ARC, Paperback, 480 pages
Crown Publishers
December 27, 2011
★★★★☆
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Received from the publisher for review
“The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire…but who was this woman and how did she become one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? In these pages, her tumultuous story comes to life as only Michelle Moran could tell it. The year is 1788, and a revolution is about to begin…”I waited awhile before I got started with this one primarily because I knew it was going to be very different that the previous novel by this author. I had enthusiastically loved Moran’s first 3 novels with their Egyptian connections and with the sharp change in venue to revolutionary France I was wary as to if I would enjoy it quite the same. I gave it some time for the idea of this novel to settle in.
I did have a harder time with this novel than her other books. I think that this is possibly due to the fact that revolutionary France is not my most favorite time period. The beginning of the novel was a little slow for me. Once I reached the part of the novel where the revolution really reached its height it became much more interesting and fast paced. I disliked how wishy-washy Marie was in terms of the men in her life and the path that she wants to take.
In her traditional manner, Moran hits the mark in her descriptions; primarily in the sculpting practices of Marie and her Uncle and their exhibitions. The way that they continuously had to change their business with the tide of the revolution was truly terrifying. The scenes in the prison were eye-opening and I can imagine how one could fall in love amongst the desolation.
Overall, this was an interesting novel and I did enjoy learning about the life of the future Madame Tussaud.
Michelle Moran also has written Nefertiti, The Heretic Queen, and Cleopatra’s Daughter. Her next book, The Second Empress is set to be released August 14, 2012. You can visit Moran’s website for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?
You can also watch the book trailer below.
My other reviews of books by this author:
• Nefertiti
• The Heretic Queen
• Cleopatra’s Daughter
Other reviews of this book by other bloggers:
• The Lit Witch
• To Read or Not to Read
Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court
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