The Unknown Face

Novelist Louise Welsh investigates the enduring fascination with the Inconnue de la Seine, a plaster death mask, reputedly that of a young woman whose body was pulled from the River Seine in the late-19th century. For 50 years she has been the face of the mannequin known as Resusci Anne on which over 300 million people have learnt the life-saving skills of resuscitation. She has also inspired generations of writers and artists, including Albert Camus, Man Ray, Vladimir Nabokov and Anais Nin. Louise attempts to answer the question which has fascinated them all - who was she?