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

“The Widow Clicquot is someone we should all know about…. Long a shadowy, legend-obscured figure, in Tilar Mazzeo’s agile hands the widow sheds her weeds and takes form before our eyes as a distinctly modern entrepreneur….The result is narrative history that fizzes with life and feeling.”–Benjamin Wallace, author of the New York Times bestseller, The Billionaire’s Vinegar “Tilar J. Mazzeo’s informed and enlightening biography of Madame Clicquot, the widow and, more important, the businesswoman, retrieves her vintage story as if looking for a rare bottle in one of the Champagne region’s deepest caves.”–Newsday “Mazzeo’s resulting book is an enticing stew of biography and history.”–USA Today “The Widow Clicquot, Tilar J. Mazzeo’s sweeping oenobiography of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, is the story of a woman who was a smashing success long before anyone conceptualized the glass ceiling.”–New York Times Book Review “Joan of Arc and Madame Clicquot were the two women heroes I knew when growing up in France. What a gift to have this new, well-researched biography of one of the world’s first ‘legitimate’ businesswoman, our contemporary as a global business leader.”–Mireille Guiliano, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller, French Women Don’t Get Fat “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…. This example of Barbe-Nicole’s voice is exceptional…an intoxicating business biography.”–Julia Flynn Siler, The Wall Street Journal “This book is full of fascinating morsels of information.”–Canberra Times “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.”–Los Angeles Times The Widow Clicquot is a miraculous feat of organization, one worthy of a doctoral thesis…. [I]n its moments of action, this is actually a gripping story. And while the book appears to be a feminist history/business biography, it’s also the appealing story of the author’s odyssey.–Austin Chronicle “If you like champagne, “The Widow Clicquot” by Tilar J. Mazzeo is definitely worth a drink.“–Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers

Tilar J. Mazzeo is a cultural historian, biographer, and author of the “New York Times” bestseller “The Widow Clicquot”. She lives in northern California, New York City, and Maine, where she teaches English at Colby College.