. On the other hand, her family’s Salon became a gathering place for major revolutionary figures of the day. It was interesting to see where Marie’s loyalties lay—and to watch the romance grow between herself and Henri. Marie in the novel isn’t depicted as having a modern mindset, but she deals with a dilemma that still plagues women today: work versus personal happiness in love. I still wonder why she made the decision to marry Francoise Tussaud—an error in judgment, as it turns out. This is a novel definitely worth the read.

Labels:

Comments

Kristen said…
I purchased this book a few weeks ago, thinking it sounded like a great read. I haven't read it yet but your review is making me want to drop what I am reading now and start on this one!
March 3, 2011 at 1:09 PM
Short Story Slore said…
I just purchased my first Michelle Moran book and can't wait to get started on it! Thanks for the review.
March 3, 2011 at 2:00 PM
Teddy Rose said…
I have it in my arc pile. I have a couple books I have to read first before I get to devour Michelle Moran Literature. I can hardly wait. It is even more exciting to me because I am going to New Your in May for the BEA and plan to visit the Madame Tussuad Wax Museum.
March 6, 2011 at 12:52 AM
Swapna said…
So glad you enjoyed this one, I did as well. Great review.
March 20, 2011 at 7:27 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Another giveaway

This time, the publicist at WW Norton sent me two copies of The Glass of Time , by Michael Cox--so I'm giving away the second copy. Cox is the author of The Meaning of Night, and this book is the follow-up to that. Leave a comment here to enter to win it! The deadline is next Sunday, 10/5/08.
194 comments
Read more

A giveaway winner, and another giveaway

The winner of the Girl in a Blue Dress contest is... Anna, of Diary of An Eccentric ! My new contest is for a copy of The Shape of Mercy , by Susan Meissner. According to Publisher's Weekly : Meissner's newest novel is potentially life-changing, the kind of inspirational fiction that prompts readers to call up old friends, lost loves or fallen-away family members to tell them that all is forgiven and that life is too short for holding grudges. Achingly romantic, the novel features the legacy of Mercy Hayworth—a young woman convicted during the Salem witch trials—whose words reach out from the past to forever transform the lives of two present-day women. These book lovers—Abigail Boyles, elderly, bitter and frail, and Lauren Lars Durough, wealthy, earnest and young—become unlikely friends, drawn together over the untimely death of Mercy, whose precious diary is all that remains of her too short life. And what a diary! Mercy's words not only beguile but help Abigail and Lars...
115 comments
Read more

Review: The Piano Teacher, by Janice Y.K. Lee

The Piano Teacher is a complicated novel. On the surface, it’s about a love affair between two British ex-patriots in Hong Kong in 1952-3. Claire Pendleton comes to Hong Kong with her husband Martin at a time when the world is still recovering from WWII; Claire takes up work as a piano teacher for the daughter of a wealthy Chinese family, where she meets Will Truesdale, the Chens’ enigmatic chauffeur. The book jumps back in time between the 1950s and the beginning of WWII, when Will is interned in Stanley, a Hong Kong camp for enemies of Japan. On “the outside” is Tudy Liang, Will’s beautiful Eurasian lover. There’s no doubt that Lee’s writing is beautiful. But there’s something lacking in this short, terse novel that I can’t quite put my finger on. First, I think it’s the tenses she uses when taking about each story: that which is set in the 1950s is in the past tense, while the war scenes are talked about in the present tense (confusing, no?) The interpersonal relationships of the m...
12 comments
Read more