Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran
Hardcover, 464 pages
February 15th 2011
Crown Publishing Group
ISBN-13 9780307588654
Review copy provided by the publisher, thank you!
The Burton Review Rating: 4.5 stars

In this deft historical novel, Madame Tussaud (1761-1850) escapes the pages of trivia quizzes to become a real person far more arresting than even her waxwork sculptures. Who among us knew, for instance, that she moved freely through the royal court of Louis XVI, only to become a prisoner of the Reign of Terror? Her head was shaven for guillotining, but she escaped execution, though she was forced to make death masks for prominent victims. Novelist Michelle Moran covers this breathtaking period without losing the thread of its subject's singular story

Readers have many ways to hear of the atrocities of the French Revolution, but Michelle Moran's is one that should not be overlooked as among the best. Through the eyes of Marie Grosholz, the famous sculptress known later as Madame Tussaud, we become witnesses to the crimes of the anarchists who stylized themselves as Revolutionaries. With what first begins as a documentary view of the fall of the monarchy under Louis XVI, Madame Tussaud evolves into a passionate first-hand look into the horrors and the fears that the French people faced during the Revolution.

The novel begins as a sedate look at the salon of wax figures that Marie is running with her Uncle Curtius, which is a pleasant trade that allows her mother and she to thrive. Her greatest ambition is to be noticed by Queen Marie Antoinette, and is not until much later that she realizes that this one ambition for greatness could mean the guillotine for her family. Marie is extremely talented in portraying the wax sculptures with lifelike accuracy, and the salon does become recognized throughout France especially after the Royal family visit. With a devastating turn of events, the revolutionaries also visit the salon and her uncle, who becomes one of Robespierre's National Guard. The politics of the Third Estate and the plight of the poorest people are well developed in the story, and it is with a crescendo of suspense and fear that we read on as King Louis's head is brought to the salon's doorstep.. with several other horrors beforehand that pulls you into this story of a remarkable time and a woman who showed great fortitude and resilience during those times of extreme crisis.

There are many notables in the novel, from the royal family to the revolutionaries, and then there are those members of Marie's small circle that help bring a stunning clarity to the tenuous position Marie found herself in every day during the Revolution. Not knowing what was the right thing to say at any given moment (for the king or for the people?) as Marie was forced to put aside her morals and sense of right and wrong, in fear of those leaders who were making names for themselves as writers of political papers that brought chaos to the kingdom and the monarchy. No one was safe, innocent women and children were slaughtered just as the King and Queen were.

Although the start of the novel felt a bit rushed to document the events of France that brought the monarchy to its knees, the climatic story redeemed itself as this reader became completely engrossed in the travails of Madame Tussaud and her friends. I had little knowledge of the devastation the Revolutionaries caused for the entire country, and was stunned at the sanction of murder that was committed in the name of freedom. The seemingly simple title of French Revolution brings to me now a new found respect for those that lived, died or endured during the Revolution, such as young Marie Grosholz, and it is only through the magnificent storytelling via Michelle Moran from which I have achieved this. Brava to Michelle Moran for another job well done for a spectacular (heartwrenching and nerve wracking!) piece of work. P.S. The last book I read took over a week, this took two days.

Susan at Rocks n' Reads West of Mars hosts Women on Wednesday.

This is a new meme to spotlight favorite FEMALE authors, as Publisher's Weekly has recently published their Best Reads of 2009, without a single female writer on their list.

So now we get to give the Women a Weekly Meme!

Susan says:

"WOW — Women on Wednesday.
Every Wednesday, write about a book you loved that’s written by a woman. Celebrate a woman author whose books you love. Talk about a book you’re dying to read. "

Well, everyone who knows me or my blog knows I love Georgette Heyer, Jean Plaidy, and Louisa May Alcott. But I wanted to spotlight someone who is alive, and who has the talent to be on the 2009 List.

Today I am going to pick Michelle Moran as a fabulous female author who had a fabulous book published in 2009.

She is beyond generous and helpful to the book blogging community, with promo bookmarks along with the books.. signed bookplates.. and even sending an authentic Roman coin as part of her promotion for her recent "Cleopatra's Daughter" novel. Despite all this wonderful marketing, her book itself could have been mediocre. But it wasn't. All the book bloggers who ran special posts and review Michelle's work seemed to be an unending adventure for awhile, and as the hype has died down, we all know that this author is a 'keeper'.

Her book was a wonderful read that I truly enjoyed, and I have not read one slightly lukewarm review of this book. She is definitely an author who belongs on my top ten of 2009 list.

Read my Michelle Moran related posts here.

Join in the Women on Wednesday Fun by linking to today's post

Booking Through Thursday is hosted by Deb.

Deb asks:
What’s the saddest book you’ve read recently?


I've read some books that have "sad" themes, and some disturbing ones.. but today I'm thinking of the one that made me cry more than once and was my most recent. Those who haven't read it, will be surprised. Those who have read it, won't be. It is Cleopatra's Daughter, by Michelle Moran.
See my review here if you would like.

I am a little late this AM posting, since I've drawn two winners from two different giveaways from the Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table event, which is time consuming!! See sidebar for other giveaways.

THE WINNERS ARE:
The winner for Kathy Lynn Emerson's Historical Mystery, Face Down in The Marrow-Bone Pie is
Susie from All Things Royal.

The winner for Martin Dugard & James Patterson's The Murder of King Tut, the new non-fiction thriller, is Deidre from Gothic Asylum Reviews
Emails going out after I do payroll..

Day Two of The Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table is here.
Please Visit Allie at Hist-Fic-Chick. Today, the Royal Heiress of The Day is Amy, from Passages to The Past, and along with her interview will be a fabulous post on the very favorite: Elizabeth I. There's also another GIVEAWAY! Check out the other blogs for their participating posts, see details here & don't forget to enter yesterday's giveaway for Cleopatra's Daughter!
A new participating post is up Lady Gwyn's Kingdom, here.

Today at The Burton Review we have the most wonderful author Michelle Moran and a giveaway for a paperback copy of The Heretic Queen, which will be autographed by her! The giveaway details are at the end of this fantabulous post that Michelle created for The Burton Review readers. Thank you so much to Michelle for being such an awesome person by being so available to all of us bloggers. Let's welcome Michelle:



TRAVELING AS INSPIRATION
by Michelle Moran

For every novel I have written, I can look back and say that there has been a very specific moment of inspiration - usually in some exotic locale or inside a museum - where I’ve said, “Aha! That’s going to be the subject of my next novel.” I never began my writing career with the intention to write books about three different princesses in Egypt. In fact, I had no intention of writing about ancient Egypt at all until I participated in my first archaeological dig.

During my sophomore year in college, I found myself sitting in Anthropology 101, and when the professor mentioned that she was looking for volunteers who would like to join a dig in Israel, I was one of the first students to sign up. When I got to Israel, however, all of my archaeological dreams were dashed (probably because they centered around Indiana Jones). There were no fedora wearing men, no cities carved into rock, and certainly no Ark of the Covenant. I was very disappointed. Not only would a fedora have seemed out of place, but I couldn’t even use the tiny brushes I had packed. Apparently, archaeology is more about digging big ditches with pickaxes rather than dusting off artifacts. And it had never occurred to me until then that in order to get to those artifacts, one had to dig deep into the earth. Volunteering on an archaeological dig was hot, it was sweaty, it was incredibly dirty, and when I look back on the experience through the rose-tinged glasses of time, I think, Wow, was it fantastic! Especially when our team discovered an Egyptian scarab that proved the ancient Israelites had once traded with the Egyptians. Looking at that scarab in the dirt, I began to wonder who had owned it, and what had possessed them to undertake the long journey from their homeland to the fledgling country of Israel.

On my flight back to America I stopped in Berlin, and with a newfound appreciation for Egyptology, I visited the museum where Nefertiti’s limestone bust was being housed. The graceful curve of Nefertiti’s neck, her arched brows, and the faintest hint of a smile were captivating to me. Who was this woman with her self-possessed gaze and stunning features? I wanted to know more about Nefertiti’s story, but when I began the research into her life, it proved incredibly difficult. She’d been a woman who’d inspired powerful emotions when she lived over three thousand years ago, and those who had despised her had attempted to erase her name from history. Yet even in the face of such ancient vengeance, some clues remained.

As a young girl Nefertiti had married a Pharaoh who was determined to erase the gods of Egypt and replace them with a sun-god he called Aten. It seemed that Nefertiti’s family allowed her to marry this impetuous king in the hopes that she would tame his wild ambitions. What happened instead, however, was that Nefertiti joined him in building his own capital of Amarna where they ruled together as god and goddess. But the alluring Nefertiti had a sister who seemed to keep her grounded, and in an image of her found in Amarna, the sister is standing off to one side, her arms down while everyone else is enthusiastically praising the royal couple. From this image, and a wealth of other evidence, I tried to recreate the epic life of an Egyptian queen whose husband was to become known as the Heretic King.


Each novel I’ve written has had a similar moment of inspiration for me. In many ways, my second book, The Heretic Queen is a natural progression from Nefertiti. The narrator is orphaned Nefertari, who suffers terribly because of her relationship to the reviled "Heretic Queen". Despite the Heretic Queen's death a generation prior, Nefertari is still tainted by her relationship to Nefertiti, and when young Ramesses falls in love and wishes to marry her, it is a struggle not just against an angry court, but against the wishes of a rebellious people.

But perhaps I would never have chosen to write on Nefertari at all if I hadn't seen her magnificent tomb. At one time, visiting her tomb was practically free, but today, a trip underground to see one of the most magnificent places on earth can cost upwards of five thousand dollars (yes, you read that right). If you want to share the cost and go with a group, the cost lowers to the bargain-basement price of about three thousand. As a guide told us of the phenomenal price, I looked at my husband, and he looked at me. We had flown more than seven thousand miles, suffered the indignities of having to wear the same clothes for three days because of lost luggage… and really, what were the possibilities of our ever returning to Egypt again? There was only one choice. We paid the outrageous price, and I have never forgotten the experience.

While breathing in some of the most expensive air in the world, I saw a tomb that wasn't just fit for a queen, but a goddess. In fact, Nefertari was only one of two (possibly three) queens ever deified in her lifetime, and as I gazed at the vibrant images on her tomb - jackals and bulls, cobras and gods - I knew that this wasn't just any woman, but a woman who had been loved fiercely when she was alive. Because I am a sucker for romances, particularly if those romances actually happened, I immediately wanted to know more about Nefertari and Ramesses the Great. So my next stop was the Hall of Mummies at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. There, resting beneath a heavy arc of glass, was the great Pharaoh himself. For a ninety-something year old man, he didn't look too bad. His short red hair was combed back neatly and his face seemed strangely peaceful in its three thousand year repose. I tried to imagine him as he'd been when he was young - strong, athletic, frighteningly rash and incredibly romantic. Buildings and poetry remain today as testaments to Ramesses's softer side, and in one of Ramesses's more famous poems he calls Nefertari "the one for whom the sun shines." His poetry to her can be found from Luxor to Abu Simbel, and it was my visit to Abu Simbel (where Ramesses built a temple for Nefertari) where I finally decided that I had to tell their story.

It’s the moments like this that an historical fiction author lives for. And it probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn that my decision to write my third novel, Cleopatra’s Daughter, came on an underwater dive to see the submerged city of ancient Alexandria. Traveling has been enormously important in my career. My adventures end up inspiring not only what I’m currently writing, but what I’m going to write about in the future.


Thank you so much, Michelle!


And now for the Giveaway OPEN WORLDWIDE!!

Enter here for One signed copy of The Heretic Queen

Reviews:Read an Excerpt:Author Q&A

Synopsis:

"In ancient Egypt, a forgotten princess must overcome her family’s past and remake history. The winds of change are blowing through Thebes. A devastating palace fire has killed the Eighteenth Dynasty’s royal family—all with the exception of Nefertari, the niece of the reviled former queen, Nefertiti. The girl’s deceased family has been branded as heretical, and no one in Egypt will speak their names. A relic of a previous reign, Nefertari is pushed aside, an unimportant princess left to run wild in the palace. But this changes when she is taken under the wing of the Pharaoh’s aunt, then brought to the Temple of Hathor, where she is educated in a manner befitting a future queen. Soon Nefertari catches the eye of the Crown Prince, and despite her family’s history, they fall in love and wish to marry. Yet all of Egypt opposes this union between the rising star of a new dynasty and the fading star of an old, heretical one. While political adversity sets the country on edge, Nefertari becomes the wife of Ramesses the Great. Destined to be the most powerful Pharaoh in Egypt, he is also the man who must confront the most famous exodus in history. Sweeping in scope and meticulous in detail, The Heretic Queen is a novel of passion and power, heartbreak and redemption."

OPEN WORLDWIDE!!To Enter this fabulous Giveaway:
1. Since this is Book Blogger Appreciation Week, you must be a Book Blogger & Reviewer, and comment with your Blog URL AND Email Address with a comment other than Enter Me. You must also Be or Become A Follower.

2. Add Extra Entries For Each (max of 5 total entries): blog post, Sidebar post, tweet, or Facebook Share spotlighting this post & giveaway. You must share that link within a comment so that I can verify it is done properly.

Entries must be received by midnight September 22nd, the winner will be announced and emailed the next day and you have two days to respond. Thanks for entering, thanks to Michelle, and good luck!

"Cleopatra's Daughter" by Michelle Moran
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Crown (September 15, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0307409120
The Burton Review Rating:

Click here for a Synopsis