BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS
(Print: 10/14/2018; 9780525534327; Riverhead Books (an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) founded in 1994 by Susan Petersen Kennedy); 448 pages)
Audio: 10/23/2018; 9780525640646; Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group; duration 14:20:57 (12 parts).
(Film: No).

CHARACTERS:
Anna Maria "Marie" Tussaud (Little) – child servant
Marie’s mother-home-maker turned servant
Marie’s father-war victim
Philippe Curtius-physician & was modelist
The widow
The widow’s son
Jack
Louie the XVI
Princess Elisabeth
Mr. Tussaud


SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
I really enjoyed this, in large part because I love the narrator, Jayne Entwistle, and because I always love learning a bit about history via novels. They reanimate the past –giving it back its heart.
Marie, or 'Little', as she has not all that kindly been nick-named, has fallen into a life of servitude to a physician who focuses his medical knowledge on the art of wax modelling as a means of teaching anatomy. I won’t go into further details lest I destroy your own enjoyment of the story with foreknowledge, but that's only the beginning. I will say that another reason I enjoyed this story is that Marie seems rather steadily ebullient, despite all of the meanness and hardship that comes her way.
The story is based on the life and times of Anna Maria "Marie" Tussaud.

AUTHOR:
Edward Carey. (April 1970) According to Amazon, Edward “is a novelist, visual artist, and playwright. Carey’s previous novels include Observatory Mansions and Alva & Irva, and his acclaimed series for young adults, the Iremonger Trilogy, earned best-of-the-year recognition from The New York Times Book Review, NPR, and other venues. Born in England, he now teaches at the University of Texas in Austin, where he lives with his wife, the author Elizabeth McCracken, and their family.”

NARRATOR:
Jane Entwistle Feb. 24. According to Goodreads, Jayne was “Born in Lytham St. Annes, England. Her family emigrated to Canada where she spent time living on both coasts. She resides in Los Angeles where a passionate outcry to friends, "If only I could read for a living" was answered. Entwistle narrates audio books for Random House. Her narration work has garnered several awards including a place on the NY Times Bestseller List”
I love Jayne! Chronologically, Jim Dale was my first narrator addiction; Jayne was my second, so my first female narrator addiction!

GENRE:
Historical fiction

LOCATIONS:
Bern, Switzerland; France

TIME FRAME
18th century

SUBJECTS:
Wax modelling, French Royalty, French Revolution, servitude

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From Chapter One "In which I am born and in which I describe my mother and father.”
"Since girls of my stamp were not schooled, it was Mother who gave me education through God. The Bible was my primer. Elsewise, I fetched in logs, looked for kindling in the woods, washed plates and clothes, cut vegetables, fetched meat. I swept. I cleaned. I carried. I was always busy. Mother taught me industry. If my mother was busy, she was happy; it was when she stopped that uncertainty caught up with her, only to be dispelled by some new activity. She was constantly in motion, and movement suited her well.
'Discover,' she would say, 'what you can do. You'll always find something. One day your father will return, and he'll see what a good and useful child you are.'
'Thank you, Mother. I shall be most useful, I do wish it.'
'What a creature you are!'
'Am I? A creature?'
'Yes, my own little creature.'
Mother brushed my hair with extraordinary vigor. Sometimes she touched my cheek or patted my bonnet. She was probably not very beautiful, but I thought her so. She had a small mole just beneath one of her eyelids. I wish I could remember her smile. I do know she had one.”
RATING: 5 stars. Unique and well-told.

STARTED-FINISHED
1/29/21-2/4/21
( )

Little spent more than a few years languishing on my wishlist, to the point where I forgot why I wanted to read the novel in the first place, but of course - the French Revolution. I'm glad that I did finally commit to this whimsical revision of the life of Marie Grosholtz, later Tussaud, although the rambling, fantastical style did put me off slightly. And the later, more realistic chapters about the Revolution were well worth waiting for. The author's illustrations were a quirky addition too - and very eerie when reading with a black screen on Kindle - even if the faces did mostly look the same! ( )

I'm debating between 3 and 4 stars, so I am just going to round up. The story is unique and the illustrations really enhance the reading experience, but it is a little uneven. Most of the time I was really engaged, but there were several occasions where it started to feel like a slog. If you're going to write a novel that's over 400 pages, every sentence must be absolutely necessary. However, this book is definitely worth reading since it's very enjoyable overall. ( )

Bailed @ 49%.

Es 1761, y una niña diminuta y de aspecto bastante extraño nace en un pueblo de Suiza. La llaman Anne Marie, aunque no tardarán en referirse a ella como Little. Pronto la tragedia se cierne sobre su vida: sus padres mueren, y su única salida es convertirse en aprendiz y sirvienta de un excéntrico modelador de cera, el señor Curtius. Espléndidas cabezas de cera la observan desde todos los ángulos del taller: Curtius las rellena con trapos y serrín, y las vende por encargo a los hombres más ricos de Berna. De la Suiza de su infancia a París, donde funda con el señor Curtius el primer museo de cera, y más tarde a Versalles, para asistir a María Antonieta en el parto, esta es la asombrosa historia de la modeladora de cera más ilustre de la Revolución francesa. Porque la revolución exige cabezas para su incansable guillotina, y solo ella puede conseguirlas.