The French House

This historical fiction novel had me spellbound from the first page. The story is about Nicole Ponsardin who marries into the Clicquot family and becomes the Widow Clicquot of France's champagne fame. The champagne is actually called Veuve Clicquot. Veuve means widow. It is the best in the world and the only kind I buy. It was exciting to find out after I began the book that it was about her.  

The publisher's summary:

"Reims, France, 1805.  Looking back at the crumbling house hidden away in the vineyards, the sound of her daughter's laughter carrying on the breeze, Nicole plucks a perfect red grape and is reminded her life will never be the same. With her husband gone, her troubles are hers alone.

For grieving Nicole Clicquot, saving the vineyards her husband left behind is her one chance to keep a roof over her head and provide a future for her little girl.  She ignores the gossips who insist the fields are no place for a women: but one day, buying fresh croissants at the boulangerie, Nicole is shocked to hear a rumor about her husband.  They say he died with a terrible secret.  One that brings disgrace on Nicole and turns the whole town against her.

Heartbroken, her reputation in tatters, and full of questions no one can answer, Nicole turns to her husband's oldest friend, traveling merchant Louis.  His warm smile and kind advice seem to melt her troubles away.  And as they taste her first golden wine of the season and look out over the endless rolling hills, Nicole starts to believe that she can turn her fortunes around, and be welcomed back into the local community. 

But when Louis avoids her after a long trip abroad, Nicole sees he has secrets of his own...and just as she doubts if he's on her side, she realizes how her feelings for him had grown.  Desperately torn between her head and her heart, Nicole works day and night on a plan for her future: but to save her home and her little daughter from ruin, she must risk everything."

 

I had heard several years ago the Madame Clicquot had an incredible life story.  I did not know why but it prompted me to buy Tilar Mazzeo's The Widow Clicquot, a non-fiction account of her life.  While I haven't yet read it, I now cannot wait to start it.

If you love drinking champagne you are going to love this book. Just reading about the growing of the grapes is enticing. Nicole is an unusual heroine for her time. She pursued owning and operating her "home business" during an era when women did not work. She learned to be just as ruthless as the men in her pursuit of the perfect wine and also in sales. Nicole was a big risk taker, necessary to be successful in any business in any era. Always the subject of nasty gossip, Nicole just ignored it and never let it get her down. Her eyes were always on the prize: her vineyards. An entrepreneur needs to have these traits in order to succeed. 

I was surprised that Paris was viewed by most of the characters as a dirty city filled with nasty people while Reims was viewed as paradise on earth. The scenes that occur in Paris portray its extreme wealth but with that nasty sewer smell too. The fact that most of the characters were farmers explains their preferred city. They could smell the dirt in which their grapes were growing. I guess after a few years harvesting grapes you get accustomed to the "fragrance de terroir." 

While the setting was prominent, this is really a book about growing a business. All of the hurdles that Nicole found herself dealing with had to do with the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. It is much more than a historical biography. 5 out of 5 stars.