Madame Pommery

"A Tour de Force of Historical Fiction" ~Publisher's Weekly BookLife PrizeAmazon Best Seller Literary Biographical FictionToast to Resilience: Madame Pommery's Unyielding Spirit

1860, Reims, France. Grief threatens to consume Alexandrine Pommery's future. Widowed and burdened, she could easily surrender. But a spark ignites within her, a vision of a champagne unlike any other – dry, crisp, a rebellion against the sugary tradition.

Her vision is met with ridicule. "Who would drink such a thing?" But Alexandrine's spirit is unyielding. In the vineyards and cellars, she experiments tirelessly. Each trial, each misstep, fuels the fire of her creation – Pommery Brut, a champagne as dry as her resolve.

The Franco-Prussian War erupts in 1870. Her son and crew march off, leaving Alexandrine to train women in her revolutionary methods. But the Prussian invasion shatters all hope, pillaging her cellars of precious Brut.

Alexandrine refuses to be defeated. She excavates secret caves beneath the city dump, hiding her champagne from the enemy. Her cellars become a refuge, not just for bottles, but for the French resistance.

Amidst the chaos, two men offer her love. One, too young, improper, perhaps even scandalous. The other, a Scottish Baron, promises a castle, a title, a life beyond the relentless toil of champagne. Torn between two men, Alexandrine must find the courage to forge her own path.

Uncork the secrets and taste the audacity of a widow's dream. Experience the unwavering spirit of Madame Pommery.