32 Londoners - A series of 32 talks on famous Londoners on the Coca-Cola London Eye, in association with Antique Beat and A Curious Invitation on 11th June 2015
Kate Berridge on Madame Tussaud - Wax Sculptor
Born Anna Maria Grosholtz 1761, StrasbourgClick for tickets - £40 each - 11th June 2015

MADAME TUSSAUD
Marie Tussaud was a French-speaking German artist, born in Strasbourg in 1761. Sent to Berne as a young woman, she became the housekeeper of a wax sculptor, Dr Curtius, in whose footsteps she was to follow. They moved to Paris, where she was soon making wax sculptures for the nobility at the Royal court in Versailles. She was subsequently involved in the French Revolution during the Reign of Terror, in charge of fabricating death masks for victims, and narrowly avoided a death sentence herself.

She arrived in London in 1802 and toured her waxwork collection round the country until finally setting up her first permanent exhibition on Baker Street in 1833. Today, Madame Tussaud’s is an international tourist attraction with branches in cities such as Berlin, Shanghai, New York and Las Vegas.


Kate Berridge is the author of Vigor Mortis: The End of the Death Taboo, and Waxing Mythical: The Life and Legend of Madame Tussaud. When she is not sugar-soaping her skirting boards or throwing scrunched paper snowballs of unsatisfactory prose, she is writing a novel about John Ruskin and Rose La Touche.

SCHEDULE
8:30 pm - Guests to arrive in the the 32 Londoners' departure lounge in County Hall's Riverside Rooms. Music and entertainment will be provided. Please use this time to find your group. Hosts will be holding signs of the Londoner who is the subject of each of talk.
8:45 pm - First embarkation. Complimentary drinks will be served in your capsule.
9:50 pm - Last disembarkation. Please return to County Hall for more entertainment.
11:00 pm - Lounge closes.

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