The Champagne Letters

I have previously read two books about Madame Clicquot. One was a biography and the other one was a historical fiction novel. Both were fantastic. I love the Veuve Cliquot champagne that she created and am always up for a story about her. Veuve means widow in French so the champagne is named after Widow Clicquot. Net Galley provided me with an advanced review copy of this historical fiction account of Madam Cliquot's life. The book will be published on December 10, 2024. 

The publisher's summary: 

Reims, France, 1805: Barbe-Nicole Clicquot has just lost her beloved husband but is determined to pursue their dream of creating the premier champagne house in France, now named for her new identity as a widow: Veuve Clicquot. With the Russians poised to invade, competitors fighting for her customers, and the Napoleonic court politics complicating matters she must set herself apart quickly and permanently if she, and her business, are to survive.

In present day Chicago, broken from her divorce, Natalie Taylor runs away to Paris. In a book stall by the Seine, Natalie finds a collection of the Widow Clicquot’s published letters and uses them as inspiration to step out of her comfort zone and create a new, empowered life for herself. But when her Parisian escape takes a shocking and unexpected turn, she’s forced to make a choice. Should she accept her losses and return home, or fight for the future she’s only dreamed about? What would the widow do?

I absolutely LOVED this novel!  It is equally as good as the other two books that I read about Widow Clicquot. The story is told in alternating perspectives and time periods.  Barbe-Nicole Clicquot lived during the 1800s in France and Natalie lives in the present era in Chicago. I have found in the past that when there are dual narratives, one seems to be much better than the other.  Here we have two equally compelling narratives. When one chapter ended, I groaned. However, when the next chapter ended I groaned again. 

I loved that as Natalie's story was told, she kept a biography of Clicquot in her bag. She referenced it as she hit lows in her post-divorce vacation in France. Madame Clicquot inspired her to live differently than she had before. In the past Natalie always served others. She began to put herself first by being as bold as Madame Clicquot was. I myself was inspired by Natalie's musings over how to change her life by acting as Clicquot did.  I, too, am in a transition period as Natalie. One of the sayings that she especially loved from Clicquot was her definition of strength. Madame Clicquot thought that strength was a series of choices. It is not a state of mind.  I like this definition!  

During Natalie's stay in Paris she meets two people who swindle her out of her money and assets. Believing that these two are not connected to each other, Natalie fell prey to a wine fraud scheme and was questioned by the police.  After reviewing the biography Natalie found a way to get her money back that was ingenious. It was risky because the police would then assume that she was involved in the fraud from the beginning.  She wasn't. However, Madame Clicquot took huge risks with her business in order to be on top of the champagne business. We all know how successful she was. 

The Champagne Letters is a must read.  I recommend that you pre-order the book. Amazon will allow you to do so even though the publication date is six months away. I assume that other booksellers will offer pre-sales too. 5 out of 5 stars.