Helpful Score: 2
I've read Michelle Moran's previous novels, Nefertiti, The Heretic Queen and Cleopatra's Daughter and quite enjoyed them all. However, in Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution, Ms. Moran takes us into a different world, a different pace, and in my opinion, outdoes her previous works by leaps and bounds.
Madame Tussaud is a wax sculptor. She pays fine attention to details and is an expert at her craft. So when the King and Queen visit her museum to see their likenesses, she is anxious. The King's sister, Princess Elisabeth is quite taken with her work and beseeches her to come live at the palace as a royal tutor and teach her the craft.
Although she doesn't want to leave her salon, she knows it is an opportunity to rich to resist. There, she enters a world she is unprepared for; the richness of the royals and their behavior, as well as the politics.
Ms. Moran has weaved a beautiful tapestry spanning five years of the French Revolution with characters so rich in detail and so vibrant, they blossom right before your eyes. Her storytelling is masterful, with seamless writing taking you from page to page. She has definitely well-researched the era and creates emotion from her words. You can feel the terror during The Reign of Terror, the helplessness of the hungry and poor, the blossom of romance in the air as she falls in love. A masterful work that is sure to find a home in many libraries - an absolute keeper!
Madame Tussaud is a wax sculptor. She pays fine attention to details and is an expert at her craft. So when the King and Queen visit her museum to see their likenesses, she is anxious. The King's sister, Princess Elisabeth is quite taken with her work and beseeches her to come live at the palace as a royal tutor and teach her the craft.
Although she doesn't want to leave her salon, she knows it is an opportunity to rich to resist. There, she enters a world she is unprepared for; the richness of the royals and their behavior, as well as the politics.
Ms. Moran has weaved a beautiful tapestry spanning five years of the French Revolution with characters so rich in detail and so vibrant, they blossom right before your eyes. Her storytelling is masterful, with seamless writing taking you from page to page. She has definitely well-researched the era and creates emotion from her words. You can feel the terror during The Reign of Terror, the helplessness of the hungry and poor, the blossom of romance in the air as she falls in love. A masterful work that is sure to find a home in many libraries - an absolute keeper!
Helpful Score: 1
I really enjoyed this book. Very good snap shot of Reign of Terror. Good perspective from Royals and commoners. I love information around sculpting the figures too. Makes we want to go visit one of the museums. Highly recommend.
Helpful Score: 1
Because I knew so little about French history, I read the first 50 pages twice. And, I found the chart at the beginning and Moran's comments at the book's back helped me sort out the characters. Moran's writing is so smooth and the research she did was amazing.
Excitement snowballed with the French revolution's development. The reality of how fast the situation developed is astounding. The romance between Marie and Henri added lightness to all the tragic events that are occurring and made me smile. I loved the characters - Henri, Curtius, Maria, the nobility and the royal family - wow! And, Thomas Jefferson - wonder if he really took Sally to France as Moran indicates or it's part of the fiction she includes.
Is it more appropriate for nobility to dress like citizens? I think it depends upon what the people expect. Certainly, our current president dresses professionally, even when he is in his shirt sleeves, which I think is appropriate for his position.
And, it's so tragic that the queen had to be on display the day her son dies. Could you make wax impressions of beheaded people? Certainly, the ability of Marie and Curtiis to straddle both sides of the struggle is to be admired.
What a read! It was so exciting that I just kept going until I finished. To think that half a million people perished before it was over is astounding. No wonder Napoleon was able to rise to power. Furthermore, Moran's comments at the end of the book explains what happened to Marie's business and so many of the people discussed in the novel. Marie was one very intelligent individual!
As one of my friends said, "Beautifully written story." Do read this one.
Excitement snowballed with the French revolution's development. The reality of how fast the situation developed is astounding. The romance between Marie and Henri added lightness to all the tragic events that are occurring and made me smile. I loved the characters - Henri, Curtius, Maria, the nobility and the royal family - wow! And, Thomas Jefferson - wonder if he really took Sally to France as Moran indicates or it's part of the fiction she includes.
Is it more appropriate for nobility to dress like citizens? I think it depends upon what the people expect. Certainly, our current president dresses professionally, even when he is in his shirt sleeves, which I think is appropriate for his position.
And, it's so tragic that the queen had to be on display the day her son dies. Could you make wax impressions of beheaded people? Certainly, the ability of Marie and Curtiis to straddle both sides of the struggle is to be admired.
What a read! It was so exciting that I just kept going until I finished. To think that half a million people perished before it was over is astounding. No wonder Napoleon was able to rise to power. Furthermore, Moran's comments at the end of the book explains what happened to Marie's business and so many of the people discussed in the novel. Marie was one very intelligent individual!
As one of my friends said, "Beautifully written story." Do read this one.
Helpful Score: 1
Type: {Impress Your Friends Read: notable; prize-winner or all around intelligent crowd conversation piece.}
Rating: {An Unputdownable: Couldnt eat or sleep until I finished this book.}
Why Youre Reading It:
- You love historical fiction that is more historical than fiction
- Well-written informative books are your thing
- You like a good page-turner that brings something more to the table than just entertainment
What I Thought:
While I love Phillipa Greggory, she writes historical fiction for fiction lovers. Madame Tussaud is a historical fiction book for history lovers. What I mean by this is that the amount of research that went into this book was so meticulous that the author even wrote an afterward admitting to the parts that she embellished, which were few (and mostly minimal in significance) for a book of this length. Michelle Moran has written a deft mix of historical accuracy and engaging fiction.
By concentrating on Marie Grisholtz (Madame Tussaud), Moran has given us a personal view of the French Revolution. A revolution that, as an American, I knew only the basic overview that we are taught in school. For the second half of the book, my mouth was hanging open as I swiftly turned pages soaking up the information about what happened in France in the late 18th century. Completely drawn into the story, I had to remind myself that I already knew what the ultimate outcome was. However, the outcome that I knew (King XVI and Marie Antoinette die sorry if that was news to you if it was I recommend you go back and have a series chat with the schools that educated you) was so very limited in its information that I almost embarrassed now. Perhaps as a child I wouldnt have understood the significance of this revolution, but as an adult I am amazed that this movement is not taught in more depth in American schools (I am singling out America only because I am not privy to the education system in other countries as I am with my own).
This is a book that anyone who is interested in monarchies, politics (including modern politics), and democracy as well as what can happen when a country has a weak leader. I assure you, it can be disastrous and if the revolution were to happen today, it would have been even more so (look at the turmoil in Northern Africa over the past several months if you dont believe me). And how the very people who are trying to make changes can turn into the very thing that they hate the most.
Rating: {An Unputdownable: Couldnt eat or sleep until I finished this book.}
Why Youre Reading It:
- You love historical fiction that is more historical than fiction
- Well-written informative books are your thing
- You like a good page-turner that brings something more to the table than just entertainment
What I Thought:
While I love Phillipa Greggory, she writes historical fiction for fiction lovers. Madame Tussaud is a historical fiction book for history lovers. What I mean by this is that the amount of research that went into this book was so meticulous that the author even wrote an afterward admitting to the parts that she embellished, which were few (and mostly minimal in significance) for a book of this length. Michelle Moran has written a deft mix of historical accuracy and engaging fiction.
By concentrating on Marie Grisholtz (Madame Tussaud), Moran has given us a personal view of the French Revolution. A revolution that, as an American, I knew only the basic overview that we are taught in school. For the second half of the book, my mouth was hanging open as I swiftly turned pages soaking up the information about what happened in France in the late 18th century. Completely drawn into the story, I had to remind myself that I already knew what the ultimate outcome was. However, the outcome that I knew (King XVI and Marie Antoinette die sorry if that was news to you if it was I recommend you go back and have a series chat with the schools that educated you) was so very limited in its information that I almost embarrassed now. Perhaps as a child I wouldnt have understood the significance of this revolution, but as an adult I am amazed that this movement is not taught in more depth in American schools (I am singling out America only because I am not privy to the education system in other countries as I am with my own).
This is a book that anyone who is interested in monarchies, politics (including modern politics), and democracy as well as what can happen when a country has a weak leader. I assure you, it can be disastrous and if the revolution were to happen today, it would have been even more so (look at the turmoil in Northern Africa over the past several months if you dont believe me). And how the very people who are trying to make changes can turn into the very thing that they hate the most.
This is the second book I have read by Michelle Moran (the 1st was "Cleopatra's Daughter") and I loved them both. She is now officially one of my favorite historical fiction authors.
This book is told from the point of view of Marie as events transpire to form the French Revolution. The way it is written, the book allows you to meet the key players of the revolution as well as the king and queen and their family. The book held my attention from beginning to end and I highly recommend it.
This book is told from the point of view of Marie as events transpire to form the French Revolution. The way it is written, the book allows you to meet the key players of the revolution as well as the king and queen and their family. The book held my attention from beginning to end and I highly recommend it.
What a story. Although it is historical fiction the author was true to history with a few changes she noted in the back of the book. I read it avidly. What a very bad and truly evil time the french Revolution was. It makes our American revolution look like a tea party. After knowing their history of their revolution i cannot understand how the French can celebrate Bastille Day as it it ushered in the terrible Reign of Terror. Alas memories are short. I highly recommend this book.
Despite my love of historical fiction in general, I dont read a whole lot about the French Revolution. Every time I pick up a book about that period in history, I remember why I dont read much about it I simply dont have the stomach for it. To me, its so horrifying and heart-wrenching that I have to take my time and really slow down when reading about this time period. This novel was brilliant in that I did not want to put it down even though its difficult subject matter for me, so for that alone I really liked it.
I found this to be a rather educational reading experience for me, because I didnt even realize that Marie Tussaud lived in France before moving on to London! Undoubtedly my lack of knowledge on this comes directly from my minimal exposure to this period, but it made Maries story even more interesting to me to have the revolution as the backdrop to her story.
To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.
I found this to be a rather educational reading experience for me, because I didnt even realize that Marie Tussaud lived in France before moving on to London! Undoubtedly my lack of knowledge on this comes directly from my minimal exposure to this period, but it made Maries story even more interesting to me to have the revolution as the backdrop to her story.
To read the rest of my review, please visit my blog.
