“Madame Tussaud’s is something more than an exhibition, it is an institution” wrote Charles Dickens, the author, in All the Year Round Volume 2, (1860,) page 250. Marie Tussaud, though born in France, created her famous exhibition of wax models in 1830s England on Baker Street, London. Could this have influenced Sir Alfred Conan Doyle, another great author, when he placed his star detective character Sherlock Holmes at 221b Baker Street? The original Madame Tussauds1 “Chamber of Horrors”2 featured notorious killers/murderers and was its most popular attraction. Is there a correlation – hmmm?
From the Victorian Age until nearly two centuries later, Madame Tussauds still entertains legions of tourists everywhere. The popularity of wax models and wax sculpture is undeniable. At London, England’s Madame Tussauds Museum (circa 2025,) there are life-size models of stars of TV, movie, music, sports, fashion and royalty. Many of the exhibits are placed in selfie-friendly positions.
If you have time on hand after your tour of all the great museums in London, England, drop over to Madame Tussauds for a few hours of pure fun. You will be amazed!
- “Madame Tussuads Exhibition” had no possessive apostrophe and retained the spelling when the Exhibition turned into a Museum, (locations spanning four continents!) ↩︎
- The “Chamber of Horrors” always has been a hit at wax museums. I visited a Wax Museum in San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf that had a Chamber that really was scary, with realistic models of Frankenstein, other movie monsters, and renditions of Middle Age torture methods. Madame Tussauds has G-rated wax sculptures. ↩︎