Synopses & Reviews
Millions have visited the museums that bear her name, yet few know much about Madame Tussaud. A celebrated artist, she had both a ringside seat at and a cameo role in the French Revolution. This intelligent, pragmatic businesswoman has also had an extraordinary impact on contemporary culture, planting the seed of our obsession with celebrity.
In Madame Tussaud Kate Berridge tells this fascinating woman's complete story for the first time, drawing upon a wealth of sources including Tussaud's memoirs and historical archives. It is a grand-scale success story—how with sheer graft and grit a woman born in 1761 to an eighteen-year-old cook overcame extraordinary reversals of fortune to build the first and most enduring worldwide brand identified simply by reference to its founder's name: Madame Tussaud's.
Central to her success was her status as a victim and survivor of one of the most tumultuous times in history; her grizzly relics both captivated her audience and reinforced her own version of her life story. Her memoirs placed claims of friendships with royals and revolutionaries—including Marie Antoinette and Marat—alongside personal horrors, most famously how she was forced to make death masks from the guillotine-fresh heads of former friends. But as a born entrepreneur did she extend her flair for publicity to molding her own story?
Review
“an exemplary job of capturing the temper of the times and placing Tussaud within the context of European popular culture.” Library Journal
Review
“An interesting look at how the instability of the French Revolution helped spawn a profitable enterprise.” Miami Herald
Review
“Vigor Mortis glitters with ideas and insights.” The Guardian (London) for Vigor Mortis
Review
“Brilliantly odd and sympathetically clever.” The Spectator for Vigor Mortis
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“Full of fascinating and unexpectedly lively stuff.” New Statesman for Vigor Mortis
Synopsis
Millions have visited the museums that bear her name, yet most know little about Madame Marie Tussuad. A celebrated artist, she had both a ringside seat and a cameo role in the French Revolution. Yet this intelligent, pragmatic business-woman-one of the earliest and most successful female enterpreneurs-would also have an extraordinary impact on modern culture, planting the seed of our facination with celebrity that has become an obessions today. Drawing upon a wealth of primary sources including Tussaud's memoirs and historical archives, as well as interview with her direct descendants, Kate Berrige tells this fascinating woman's complete story for the first time. The daughter of a common soldier and housekeeper, Tussaud's talent as a wax sculptor would propel her to the Court of Versailles in the waning days of the monarchy, where she became acquainted with some of the most renowned and infamous names of the age: Voltaire, Rousseau, Benjamin Franklin, the Duc d'Orleans, Marat,
About the Author
Kate Berridge is the author of Vigor Mortis and has contributed to Vogue, the Spectator, the Sunday Times, and Town & Country, among other publications. She lives in London, England.