What a genuinely weird little book, one I think I got as a gift from Caitlin The Beloved Book Group Dictator during year-end book swap. It really skims the edge of historical fiction but in the best of ways–as in, it is based on the person but doesn’t try in any way to give you a full and thorough accounting of what their life was like, and is all the better for it (looking at you, The Personal Librarian) (now that I think about it, that book would have benefited greatly from a vibe like this one).
As blurbed, this is the weird true tale of Mme Tussaud, she of touristy wax museum fame. I’m not even certain after reading this book whether there is a link through from this main character and the modern day museums (to reiterate this book is a tone poem). Before she was Mme Tussaud, she was Marie, a little orphan apprenticed to an even more eccentric wax sculptor (Dr. Curtis) for whom verisimilitude and anatomical accuracy in creating wax heads is paramount. The two of them eke out a precarious existence in Switzerland and eventually have to flee to Paris, just in time for the revolution and its plethora of loose heads. Dr. Curtis ends up being manipulated by a widowed tailor and her son, leaving poor Marie as basically a Cinderella figure, but one who never stops being enamored of Dr. Curtis. They do eventually set up a museum of sorts, which I imagine is the progenitor to the museums of today.
While there is plot in that sense, it’s of less import because we’re aware that one day Marie will grow up to be successful, which removes some of the tension whenever you’ve got people in the Revolution (who knows, the wax head you make today of a hero will become a reason to have your own head chopped off tomorrow). Marie is a bit frustrating at times, more of a cipher for those around her than a fully formed character in her own right. She lacks a spine or any forward ambition, making it even harder to envision her one day rising above. There are little Quentin-Blake-esque illustration throughout, mostly of the heads and figures that they capture, which add to the overall whimsical vibe of the book.
End of the day, this book is both interesting and different, which is high praise given how much I do read.
