Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution [FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]

Moran, Michelle

Published by Crown Publishers, New York, 2011

About this Item

As new condition blue boards/forest green spine/gold spine lettering contained in an as new condition non price-clipped color photographic dust jacket. Includes Dedication; Time Line for the French Revolution; Double-Page Preliminary Page Map of Paris; Characters; Author's Note; Epilogue: England August 11, 1802; After the Revolution; Historical Note; Glossary; and Acknowledgments. Illustrated with double page map and black-and-white photograph. "The world knows Madam Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire . but who whas this woman who became one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? In these pages, her tumultuous and amazing story comes to life as only Michelle Moran can tell it. The year is 1788, and a revolution is about to begin. Smart and ambitions, Marie Tussaud has learned the secrets of wax sculpting by working alongside her uncle in their celebrated wax museum, the Salon de Cire. From her popular model of the American ambassador, Thomas Jefferson, to her tableau of the royal family at dinner, Marie's museum provides Parisians with the very latest news on fashion, gossip, and even politics. Her customers hail from every walk of life, yet her greatest dream is to attract the attention of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI; their stamp of approval on her work could catapult her and her museum to the fame and riches she desires. After months of anticipation, Marie learns that the royal family is willing to come and see their likenesses. When they finally arrive, the king's sister is so impressed that she requests Marie's presence at Versailles as a royal tutor in wax sculpting. It is a request Marie knows she cannot refuse - even if it means time away from her beloved Salon and her increasingly dear friend, Henri Charles. As Marie gets to know her pupil, Princess Elisabeth, she also becomes acquainted with the king and queen, who introduce her to the glamorous life at court. From lavish parties with more delicacies that she's ever seen to rooms filled with candles lit only once before being discarded, Marie steps into a world entirely different from her home on the Boulevard du Temple, where people are selling their teeth in order to put food on the table. Meanwhile, many resent the vast separation between rich and poor. In salons and cafes across Paris, people like Camille Desmoulins, Jean-Paul Marat, and Maximilien Robespierre are lashing out against the monarchy. Soon, there's whispered talk of revolution . Will Marie be able to hold on to both the love of her life and her friendship with the royal family as France approaches civil war? And more important, will she be able to fulfill the demands of powerful revolutionaries who ask that she make the death masks of beheaded aristocrats, some of whom she knows? Spanning five years, from the budding revolution to the Reign of Terror, Madame Tussaud brings us into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom." - from the inner front and rear jacket flaps. Seller Inventory # 003689

Bibliographic Details

Title: Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French ...

Publisher: Crown Publishers, New York

Publication Date: 2011

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: As New

Dust Jacket Condition: As New

Edition: 1st Edition