The Widow Clicquot by Tilar J. Mazzeo

I read this book while on our trip to see the Deutz Fahr tractor at Paige Equipment. For me, this was a page turner and a book I couldn't put down. It was published in 2008 and became a New York Times Bestseller. We have had Veuve Clicquot, courtesy of our friend, Barry but I had no idea that veuve is widow in French. Hah!
Veuve Clicquot was born in 1777 and named Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, daughter of Marie Jean Josèphe Clémentine and Ponce Jean Nicolas Ponsardin, whose wealth derived from ownership of a textile mill in the town of Reims. During her youth, Barbe-Nicole lived through the tumultuous years of the French Revolution which saw the collapse of the monarchy, culminating in the execution of King Louis XVI in 1793. In 1798, when she was 21 she married François Clicquot, son of Phillipe and Catherine Clicquot, another wealthy textile maker. The story could have ended "and they lived happily ever after", but in 1805, when Barbe-Nicole was only 27 years of age, François died, allegedly of tyhpoid fever, but given his bouts of depression, it was also rumored that he took his own life. Regardless, Barbe-Nicole was left to fend for herself and her young daughter Clémentine. This is the story of an amazingly resilient, entrepreneurial, innovative woman that Tilar Mazzeo details in this book. Along the way, I learned that the often told story of Dom Pérignon's discovery of Champagne and his quote "I am drinking stars!", is a clever marketing ploy used by Moët & Chandon. I also learned that in her quest to provide her Champagne with clarity in the glass, it was Barbe-Nicole who invented remuage, the technique of riddling. Read it yourself and if you are a woman, be inspired by her tenacity!