The Princess of Wales and the Empress of Austria, though they lived a century apart, led parallel lives: both were married off to Europe’s most eligible royals, dealt with formidable mothers-in-law, and rued that fairy tale weddings do not always equate to a happily ever after.

“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” – Marie Curie

The Maria Sklodowska-Curie Museum

16 Freta Street, Warsaw, Poland

            One is as likely to witness a blue moon, find a hen’s tooth, or catch a glimpse of Big Foot, as it is to encounter a Nobel Prize recipient. Miraculously, one family garnered five of the coveted awards. Two memorial museums are dedicated to Marie Curie: in Warsaw and Paris.

“I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.”

     Before Mansfield’s bosom and Monroe’s backside, before Madonna’s bustier and Stone’s uncrossed legs, there was the leader of the pack: bodacious, bawdy, blonde Mae West. Critic George Jean Nathan dubbed her the Statue of Libido.

Chapter # 1: The Worst of Times  (1761 )

        Charles Dickens’ epic novel, A Tale of Two Cities, is a love story set against the fiery backdrop of France and England during the Reign of Terror.  A nonfictional heroine whose life was likewise enacted in Paris and London during the same epoch is equally riveting, though it has been regulated to an obscure chapter of this tumultuous time.

           There are many exclusive clubs which dot the glitterati capitals of the world which provide open sesame solely to the possessors of blood of blue or pants with deep pockets. And yet there is one such rarefied enclave where entry is even more exclusive: billions of dollars cannot buy entry. Membership is by invitation only; Mother Teresa is one of the few who have declined. British royalty and rock royalty, as well as American presidents have long entered. In our more liberal milieu admittance is less conventional. Orange is the New Black actress Laverne Cox became is first transgender inductee. In answer to where is this place the answer is its establishments are found throughout the world; in answer to who began this novel emporium is a woman whose life was as fantastical as her glittering guests.

          Anne Made Grosholz had to deal with the twin challenges of becoming a new mother and a widow when Joseph, her German husband, died from gruesome wounds incurred in the Seven Year War two months before his daughter Marie was born. To add to the dire situation, her spouse’s salary had been her sole source of income. To provide for herself and her infant she obtained a position as a house-keeper to Dr. Philippe Curtius in her hometown of Strasbourg. The physician became so fond of Anne-he claimed to be a big fan of her casseroles- he brought mother and daughter along when he left France to return to his native Switzerland. There developed a lifelong bond between Marie and Curtius, who she called Uncle and he served as surrogate father.

      Like many medics of the time, Curtius made anatomical waxes, but his were exceptionally skillful, especially when it came to replicating the textures and hues of human skin. Hence, Marie was raised in a household where it was not unusual to see random body parts. Word of his talent spread and Louis XV’s cousin, the Prince de Conti, offered patronage. Finding the royal opportunity too great a position to pass up, Dr. Curtius, Anne, and six-year-old Marie left for Paris.

           From her earliest years Marie was enraptured with the art of wax works and became an eager protégée. The minion ultimately supplanted the master and at age 17 she was creating her own models. While other teenaged girls were courting eligible boys, Marie was busy immortalizing contemporary luminaries such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Benjamin Franklin. Her firsts complete sculpture was of Voltaire who joked that at his age every mask was likely to be a death-mask. She liked to remark the three men were frequent dinner guests at the Curtius table, and that Rousseau enjoyed her mother’s cooking.

        By the early 1780s, Curtius and Marie had so impressed the French populace he set up a ‘cabinet de circe’ ‘wax exhibition’ at the Parisian entertainment hotspot: the Palais Royal. It featured the crowned heads of Europe so visitors felt the thrill of mingling with the upper echelons. This proved such a resounding success he staged another at the Boulevard du Temple, the Caverne des Grands V