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Description edit
"This is a first-class novel, brilliantly written, and Michelle Moran has authentically evoked an era, infusing her narrative with passages of gripping and often horrifying drama, set in one of history's most brutal periods. The scope of the author's research is staggering, but you won't need... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Marie Grosholtz: Our protagonist, apprenticed to her uncle, learned the skill of creating waxed life size replicas of famous and infamous historical figures.
- Madame Grosholtz: Marie's mother.
- Rose Bertin: Marie Antoinette's milliner (dressmaker).
- Phillippe Curtius: Marie's uncle who was brought to Paris from Switzerland by the cousin of King Louis XV.
- Yachin: Salon de Cire's barker.
- Maximilien Robespierre: One of the most influential persons behind the French Revolution.
- Camille Desmoulins: Lawyer, journalist and politician who played an important part in the French Revolution.
- Henri Charles: Young scientist who lived next door to Curtius and Marie. He was frequently in the company of those behind the French Revolution.
- Jacques Charles: Scientist, mathematician, inventor and balloonist and Henri's brother. Both Henri and Jacques live next door to the Salon de Cire.
- Jean-Paul Marat: Feral-eyed physician and scientist and radical politician who contributed to the French Revolution.
- Duc d'Orléans: Cousin to the King Louis XVI who was in constant disgrace with the King. Also named Philippe Egalite.
- Lucile: Camille's fiancée.
- Madame Sainte-Amaranthe: One of the most powerful women in Paris as past mistress to the Prince de Condé and Vicomte de Pons. She approaches the Salon de Cire to sculpt a replica of her daughter.
- Emilé: Madame Sainte-Amaranthe's daughter. Requests a wax model be made of herself.
- Madame Élisabeth: King Louis XVI's sister who requests Marie's presence at Versailles to teach her how to do wax modeling.
- Edmund Grosholtz: Marie's oldest brother who is member of the Swiss Guard who guard the King.
- Johann Grosholtz: Marie's brother who is member of the Swiss Guard who guard the King.
- Wolfgang Grosholtz: Marie's brother who is member of the Swiss Guard who guard the King. Because he is closest to her age, Marie has the most affection for him.
- Marquise de Bombelles: Courtier to Madame Élisabeth
- Madame Royale: The eleven year old daughter of the King known within the king's family as Marie-Thérèse.
- Marquis de Lafayette: Served in the American Revolution under George Washington and returned to France and proposed a meeting of the Estates-General to address the fiscal crisis where some were recommending increased taxation.
- Abraham: Yachin's father
- Léonard: Marie Antoinette's hairdresser
- Abrielle: Daughter of Baron de Besenval
- François Tussaud: Marie's future husband who she met while both were imprisoned awaiting execution during the Reign of Terror. She gave birth to three children. one daughter who died in infancy and two sons.
- Rose de Beauharnais: Marie meets her again while imprisoned awaiting execution. She and her husband came to the Salon to have Marie do a portrait. Later, she was renamed Joséphine and married to Napoléon Bonaparte.
Quotes edit
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“Why does life carry some people on the crest of the wave while others drown beneath the water?”
Marie -
“A country is only as strong as its military, and only as moral as the men who serve in its ranks.”
Lafayette -
“I die so a hundred thousand people may live.”
Charlotte Corday
Setting & Locations edit
The events of the novel occurs in France and London between the years of 1788 and 1812. It was the end of the Age of Enlightenment, a philosophical school in which reason questioned the legitimacy of authority. Are all men created equal or are some social classes more privileged than others? The American Revolution had recently occurred and the writings of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson were widely read among French's Third Estate.
- Paris: Site of Salon de Cire the birthplace of the French Revolution.
- Versailles: Palace of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. It is also where the Estates-General meets.
- Salon de Cire: Curtius' wax museum. The family including Curtius, Marie and Marie's mother live in living quarters located in rooms above the museum.
- Palais-royal: A Paris shopping arcade owned by the Duc d'Orléans known to shelter "every type of thief and anarchist."
- Montreuil: Madame Élisabeth château southeast of Versailles
- Tuileries Palace: The royal palace in Paris to which the royal family was moved to keep them under surveillance after being removed from Versailles after the French Revolution.
- Conciergerie prison: The location where Marie Antoinette was held during her trial and before her execution.
Organizations edit
- Estates-General: In 1788, it was the French government, considering of the three estates: clergy, nobility and the common people. Each estate had one vote; therefore, the common people, which was the greatest number of members, found themselves outvoted.
First Sentence edit
When she walks through the door of my exhibition, everything disappears: the sound of the rain against the windows, the wax models, the customers, even the children.
Glossary edit
- Käsenspätzle: Käsespätzle is a casserole made of Spätzle (fresh German egg noodles), cheese and browned onions.
Series & Lists edit
This book is in 2011 Published Books. (community list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Michelle Moran (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Crown
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: February 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0307588654
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Crown
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: February 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0307588654
Page Count: 464
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813.6
Subjects edit
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