Madame Tussaud: The Woman, A Guest Post by Michelle Moran

It is Michelle Moran time YAY, I hope you all are as excited as me. This has been a long time coming and February has sure turned out to be the month for hot historical fiction releases. Michelle being the proactive author that she is would like to offer a FREE book plate to any reader who would like one. Check out the link here.

Michelle has graciously written up a guest post for Historically Obsessed on her new leading lady Madame Tussaud. Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution is due to hit bookstore everywhere on February 15th 2011. It is my pleasure and honor to welcome the fascinating Michelle Moran to Historically Obsessed! Michelle the stage is yours, take it away.

MADAME TUSSAUD: The Woman

When most people hear the name Madame Tussaud, the first thing that comes to mind are the eerily lifelike waxworks which crowd her museums throughout the world. But who was the woman behind the name, and what was she like in the flesh?

Madame Tussaud’s story actually began in 18th century Paris. While most people know her from her famous museum in London, it was in France, on the humble Boulevard du Temple, where Marie first got her start as an apprentice in her uncle’s wax museum, the Salon de Cire. At the time, the Boulevard du Temple was crowded with exhibits of every kind. For just a few sous a passerby might attend the opera, watch a puppet show, or visit Henri Charles’ mystifying exhibition The Invisible Girl. The Boulevard was a difficult place to distinguish yourself as an artist, but as Marie’s talent grew for both sculpting and public relations, the Salon de Cire became one of the most popular attractions around. Suddenly, no one could compete with Marie or her uncle for ingenious publicity stunts, and when the royal family supposedly visited their museum, this only solidified what most showmen in Paris already knew — the Salon was an exhibition to watch out for.

But as the Salon’s popularity grew, so did the unusual requests. Noblemen came asking for wax sculptures of their mistresses, women wanted models of their newborn infants, and – most importantly – the king’s sister herself wanted Marie to come to Versailles to be her wax tutor. While this was, in many ways, a dream come true for Marie, it was also a dangerous time to be associated with the royal family. Men like Robespierre, Marat, and Desmoulins were meeting at Marie’s house to discuss the future of the monarchy, and when the Revolution began, Marie found herself in a precarious position. Ultimately, she was given a choice by France’s new leaders: to preserve the famous victims of Madame Guillotine in wax, or be guillotined herself.

Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution is the story of Marie’s life during one of the most tumultuous times in human history. Her survival was nothing less than astonishing, and how she survived makes for what I hope is a compelling read.

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Official Book Trailer For Madame Tussaud

Thank you Michelle for sharing with us some of the details of Madame Tussaud's interesting life. Be sure to stay tuned for more from Michelle Moran. As always of course there will be a review from me but in case you are dying to find out, see that lovely graphic up to the right? Yes I know you saw it. Historically Obsessed will be hosting a very very special Marie Antoinette jewelry giveaway in the very near future. I know it is so exciting but you will have to wait to check it out.

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