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.
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