Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution

by Michelle Moran

I loved this book!  Best book I've read so far this year!

You may be familiar with Michelle Moran's earlier novels: Nefertiti, The Heretic Queen, and Cleopatra's Daughter.  All very good, enjoyable reads, took me to places and introduced me to people from history, and were well researched and well written.  Madame Tussaud does all that and more.  In my opinion this is Moran's best work so far.

Perhaps it was the backdrop of the French Revolution that made me love this book.  I feel like I knew so little about that period, though I did read (and love) The Scarlett Pimpernell.  Perhaps it was the main character that I liked so well. Though she is quite different from me, I was able to understand her motives and to sympathize with her roles as daughter, girlfriend, niece, teacher, and her devotion to her work.

The characters in this book are complex.  I think Moran did a superb job of progressively revealing more dimensions to the characters, mainly Madame Tussaud and Robespierre, as the story unfolds.  And the story!  Excellent!  I liked how we see the French Revolution from a different slant than is presented in The Scarlett Pimpernell.  I felt compassion for the Royalty as well as anger.  The progression of Robespierre from an activist to a villainous madman was portrayed with finesse.

I am not doing this book justice with my choppy review.  I need to have my daughter read it and discuss it with me.  Then I could write what I feel but what she can help me express.  I wish I had her gift for putting into words the things she feels about a book.  Suffice it to say in my own befuddled way that I think you will enjoy this book and I hope you love it as much as I do.  I may need to start going to book club again so I can recommend this book.