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The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled it (Hardback) By (author) Tilar J. Mazzeo
The Widow Clicquot:The History of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It
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.
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.
Hardcover
First published October 28, 2008
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About the author
Tilar J. Mazzeo
20 books327 followersTilar J. Mazzeo is a cultural historian, biographer, and passionate student of wine and food culture. She divides her time among the California wine country, New York City, and Maine, where she is a professor of English at Colby College.
(from the author's website)
(from the author's website)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,186 reviews
July 29, 2010
Thin. Based largely on speculation, this book would have made a much better historical novel than biography. Little actual information is known about Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, so Mazzeo filled in based upon the known history of France (and the rest of Europe) in the 1800s. The details about the history of the wine industry made up most of the solid information and were interesting, but the book was supposed to be about more than that--Ponsardin and the rise of Veuve Clicquot. Additionally, for coming in at less than 200 pages, there is a lot of repetitive information throughout, and the notes are odd--there are millions of them but no footnotes or endnotes to reference readers to the correct information.
April 19, 2017
Luvly bubbly!
"Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!", Dom Perignon, the cellar master of the ancient hillside abbey in the village of Hautvillers in the 1660s allegedly called out when his still wine developed unwanted bubbles. For many years he tried to find the source of his wine going 'bad'. Wine makers in the seventeenth century had a less charitable phrase for it. They called the bubbly vintage 'Devil's wine'. Nobody in France wanted fizzy wines.
Yeux de crapaud. Frogs eyes, it was called. Those large bubbles. People liked large eyes everywhere, except in Champagne wine.
In the meantime, however, other viticulteurs already had plans to market this unusual wine. Dom Perignon was not the first. And the French was not the first either. It was the British who saw the potential when the wine barrels from Champagne arrived and the quaint little bubbles tickled their noses and the dainty noises enchanted them.
But this is not really the crux of the book. The genesis of champagne, through the history of France, have been used to build a fictional (speculative) biography around Madame Barbe-Nicole Clicquout, née Ponsardin, Widow Clicquot or Veuve Clicquot (16 December 1777 – 29 July 1866), known as the Grand Dame of Champagne.
Artist: Léon Cogniet
Perhaps it was an ambitious projects to try and write a biography, even if it is fictional, around someone who was not publicly known during her lifetime. There was a reason for that, though.
Her father, Ponce Jean Nicolas Philippe Ponsardin (from 1813, Baron Ponsardin), a textile manufacturer and politician, was a staunch royalist and industrialist, and he quickly had to sing a new tune when the angry hordes entered the cities and destroyed the property and lives of the aristocracy and their collaborators during the French Revolution. He became a Jacobin revolutionary himself. Despite his change of sides, the less anyone knew about his family, the safer they were. His daughters were kept a secret, while he adapted his politics to the republican mantra in an effort to safe his fortune and family. He succeeded.
But there was another reason why historians did not deem it necessary or important, to document Veuve Clicquot's life:
Musing on the invisibility of women like Barbe-Nicole and her sister, Clémentine, the novelist Virginia Woolf wrote simply, “Anonymity runs in their blood.”
Yet, a formidable woman, the mother of champagne—which was originally just called vin mousseux—sparkling wine—deserves a little acknowledgment as one of the most important female entrepreneurs in modern history. Her nineteenth-century competitors at the time included Jean-Rémy Moët and his son-in-law Pierre-Gabriel Chandon (Does Moët et Chandon ring a bell?), Jules Mumm, Louis Roederer, Charles Heidsieck and Her grandmother’s family, the pioneering Ruinarts.
Born in a wealthy well-connected family, Veuve Clicquout had the angels and gods on her side for various reasons. First off, she was born in a palatial mansions, facing 'rue Cérès, one of the city’s main boulevards, with a symmetrical facade of endless airy windows. The street was named after the Roman goddess of bountiful harvests'
Secondly, at the age of 21 she married another industrialist's son. François Clicquot was the son of a wealthy textile millionaire and wine maker. Their dowries coming from both families made the two young people instant millionaires at the signing of the marriage license. The marriage only lasted six years when her husband passed away from typhoid fever. She became a widow at the age of 27.
Building a non-fictional biography, throwing in terms such as 'imagine's', 'perhaps'es, 'it would not have come as a surprise', 'I expect's', 'hazard some guesses', 'likely's, 'probably's''surely's, 'must have's and another few, often several times per page, can become like scratching ... screeeeeeeching ... chalk on a black board.
However, the author used a wide variety of resources, through meticulous research to patch together the life of a remarkable woman. I thought it was a brilliant idea. If she presented the story as a fictional biography, removed the speculative terms, added a strong story line, colorful characters, historical details and suspense, it could have worked splendidly. Nevertheless, the history provided in the book, was riveting and fascinating. The challenges were numerous and diverse. Political upheavals, wars, famines, unraveling economies, natural disasters, lack of scientific knowledge, problems with glass production, and fate. All these elements were entertaining and highly informative. I certainly learnt a lot and enjoyed doing so through this book.
Veuve Clicquot had a few cards up her sleeve in saving her company, initially known as Veuve Clicquout Fourneaux. She never gave up. Never compromised. Not even when the Russians tried to raid and destroy her cellars; and not even when the British, in their effort to isolate France, closed all harbors from Amsterdam to the North Sea, destroying all possibilities of wine exports. She changed every single draw-back into a resounding come-back. Nothing kept her down. She changed her company name to Veuve Clicquout Ponsardin and Company and eventually became one of the most wealthiest women in Europe, even in today's standards. She transformed a fledgling family wine trade, a small well-funded, but struggling family wine brokerage, into one of the great champagne houses of the world. But it did not come quick or easy. Bankruptcy hammered on her door a few times, thanks to Napoleon, which changed her 14-hour workaholic days into overdrive. Hardheaded and unstoppable. Courage by the barrel load.
Another good-luck charm was the Napoleonic Code, which confined married women to a reproductive life, adorning their lavish, opulent homes. Widows, however, had the same rights and mobility as men in all walks of life. Veuve Barbe-Nicole Clicquot was allowed to follow in the commercial tradition of both families, embracing industry and entrepreneurial traditions. That was the law! She grabbed her opportunities and ran with it. However, social mores and values changed again, forcing women back into the kitchens, barefoot and pregnant, yet Barbe-Nicole Clicquout forged ahead, establishing one of the first versions of corporate identities in the world.
Chardonnay was the grape of the fizzy fantasy. Adding a scoop of sugar and brandy to it, gave it a boisterous bubble. Although the Russians like it toxic sweet, the rest of the royal establishments demanded a more refined, dignified product. For many decades it was the nectar of the most fortunate.
Today, champagne is ranked from driest to sweetest in categories that progress from:
brut nature (naturally strong),
extra brut (extra strong), and
brut (strong) on the dry end and
then—despite the hopelessly misleading names—on into the categories of:
sec (dry),
extra sec(extra dry),
demi sec (half dry), and
doux (gentle) on the sweeter end.
Essentially, brut is dry and sec is sweet. Our demi sec—one of the sweeter champagnes on the market—has up to twenty grams of sugar per bottle.
In wine-making, experts talk of the indefinable essence of terroir, the gift that the land gives to the grape and that creates the potential range of tastes and aromas it can express. Well, for the social climbers, this concept should become a new buzz word, if it isn't one already. Terroir is just as meaningful in vegetable production through thousands of years. Soil high in minerals, produces healthier vegetables and fruits. That's an ancient secret. The fruit and veg farmers just did not label their produce with the elitist etiquette terroir. Well, the champagne-fundis was first, so good for them. I recently listened to a radio talk show in which terroir was the new concept in South African wine production. I laughed every time the poor presenter struggled to pronounce the word. The word was clearly still a scary possibility in her world, but it did have her in delightful shudders to test it on an unsuspecting South African public.
I LOVED this non-fictional, speculative biography. It read like a suspenseful adventure tale. Entertaining, informative, exciting - most of the time. Catching up on history was the biggest thrill.
So, this is the story of champagne and how a woman beat the odds and put romance back in wine. She made it affordable to everyone, branded and trademarked it, and made celebrations what it is today--a kissing of the stars when the cork pops up and roams the skies.
"Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!", Dom Perignon, the cellar master of the ancient hillside abbey in the village of Hautvillers in the 1660s allegedly called out when his still wine developed unwanted bubbles. For many years he tried to find the source of his wine going 'bad'. Wine makers in the seventeenth century had a less charitable phrase for it. They called the bubbly vintage 'Devil's wine'. Nobody in France wanted fizzy wines.
Yeux de crapaud. Frogs eyes, it was called. Those large bubbles. People liked large eyes everywhere, except in Champagne wine.
In the meantime, however, other viticulteurs already had plans to market this unusual wine. Dom Perignon was not the first. And the French was not the first either. It was the British who saw the potential when the wine barrels from Champagne arrived and the quaint little bubbles tickled their noses and the dainty noises enchanted them.
But this is not really the crux of the book. The genesis of champagne, through the history of France, have been used to build a fictional (speculative) biography around Madame Barbe-Nicole Clicquout, née Ponsardin, Widow Clicquot or Veuve Clicquot (16 December 1777 – 29 July 1866), known as the Grand Dame of Champagne.
Artist: Léon Cogniet
Perhaps it was an ambitious projects to try and write a biography, even if it is fictional, around someone who was not publicly known during her lifetime. There was a reason for that, though.
Her father, Ponce Jean Nicolas Philippe Ponsardin (from 1813, Baron Ponsardin), a textile manufacturer and politician, was a staunch royalist and industrialist, and he quickly had to sing a new tune when the angry hordes entered the cities and destroyed the property and lives of the aristocracy and their collaborators during the French Revolution. He became a Jacobin revolutionary himself. Despite his change of sides, the less anyone knew about his family, the safer they were. His daughters were kept a secret, while he adapted his politics to the republican mantra in an effort to safe his fortune and family. He succeeded.
But there was another reason why historians did not deem it necessary or important, to document Veuve Clicquot's life:
Barbe-Nicole and her sister had learned from the time the were small girls studying catechism in their convent school that the only women with public reputations were prostitutes or queens. Even the two most famous women of Barbe-Nicole’s day—Marie Antoinette and Joséphine Bonaparte—were famous only because of their choice of husbands. It is probably not a coincidence that the public still thought of them both as whores.Any person resembling wealth or nobility stood a chance of being decapitated.
Musing on the invisibility of women like Barbe-Nicole and her sister, Clémentine, the novelist Virginia Woolf wrote simply, “Anonymity runs in their blood.”
Yet, a formidable woman, the mother of champagne—which was originally just called vin mousseux—sparkling wine—deserves a little acknowledgment as one of the most important female entrepreneurs in modern history. Her nineteenth-century competitors at the time included Jean-Rémy Moët and his son-in-law Pierre-Gabriel Chandon (Does Moët et Chandon ring a bell?), Jules Mumm, Louis Roederer, Charles Heidsieck and Her grandmother’s family, the pioneering Ruinarts.
Born in a wealthy well-connected family, Veuve Clicquout had the angels and gods on her side for various reasons. First off, she was born in a palatial mansions, facing 'rue Cérès, one of the city’s main boulevards, with a symmetrical facade of endless airy windows. The street was named after the Roman goddess of bountiful harvests'
Secondly, at the age of 21 she married another industrialist's son. François Clicquot was the son of a wealthy textile millionaire and wine maker. Their dowries coming from both families made the two young people instant millionaires at the signing of the marriage license. The marriage only lasted six years when her husband passed away from typhoid fever. She became a widow at the age of 27.
Building a non-fictional biography, throwing in terms such as 'imagine's', 'perhaps'es, 'it would not have come as a surprise', 'I expect's', 'hazard some guesses', 'likely's, 'probably's''surely's, 'must have's and another few, often several times per page, can become like scratching ... screeeeeeeching ... chalk on a black board.
However, the author used a wide variety of resources, through meticulous research to patch together the life of a remarkable woman. I thought it was a brilliant idea. If she presented the story as a fictional biography, removed the speculative terms, added a strong story line, colorful characters, historical details and suspense, it could have worked splendidly. Nevertheless, the history provided in the book, was riveting and fascinating. The challenges were numerous and diverse. Political upheavals, wars, famines, unraveling economies, natural disasters, lack of scientific knowledge, problems with glass production, and fate. All these elements were entertaining and highly informative. I certainly learnt a lot and enjoyed doing so through this book.
Veuve Clicquot had a few cards up her sleeve in saving her company, initially known as Veuve Clicquout Fourneaux. She never gave up. Never compromised. Not even when the Russians tried to raid and destroy her cellars; and not even when the British, in their effort to isolate France, closed all harbors from Amsterdam to the North Sea, destroying all possibilities of wine exports. She changed every single draw-back into a resounding come-back. Nothing kept her down. She changed her company name to Veuve Clicquout Ponsardin and Company and eventually became one of the most wealthiest women in Europe, even in today's standards. She transformed a fledgling family wine trade, a small well-funded, but struggling family wine brokerage, into one of the great champagne houses of the world. But it did not come quick or easy. Bankruptcy hammered on her door a few times, thanks to Napoleon, which changed her 14-hour workaholic days into overdrive. Hardheaded and unstoppable. Courage by the barrel load.
Another good-luck charm was the Napoleonic Code, which confined married women to a reproductive life, adorning their lavish, opulent homes. Widows, however, had the same rights and mobility as men in all walks of life. Veuve Barbe-Nicole Clicquot was allowed to follow in the commercial tradition of both families, embracing industry and entrepreneurial traditions. That was the law! She grabbed her opportunities and ran with it. However, social mores and values changed again, forcing women back into the kitchens, barefoot and pregnant, yet Barbe-Nicole Clicquout forged ahead, establishing one of the first versions of corporate identities in the world.
Chardonnay was the grape of the fizzy fantasy. Adding a scoop of sugar and brandy to it, gave it a boisterous bubble. Although the Russians like it toxic sweet, the rest of the royal establishments demanded a more refined, dignified product. For many decades it was the nectar of the most fortunate.
Today, champagne is ranked from driest to sweetest in categories that progress from:
brut nature (naturally strong),
extra brut (extra strong), and
brut (strong) on the dry end and
then—despite the hopelessly misleading names—on into the categories of:
sec (dry),
extra sec(extra dry),
demi sec (half dry), and
doux (gentle) on the sweeter end.
Essentially, brut is dry and sec is sweet. Our demi sec—one of the sweeter champagnes on the market—has up to twenty grams of sugar per bottle.
In wine-making, experts talk of the indefinable essence of terroir, the gift that the land gives to the grape and that creates the potential range of tastes and aromas it can express. Well, for the social climbers, this concept should become a new buzz word, if it isn't one already. Terroir is just as meaningful in vegetable production through thousands of years. Soil high in minerals, produces healthier vegetables and fruits. That's an ancient secret. The fruit and veg farmers just did not label their produce with the elitist etiquette terroir. Well, the champagne-fundis was first, so good for them. I recently listened to a radio talk show in which terroir was the new concept in South African wine production. I laughed every time the poor presenter struggled to pronounce the word. The word was clearly still a scary possibility in her world, but it did have her in delightful shudders to test it on an unsuspecting South African public.
I LOVED this non-fictional, speculative biography. It read like a suspenseful adventure tale. Entertaining, informative, exciting - most of the time. Catching up on history was the biggest thrill.
So, this is the story of champagne and how a woman beat the odds and put romance back in wine. She made it affordable to everyone, branded and trademarked it, and made celebrations what it is today--a kissing of the stars when the cork pops up and roams the skies.
April 14, 2017
I had no idea champagne was this fascinating. I enjoyed the history and development of this remarkable ebullient indulgence, than I did her story.
December 2, 2012
At the face of it, this seems like a good long biography. Until you realize that you've never seen more 'perhaps'es, 'likely's, 'surely's, 'must have's, and on and on, in one place in your life. More that 90% of this book is the author imagining the widow Clicquot's life from little tiny details she gleaned from here and there. 3+ "perhaps" per page is a conservative estimate, not including all the other fluffy imagination words. And yet Mazzeo still tries to present this as nonfictional biography. I mean, she clearly did her research, because the last 1/3 of the book is primarily bibliographic references. But as this was practically fiction anyways, it would have been way more interesting and engaging as a "based-on-a-true-story" historical fiction.
As it was, much of the information was repeated over and over in slightly different ways to fill up space. A lot of the sentences were extremely (and unnecessarily) long and unwieldy, to the point that often I had to reread them several times to figure out what Mazzeo was trying to say. I also didn't connect with the Widow Clicquot at all, which might not be bad in and of itself, except that I think that was one of Mazzeo's main goals for this work.
There was some interesting information, but I came out at the end completely ambivalent, and I was glad to find that the last 1/3 of the book was references and book club prompts instead of more stuff for me to read.
As it was, much of the information was repeated over and over in slightly different ways to fill up space. A lot of the sentences were extremely (and unnecessarily) long and unwieldy, to the point that often I had to reread them several times to figure out what Mazzeo was trying to say. I also didn't connect with the Widow Clicquot at all, which might not be bad in and of itself, except that I think that was one of Mazzeo's main goals for this work.
There was some interesting information, but I came out at the end completely ambivalent, and I was glad to find that the last 1/3 of the book was references and book club prompts instead of more stuff for me to read.
October 20, 2021
4.5 Stars for The Widow Clicquot (audiobook) by Tilar J. Mazzeo read by Susan Ericksen.
This was a fascinating story. It covers many of the people who helped discover sparkling wine and the woman who created an empire against all odds.
This was a fascinating story. It covers many of the people who helped discover sparkling wine and the woman who created an empire against all odds.
March 15, 2021
I deserve a bottle of VC for finishing this book! :)
January 8, 2013
Interesting premise but the author's writing style was distracting, writing in the first person in odd places. It reminded me of episodes of Saved by the Bell in which Zach would turn to the camera as though no one else was there. The story could have been told better in the hands of another.
March 23, 2010
I love historical fiction and champagne, so I thought this book would be awesome for me. Not so much. It wasn't all that long, but it still took some work to make it to the end. In the author's defense, there apparently is not much information about her subject, but the way she kept saying "perhaps Barbe-Nicole ..." just drove me nuts. How do other authors in this genre keep from doing that? I'll have to pay more attention in the next one I read.
October 17, 2025
Thank you to @Bolindaaudio and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to The Widow Clicquot by Tilar J. Mazzeo.
This was the first time I chose a book completely on a whim. I didn’t know much about champagne beyond it being a symbol of celebration and success—the history and the people behind it were a complete mystery to me. That’s why I enjoyed this book so much: it tells the story of a family, a strong female character, and the resilience of a businesswoman navigating the turmoil of 19th-century France. What a delight!
I also loved the narration by Clémence Poésy; she was a perfect choice for this book.
Overall rating: 3.5 stars
This was the first time I chose a book completely on a whim. I didn’t know much about champagne beyond it being a symbol of celebration and success—the history and the people behind it were a complete mystery to me. That’s why I enjoyed this book so much: it tells the story of a family, a strong female character, and the resilience of a businesswoman navigating the turmoil of 19th-century France. What a delight!
I also loved the narration by Clémence Poésy; she was a perfect choice for this book.
Overall rating: 3.5 stars
May 9, 2009
Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was born in Reims, France, in 1777. She was plain, yet her merchant father married her to the wealthy young Francois Clicquot, a man of her class. With ample support, Francois and his wife took over his family's languishing wine business. They hired a brilliant salesman, Louis Bohne, who persuaded Russians that they should buy Clicquot. Still the couple struggled, set back by wars (which got in the way of commerce) and weather (which was alternately too hot for stored wine and too wet for growing grapes). When Francois died in 1805 -- records say from typhoid -- rumors circulated that it had been a suicide.
Tilar J. Mazzeo shows how the ebb and flow of French politics offered, briefly, an opportunity for women like Barbe-Nicole to go into business. Her family helped finance Veuve ("widow," in French) Clicquot but insisted she take on an older, male partner. The partnership grew, fitfully. The wine -- Champagne -- needed a second fermentation to give it fizz, but the extra sugar often made it unacceptably gunky and cloudy. Bottles exploded. And Europe was still at war.
But war became an opportunity. Her partnership concluded, Barbe-Nicole defied export laws, making sure her Champagne would be the first into Russia after the Napoleonic Wars. Bohne sent back giddy word: Veuve Clicquot was a phenomenal success.
Mazzeo's tale moves swiftly through Barbe-Nicole's many accomplishments, including her method for storing bottles nose-down -- an innovation that allowed the second fermentation detritus to be cleared efficiently, setting her far ahead of her competitors. But when Mazzeo strives to imagine her interior life, the book falls flat. There are no diaries and few personal notes to help. Despite the author's best efforts, Barbe-Nicole remains an enigma, one who will remain best known by her product, Veuve Clicquot.
Reviewed for the LA Times
October 28, 2009
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/...
Tilar J. Mazzeo shows how the ebb and flow of French politics offered, briefly, an opportunity for women like Barbe-Nicole to go into business. Her family helped finance Veuve ("widow," in French) Clicquot but insisted she take on an older, male partner. The partnership grew, fitfully. The wine -- Champagne -- needed a second fermentation to give it fizz, but the extra sugar often made it unacceptably gunky and cloudy. Bottles exploded. And Europe was still at war.
But war became an opportunity. Her partnership concluded, Barbe-Nicole defied export laws, making sure her Champagne would be the first into Russia after the Napoleonic Wars. Bohne sent back giddy word: Veuve Clicquot was a phenomenal success.
Mazzeo's tale moves swiftly through Barbe-Nicole's many accomplishments, including her method for storing bottles nose-down -- an innovation that allowed the second fermentation detritus to be cleared efficiently, setting her far ahead of her competitors. But when Mazzeo strives to imagine her interior life, the book falls flat. There are no diaries and few personal notes to help. Despite the author's best efforts, Barbe-Nicole remains an enigma, one who will remain best known by her product, Veuve Clicquot.
Reviewed for the LA Times
October 28, 2009
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/...
September 13, 2018
The subtitle is all the synopsis anyone needs: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It.
Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was born on the eve of the French Revolution. Her wealthy father read the signs of change and positioned himself to ride the wave, saving his textile business, his homes, his fortune and his family. When Barb-Nicole was of age, she married Francois Clicquot, the only son of another wealthy textile merchant, whose family had begun to dabble in wine. As fate would have it, Francois died before his vision was realized, but his young widow took over and cornered the market before anyone realized what she was doing. The dynasty she built remains today as one of the premier champagne houses.
The author, in an effort to not misrepresent, frequently qualifies statements with “perhaps” or “might have.” Mazzeo herself writes about this lack of information.
It is a surprisingly thin biographical record, considering Barbe-Nicole’s celebrity and accomplishments, and writing this book has been an exercise in the oblique. … I wanted to discover not just what she did and when she lived, but how she was able to imagine for herself a different future and how she was able to negotiate those familiar crossroads of grief, despair, and opportunity.
I appreciate that Mazzeo was stymied by scarce records, few (if any) letters or documents that would support a definitive and declarative portrait, and that she wanted to produce a work of non-fiction, not a fictionalized biography. But the result, in my humble opinion, is a book that gives me facts but never brings the lady at the center of the story to life.
I love champagne, though I admit to never having sampled Veuve Clicquot. I also love reading about strong, independent women, especially when they were clearly ahead of their time. But I was bored for much of this book. I wanted more of Barbe-Nicole, herself.
Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was born on the eve of the French Revolution. Her wealthy father read the signs of change and positioned himself to ride the wave, saving his textile business, his homes, his fortune and his family. When Barb-Nicole was of age, she married Francois Clicquot, the only son of another wealthy textile merchant, whose family had begun to dabble in wine. As fate would have it, Francois died before his vision was realized, but his young widow took over and cornered the market before anyone realized what she was doing. The dynasty she built remains today as one of the premier champagne houses.
The author, in an effort to not misrepresent, frequently qualifies statements with “perhaps” or “might have.” Mazzeo herself writes about this lack of information.
It is a surprisingly thin biographical record, considering Barbe-Nicole’s celebrity and accomplishments, and writing this book has been an exercise in the oblique. … I wanted to discover not just what she did and when she lived, but how she was able to imagine for herself a different future and how she was able to negotiate those familiar crossroads of grief, despair, and opportunity.
I appreciate that Mazzeo was stymied by scarce records, few (if any) letters or documents that would support a definitive and declarative portrait, and that she wanted to produce a work of non-fiction, not a fictionalized biography. But the result, in my humble opinion, is a book that gives me facts but never brings the lady at the center of the story to life.
I love champagne, though I admit to never having sampled Veuve Clicquot. I also love reading about strong, independent women, especially when they were clearly ahead of their time. But I was bored for much of this book. I wanted more of Barbe-Nicole, herself.
Read
October 17, 2023Glad to be done. Cheers to me for finishing 🥂
April 19, 2012
Fascinating history of Clicquot Ponsardin champagne house and the Veuve (Widow) Clicquot. Unfortunately, very little of the Widow's letters, diary, etc. survived and so the author had to use a tremendous amount of indirect information to construct the personal history of Barbe Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot. She did a great job with the limited resources available. And the history of the rise of Champagne is fascinating.
April 1, 2020
This biography of a woman and a wine, takes place in the early 1800s, in France, at a time when women did not conduct business, let alone take over their husband's business. However Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin was no oridnary woman. She had witnessed the French Revolution, lived through the Napoleonic Wars, national banking disasters, and the death of her husband, possibly from typhus or by suicide. Monsieur Clicquot had a dream of making a superior champagne, which his young widow was determined to make a reality. With determination, innate savviness, and advice from her own family and in-laws, all of whom were involved in business and trade, that dream became a reality. In her lifetime, Veuve Clicquot became one of the best-known and highly rated champagnes, which is still true today. The story of its creator has been something of a mystery, but the research that forms the basis for this enthralling biography reveals the portrait of a determined, bright and shrewd businesswoman, who lived during a turbulent period in French history and created an enduring heritage. A toast to her, "à sa santé," and to many other women who have left their marks in the business of culinary arts.
During this exceptional time, when all of our libraries are closed to the public and hard copy books are not available, please consider the Los Angeles Public Library's e-Media materials right here.
Here is a list of works, written by, or about, other daring women who were involved in the culinary arts.
Edna Lewis: at the table with an American original
In pursuit of flavor by Edna Lewis
Fasting and feasting: the life of visionary food writer Patience Gray
M. F. K. Fisher's Provence
As they were by M. F. K. Fisher
The theortical foot by M. F. K. Fisher
Consider the oyster by M. F. K. Fisher
South wind through the kitchen by Elizabeth David
An omlette and a glass of wine by Elizabeth David
Palestine on a plate: memories from my mother's kitchen by Joudie Kalla
Shuk : from market to table, the heart of Israeli home cooking by Einat Admony
My American dream : a life of love, family, and food by Lidia Bastianich
Bitter almonds : recollections & recipes from a Sicilian girlhood by Mary Taylor Simeti and Maria Grammatico
Sicilian food : recipes from Italy's abundant isle by Mary Taylor Simeti
Love and kisses and a halo of truffles : letters to Helen Evans Brown edited by John Ferrone
The cheese board : collective works: bread, pastry, cheese, pizza by the Cheese Board Collective Staff; forward by Alice Waters
Reviewed by Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Central Library
During this exceptional time, when all of our libraries are closed to the public and hard copy books are not available, please consider the Los Angeles Public Library's e-Media materials right here.
Here is a list of works, written by, or about, other daring women who were involved in the culinary arts.
Edna Lewis: at the table with an American original
In pursuit of flavor by Edna Lewis
Fasting and feasting: the life of visionary food writer Patience Gray
M. F. K. Fisher's Provence
As they were by M. F. K. Fisher
The theortical foot by M. F. K. Fisher
Consider the oyster by M. F. K. Fisher
South wind through the kitchen by Elizabeth David
An omlette and a glass of wine by Elizabeth David
Palestine on a plate: memories from my mother's kitchen by Joudie Kalla
Shuk : from market to table, the heart of Israeli home cooking by Einat Admony
My American dream : a life of love, family, and food by Lidia Bastianich
Bitter almonds : recollections & recipes from a Sicilian girlhood by Mary Taylor Simeti and Maria Grammatico
Sicilian food : recipes from Italy's abundant isle by Mary Taylor Simeti
Love and kisses and a halo of truffles : letters to Helen Evans Brown edited by John Ferrone
The cheese board : collective works: bread, pastry, cheese, pizza by the Cheese Board Collective Staff; forward by Alice Waters
Reviewed by Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Central Library
May 16, 2009
After Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin and François Clicquot are married, they begin trying to enlarge and enhance the Clicquot family's sparkling wine business, until then a small sideline income for the family. Francois is determined to open up exports to Russia and beyond, and after his untimely death Barbe-Nicole carries on his work. Over a period of years and despite many setbacks, she succeeds in creating the Champagne empire we know today as Veuve Clicquot.
While this is a fascinating book in theory, there's not really much to go on. Barbe-Nicole left very few papers and letters, so much of the author's conclusions here are speculative. She guesses at motivations and personality traits that could not actually be known. The book is also terribly repetitive, turning the same handful of ideas over and over. The really interesting stuff is the history of Reims and the genesis of the Champagne industry, but Barbe-Nicole's story is slim at best.
While this is a fascinating book in theory, there's not really much to go on. Barbe-Nicole left very few papers and letters, so much of the author's conclusions here are speculative. She guesses at motivations and personality traits that could not actually be known. The book is also terribly repetitive, turning the same handful of ideas over and over. The really interesting stuff is the history of Reims and the genesis of the Champagne industry, but Barbe-Nicole's story is slim at best.
July 2, 2009
Wow! What a little-known, hardly realized story of a woman who almost singlehandedly launched an international luxury brand. Unfortunately, since not much is known of the Widow Clicquot's intimate life details, Mazzeo incorporates a lot of speculation making this story at times seem more like a novel. But she grounds any speculation in reality and gives good reasoning for the conclusions she makes. Aside from learning about Barbe-Nicole, this is also a great overall history of champagne. I learned so much I never knew and I'll never look at a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, Moet, Pommery or Roederer the same way again!
July 31, 2023
DNF @ 44% - Repetitive and boring.
January 10, 2026
Interesting history on champagne and of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin's life as the woman that built the famous Veuve Clicquot empire. The challenges encountered in the early days of creating champagne and developing a successful business through great political upheaval were eye opening to me.
July 14, 2022
4.5⭐️
February 2, 2009
I love historical novels and this one was good for me because we were in Champagne last summer. I wish I had read this before we went because I would have tried to find the places written about here. It is the story of a very industrious, bright and determined woman to continue and prosper in the wine making business her husband left her with. Needless to say, this was not a time of women owned businesses! She was very young when she was widowed. In the process of making a go of the business, she perfected the process of making "bubbly" and in fact invented the process of inverting the bottle to uncork the "lies" from the first fermentation. I loved reading about the process of making champagne against the backdrop of the French Revolution and Napoleon. I was disappointed in the Widow (Veuve en francais, hence the name of the champagne) in the way she raised her daughter. But that was the only disappointment; I highly recommend this quick read.
August 9, 2010
Unfortunately, I have to report that I merely "read" this book, because I gave up halfway through.
I think I would have been more engaged in the story of the Widow Clicquot if the book had been written as historical fiction. Instead, it's written as a biography. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of facts known about Mrs. Clicquot--barely any of her correspondence was kept, for example--so the author resorts to phrases like "she may have. . ." or comparing her life to what other women in time period were like. So, the author fills space with dry and scientific details and history about wine, sparkling wine, and champagne making. I find a little bit of that information interesting, but it was really too much to hold my attention.
Most of my book club felt the same way: only one out of the seven of us attending the meeting had finished the book.
I think I would have been more engaged in the story of the Widow Clicquot if the book had been written as historical fiction. Instead, it's written as a biography. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of facts known about Mrs. Clicquot--barely any of her correspondence was kept, for example--so the author resorts to phrases like "she may have. . ." or comparing her life to what other women in time period were like. So, the author fills space with dry and scientific details and history about wine, sparkling wine, and champagne making. I find a little bit of that information interesting, but it was really too much to hold my attention.
Most of my book club felt the same way: only one out of the seven of us attending the meeting had finished the book.
February 22, 2020
I found this book intriguing, especially if I regard it as an overview of 19th century France seen through the lens of Reims and champagne as it became an actual industry. The book is never dull or dry, but fascinating all the way through. Where it falters, though, is on the strong focus on the Widow Clicquot--not because she is uninteresting, but because the author had little factual material about the subject. The book--indeed, entire chapters--are based on guesses about where Clicquot was at the time or what she might have witnessed. To the author's credit, they are always quite clear about that line between primary source material and supposition.
That said, I still recommend the book because the history and the region are wonderful to explore. I can't help but think that the Widow would lend herself well to a historical fiction novel.
That said, I still recommend the book because the history and the region are wonderful to explore. I can't help but think that the Widow would lend herself well to a historical fiction novel.
July 4, 2019
My sister lent me her copy of this book to read. It was as sec as Veuve Cliquot is sweet. I was expecting biographical fiction, not the straight up history of the champagne industry. Tilar J. Mazzeo did her homework, for sure. This slim volume is well-researched and thoroughly documented, just not very engaging. You'd have to be a die-hard fan of champagne to really enjoy the fruits of her labor. It took me a little over three months to read 185 pages. I completely skipped the Afterword, Acknowledgments, Notes, Selected Bibliography, and Index. By the time reached page 185, I had had enough of "the widow".
January 19, 2009
I actually doublly enjoyed this book because I drank Clicquot along with the book! Learning about the Widow Clicquot and the challenges she and France faces with Napoleon and the ups and downs of the crops was amazing. Barne-Nicole Clicuot is the ultimate model of a successful woman! Clicquot surged the champagne market to depths higher and mightier than you can imagine...from Russia to America she created a luxury product that bubbles today!!!
A must read if in to French history and/or culinary type history.
A must read if in to French history and/or culinary type history.
January 15, 2019
The author gets knocked for relying so much on speculation in her portrayal of the titular main character, Madame Clicquot, but to focus too much on that complaint would be to ignore the rest of the book which is a fascinating history of the wine so many of us love.
I wish I could give the book three and a half stars, but that is not an option on Goodreads. It was a fast and informative introduction to Champagne, both the region and the wine, filled with interesting asides and trivia.
Good reading for anyone interested in wine, France, the Napoleonic Age, or women's history.
I wish I could give the book three and a half stars, but that is not an option on Goodreads. It was a fast and informative introduction to Champagne, both the region and the wine, filled with interesting asides and trivia.
Good reading for anyone interested in wine, France, the Napoleonic Age, or women's history.
May 18, 2023
Interesting story, BUT…
The author’s writing was not engaging. Probably used the word “perhaps” one hundred times, if not more. Distracting.
The author’s writing was not engaging. Probably used the word “perhaps” one hundred times, if not more. Distracting.
May 3, 2025
I enjoy this style of narrative non fiction, even if it involves speculating about the feelings and motives of historical figures. Stylistically, it reminds me of the Donner party book. But in that case, Daniel James Brown had the advantage of covering a heavily documented subject. Although her name is on one of the most celebrated bottles of champagne in the world, the life of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin is largely forgotten. I think Mazzeo did a good job of piecing together scant sources and tying them into the political and economic history of France through the 19th century.
I extra enjoyed this and rated it high for mostly personal reasons.
* I started this right after doing the Veuve Clicquot cellar tour in Reims. The tour was amazing and I went into this book already feeling so enchanted.
* While in Reims, I also toured the Pommery house, another champagne widow. I loved that the book gave a chapter to Louise Pommery at the end and showed how she continued Barbe-Nicole's tradition of innovative entrepreneurship.
* Barbe-Nicole began building her business during Napolean's Russian campaign and War and Peace is still relatively fresh in my mind. When Mazzeo talked about French wines falling in and out of fashion amongst the Russian aristocracy, I felt like I was fully in Anna Pavlovna's drawing room. Absolutely tickled. And the blessed vintage born under the comet of 1811??? oh mon dieu.
* Ok, I know it must have been traumatic for Barbe-Nicole and her daughter, but when her playboy son-in-law went rogue and published his poorly written erotic poetry, I absolutely died. Like hand over mouth what am I reading. And then Barbe-Nicole kept buying it all to keep it out of circulation, which just led to high sales and reprints. Like truly Clementine must have been suicidal, but this is the kind of thing I live for.
One quibble: Many, many times, Mazzeo comments that Barbe-Nicole wasn't particularly attractive. Give this poor woman a break.
I extra enjoyed this and rated it high for mostly personal reasons.
* I started this right after doing the Veuve Clicquot cellar tour in Reims. The tour was amazing and I went into this book already feeling so enchanted.
* While in Reims, I also toured the Pommery house, another champagne widow. I loved that the book gave a chapter to Louise Pommery at the end and showed how she continued Barbe-Nicole's tradition of innovative entrepreneurship.
* Barbe-Nicole began building her business during Napolean's Russian campaign and War and Peace is still relatively fresh in my mind. When Mazzeo talked about French wines falling in and out of fashion amongst the Russian aristocracy, I felt like I was fully in Anna Pavlovna's drawing room. Absolutely tickled. And the blessed vintage born under the comet of 1811??? oh mon dieu.
* Ok, I know it must have been traumatic for Barbe-Nicole and her daughter, but when her playboy son-in-law went rogue and published his poorly written erotic poetry, I absolutely died. Like hand over mouth what am I reading. And then Barbe-Nicole kept buying it all to keep it out of circulation, which just led to high sales and reprints. Like truly Clementine must have been suicidal, but this is the kind of thing I live for.
One quibble: Many, many times, Mazzeo comments that Barbe-Nicole wasn't particularly attractive. Give this poor woman a break.
January 19, 2020
Learning about the Champagne industry in France was interesting. I learned things! I got out an expensive bottle of Champagne a student gave me as a gift and it took on a whole new meaning. An interesting story of an entrepreneur and a business. Some repetition and yes, we could have used certain words ("surely," "perhaps," "maybe") a little less. I would never have read this book--I don't tend to read biographies; memoirs, yes) if not for my book group and I'm glad I did. I do wish there were more on the woman herself but it's not the author's fault. If you're into Champagne, certainly read it. I don't think you'll be sorry. The history is good.
April 29, 2017
One must enjoy observing the reaction of a Frenchman while reading out loud: "In fact, the idea that Dom Pérignon invented champagne was always just imaginative marketing. It was a brilliant but misleading pitch. (...) Most wine experts now believe that the British were converting their barrels of imported wine from the region around Reims - wine with a natural tendency to fizz easily - into sparkling champagne by the 1670s, a full decade before the wine was first produced in France." Amazing story of an ambitious woman in chaotic years of the 19th century.
November 29, 2017
If you've ever enjoyed a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne, or seen it in a wine shop, you may have noticed the distinctive yellow coloring on the label. Tilar J. Mazzeo has incorporated that shade into the cover of her fascinating, narrative non-fiction book THE WIDOW CLICQUOT: THE STORY OF A CHAMPAGNE EMPIRE AND THE WOMAN WHO RULED IT. For those of us who aren't French-fluent, "veuve" is French for "widow". Throughout, the author pulls out the few facts that are available about the woman who essentially founded and built the champagne company that has worldwide name recognition and appeal.
Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, the daughter of wealthy textile factory owner and politician, was a teenager during the beginning of the French Revolution, attending the same convent school as Mary, Queen of Scots. As the Revolution took hold and the peasantry overran the aristocracy and religious elite, Barbe-Nicole's father understood that in order to keep his business and his life, his family would need to outwardly embrace the republican spirit. In fact, he aligned himself with one of the most radical groups. Before the revolution, her father had personally hosted King Louis and Marie Antoinette, and had supported the monarchy stridently. Despite his outward republicanism, he still maintained a private hope that the monarchy would be restored. He and his entire family were devout Catholics, and still kept the rites of the religion, despite the fact that religion was outlawed during and after the Revolution. It was this dichotomy between the public and private that seemed to have influenced Barbe-Nicole throughout the rest of her life.
Instead of being married off to a member of the French royalty, as her father might have dreamed, Barbe-Nicole was instead married to Francois Clicquot, a member of the upper class. His family had a small wine business, but was mostly in the wool trade. Francois was a dreamer, who had lots of high ambitions but not necessarily the talent or dedication to make those dreams a reality. He was also prone to deep depression and extreme moodiness. Although the author never comes out and says it explicitly, I suspect that in today's mental health community he might have qualified for a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. One of Francois' biggest dreams was to focus the family business entirely into the wine industry. In contrast to the traditional roles of women, he seemed to encourage Barbe-Nicole to join him in developing this business, and shared a lot of his knowledge of wine with her.
Francois spent a lot of their marriage on the road, attempting to sell wines that other people made, going across Europe. However, he was not particularly successful. Six years into their marriage, and with a young daughter to care for, Francois suddenly became very despondent and ill. When he died not long after, the official reports attributed it to typhoid. However, other reports suggest that he may have taken his own life from being overcome by the stress and hardship of a struggling business.
At 27 years of age, with some outside support, this single mother decided to take the helm of her husband's business. She hired a salesman who had experience in wine, and through much time and effort he was able to make inroads with wealthy families around Europe and into Russia. Over time, and not without struggles from political struggles and wars affecting supply, Veuve Clicquot was able to grow this meager family wine business into an internationally recognized and desired champagne brand.
However, despite Barbe-Nicole's "strong, independent woman" facade to other, with her family she was much more traditional. In fact, she never encouraged her own daughter to pursue the business and instead married her off to a titled noble. Her daughter went on to enjoy a life of pampered domesticity typical of females in that era. In many areas, Barbe-Nicole deferred to men in her life for business and personal decisions. It's interesting to think about the fact that, although she was widowed at a young age, she never remarried. She preferred to maintain control of her fortune to the extent that she was able in society. This dichotomy is reminiscent of her father's ease of maintaining separate public and private personas.
The author does a great job at weaving together the few details that are known for sure about Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin. In the "Afterward", she talks a bit about the difficulties of researching a woman who, despite her notoriety and prestige, was not well recorded in the annals of history. The extent of research and hypothesizing involved in THE WIDOW CLICQUOT is quite extraordinary, especially since she tells a story not only of Barbe-Nicole's life, but really the history of the Champagne industry and France in general.
THE WIDOW CLICQUOT: THE STORY OF A CHAMPAGNE EMPIRE AND THE WOMAN WHO RULED IT is not only a book for people who enjoy a glass of bubbly now and then, and want to learn more about it. It's for those interested in the wine industry, especially in historical France. It's also for those who want to learn about a powerful, independent, and ultimately enigmatic woman in an era when women were seen and not heard. I highly recommend you tuck into this book with a glass of some sparkling wine next to you - Veuve Clicquot especially!
Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, the daughter of wealthy textile factory owner and politician, was a teenager during the beginning of the French Revolution, attending the same convent school as Mary, Queen of Scots. As the Revolution took hold and the peasantry overran the aristocracy and religious elite, Barbe-Nicole's father understood that in order to keep his business and his life, his family would need to outwardly embrace the republican spirit. In fact, he aligned himself with one of the most radical groups. Before the revolution, her father had personally hosted King Louis and Marie Antoinette, and had supported the monarchy stridently. Despite his outward republicanism, he still maintained a private hope that the monarchy would be restored. He and his entire family were devout Catholics, and still kept the rites of the religion, despite the fact that religion was outlawed during and after the Revolution. It was this dichotomy between the public and private that seemed to have influenced Barbe-Nicole throughout the rest of her life.
Instead of being married off to a member of the French royalty, as her father might have dreamed, Barbe-Nicole was instead married to Francois Clicquot, a member of the upper class. His family had a small wine business, but was mostly in the wool trade. Francois was a dreamer, who had lots of high ambitions but not necessarily the talent or dedication to make those dreams a reality. He was also prone to deep depression and extreme moodiness. Although the author never comes out and says it explicitly, I suspect that in today's mental health community he might have qualified for a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. One of Francois' biggest dreams was to focus the family business entirely into the wine industry. In contrast to the traditional roles of women, he seemed to encourage Barbe-Nicole to join him in developing this business, and shared a lot of his knowledge of wine with her.
Francois spent a lot of their marriage on the road, attempting to sell wines that other people made, going across Europe. However, he was not particularly successful. Six years into their marriage, and with a young daughter to care for, Francois suddenly became very despondent and ill. When he died not long after, the official reports attributed it to typhoid. However, other reports suggest that he may have taken his own life from being overcome by the stress and hardship of a struggling business.
At 27 years of age, with some outside support, this single mother decided to take the helm of her husband's business. She hired a salesman who had experience in wine, and through much time and effort he was able to make inroads with wealthy families around Europe and into Russia. Over time, and not without struggles from political struggles and wars affecting supply, Veuve Clicquot was able to grow this meager family wine business into an internationally recognized and desired champagne brand.
However, despite Barbe-Nicole's "strong, independent woman" facade to other, with her family she was much more traditional. In fact, she never encouraged her own daughter to pursue the business and instead married her off to a titled noble. Her daughter went on to enjoy a life of pampered domesticity typical of females in that era. In many areas, Barbe-Nicole deferred to men in her life for business and personal decisions. It's interesting to think about the fact that, although she was widowed at a young age, she never remarried. She preferred to maintain control of her fortune to the extent that she was able in society. This dichotomy is reminiscent of her father's ease of maintaining separate public and private personas.
The author does a great job at weaving together the few details that are known for sure about Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin. In the "Afterward", she talks a bit about the difficulties of researching a woman who, despite her notoriety and prestige, was not well recorded in the annals of history. The extent of research and hypothesizing involved in THE WIDOW CLICQUOT is quite extraordinary, especially since she tells a story not only of Barbe-Nicole's life, but really the history of the Champagne industry and France in general.
THE WIDOW CLICQUOT: THE STORY OF A CHAMPAGNE EMPIRE AND THE WOMAN WHO RULED IT is not only a book for people who enjoy a glass of bubbly now and then, and want to learn more about it. It's for those interested in the wine industry, especially in historical France. It's also for those who want to learn about a powerful, independent, and ultimately enigmatic woman in an era when women were seen and not heard. I highly recommend you tuck into this book with a glass of some sparkling wine next to you - Veuve Clicquot especially!
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