Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution

I just finished this book and have to say I feel a little unsettled after reading it. From a historical viewpoint, it was very good and I did learn a lot from this book. The writing is superb and I couldn't put it down, but the author brings you into the French Revolution with all its madness, violence and anarchy, which was a little disturbing.

There were so many similarities to what is going on in countries like Egypt and Libya, that it made me uneasy as I thought of the revolutions going on in our world today. The selfishness and greed that can take over a person and the extent to which they will go to achieve what they want is unthinkable. It made me think of something St. Augustine once said:

"You made us Lord for yourself and our hearts find no peace till they rest in you."

The story of Madame Tussaud was fascinating and I enjoyed this part of the book. I couldn't get into the brutal senseless murdering rampages, but here was a woman who endured through this. The book covers about 14 years of her life during the French Revolution. I found the parts about her sketching and the making of her wax figures very interesting as well as who she met while doing this. I've been to several wax museums through the years and enjoyed them. It really is an incredible art form.

Above is a picture of the self portrait Madame Tussaud made of herself later in her life and below a picture of the Boulevard Du Temple, where she lived and worked throughout this novel.

Note of Warning: If this novel were made into a movie it would probably be rated 18A due to the graphic violence and 1 or 2 very short inappropriate scenes. (At least in my option)  :)