The Widow Clicquot

The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It

By: Tilar Mazzeo

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Veuve Clicquot champagne epitomizes glamour, style, and luxury. But who was this young widow - the Veuve Clicquot - whose champagne sparkled at the courts of France, Britain, and Russia, and how did she rise to celebrity and fortune?

In The Widow Clicquot, Tilar J. Mazzeo brings to life for the first time the fascinating woman behind the iconic yellow label: Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin. A young witness to the dramatic events of the French Revolution and a new widow during the chaotic years of the Napoleonic Wars, Barbe-Nicole defied convention by assuming - after her husband's death - the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she became one of the world's first great businesswomen and one of the richest women of her time.

Although the Widow Clicquot is still a legend in her native France, her story has never been told in all its richness - until now. Painstakingly researched and elegantly written, The Widow Clicquot provides a glimpse into the life of a woman who arranged clandestine and perilous champagne deliveries to Russia one day and entertained Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte on another. She was a daring and determined entrepreneur, a bold risk taker, and an audacious and intelligent woman who took control of her own destiny when fate left her on the brink of financial ruin. Her legacy lives on today, not simply through the famous product that still bears her name, but now through Mazzeo's finely crafted book.

As much a fascinating journey through the process of making this temperamental wine as a biography of a uniquely tempered woman, The Widow Clicquot is utterly intoxicating.

©2009 Tilar J. Mazzeo (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Told in a light and graceful style that is just right for its subject.... [I]t's a fascinating trip, made even more so by Ms. Mazzeo's charming cameo appearances as a kind of tour guide....an intoxicating business biography." ( The Wall Street Journal)
"If you like champagne, The Widow Clicquot by Tilar J. Mazzeo is definitely worth a drink." (Associated Press)

Not much of a story but a great woman

This amazing woman did so much for the champagne industry and France itself. She took chances, made mistakes, built an empire and like all good hero or heroines, against great odds. She deserves to be toasted with of course a glass of Veuve Clicquot. I learned a lot about the history of champagne and a little about the woman, but the story had to be filled out with this stuff as there isn't much to tell about the Widow.

The author admits there's not much to go on

The author admits in the afterward there's not much to go on, and they were right. Read like a history text with too many dates and trying to hard to make a short story into a full length book. Could have cut it in half and had a nice biography.

Good History on Champagne

As a widow running a business in the 1800s in France, there aren't going to be a lot of records of what she was like and how she operated. It's understandable that the author is going to speculate much of the circumstances and environment that Madame Clicquot Ponsardin would have faced. I didn't mind that some of the content is phrased as "she probably..." or "she must have..." to give a complete story (rather than skip parts entirely where there are no historical records). I enjoyed learning about the history of champagne and her influence on the industry.

I didn't care for how it started off where the author stated that Madame Clicquot Ponsardin didn't pass on her business to her only daughter as if she didn't believe a woman was capable. Towards the end when her daughter is grown and married, it is obvious that she would not be capable of running the business (nor her husband). It had nothing to do with her gender.

More please

"Speculation" approach could've been a bit smoother with just the forewarning and then moved into as historical fiction. Reminds me of archeologists working with the limited artifacts left behind, piecing all of the puzzle together. Fantastic focus. Please more wine audible wine books and more on female history!

Very interesting story

I am not sure about some of the other reviews that did not like this book. I found it very interesting and it gave a nice look into life and business during the French Revolution and Napoleon years. Are there some missing details? Of course! I was shocked that the author was able to get as much information as she had on this wonderful historical figure.