My book club just finished this book. It was suggested by one of the members. We have 11 members and 5 of us have finished it, and at least 2 are planning on finishing it. We all felt it was a difficult read, more scholarly in scope than we usually pick. However, it was a fascinating story and kept me reading it even when I found her writing style hard. This book gives you a whole different view of ancient Egypt and the myths surrounding Cleopatra. We had a very lively discussion about women's roles, history's perception of women, and some of the historical events. It was well worth the effort to read. Even if you can't finish it, you will learn a lot!

We have all heard of Madame Tussand's Wax Museum and perhaps even visited it, but did you know who Madame Tussand was? This book answers that question with an exciting account of the French Revolution and the involvement of many of the most important revolutionary figures with Madame Tussand. My book club was lucky enough to win hardcover copies of the book through this website and read it for our August selection. We thought it was a great depiction of the time and really made it come alive. This was a great history lesson-look at how history keeps repeating itself. The wide gap between rich and poor has been the undoing of many a government-Russia in 1917 is another example. We talked about the role of the newspapers in spreading both rumor and truth, and how the newspapers of that time invented things to sell papers, just as we see happen today. It was also interesting that so many of the people came to the exhibit to see what was happening-with no photography, camera phones or television, it was the only way the common person knew what these people and places looked like. Most members commented on the process of creating the wax figures and exhibits-we found it so interesting! In all, we learned so much and really enjoyed the story. We would recommend it to all book clubs!