Madame Tussaud was a wax sculptor during the French Revolution. In that time period seeing the latest news and most popular people in wax was the best way to actually learn about what was going on in the city and the world. Marie (Madame Tussaud) was constantly making new models and changing the displays to show what was currently going on in the city of Paris as well as with the Royal family in Versailles and the Americans who had just signed the Constitution.
The French Revolution was a very scary time in Paris. If you weren't in favor of the revolution and didn't support the cause and their views you were killed or sent to prison. It was similar to a witch hunt where everyone was considered guilty until proven innocent. It reminded me of books like The Other Boleyn Girl or The Virgin Queen but was a little darker and focused more on the war. You end up sympathizing with King Louis, Maria Antoinette, and the Royal Fmaily for what the French Citizens did to them. And, if you are anything like me, the mob aspect was almost unbelieveable. One person would come up with an idea and good or bad the entire crowd would follow it. Thousands of people running through the streets of Paris on one mission. Marie was a royalist sypathizer but was also constantly trying to maintain allegence with the republic in order to keep herself and her family safe but as people around her keep dying for a cause she finds it hard to continue to show support of the revolution.
If you like history and books like The Other Boleyn girl you will really enjoy Madame Tussaud.
Has anyone read this too? What did you think?
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