Susan's Review of The Widows of Champagne by Renee Ryan

Champagne, 1939

Champagne, 1939
Gabrielle Leblanc Dupree is taking her family’s future into her hands. While she should be preparing for a lavish party to celebrate two centuries of champagne making, she secretly hides Chateau Fouché-Leblanc’s most precious vintages behind a fake wall in the cellar in preparation for the looming war. But when she joins the resistance, the coveted champagne isn’t the most dangerous secret her cellar must conceal…

A former Parisian socialite, Gabrielle’s mother, Hélène, lost her husband to another war. Now her home has been requisitioned by the Germans, who pillage vineyards to satisfy the Third Reich’s thirst for the finest champagne. There’s even more at stake than Hélène dares admit. She has kept her heritage a secret…and no one is safe in Nazi-occupied France.

Josephine, the family matriarch, watches as her beloved vineyard faces its most difficult harvest yet. As her daughter-in-law and granddaughters contend with the enemies and unexpected allies in their midst, Josephine’s deep faith leads to her own path of resistance.

Across years and continents, the Leblanc women will draw on their courage and wits, determined against all odds to preserve their lives, their freedom and their legacy…

The Widows of Champagne is a compelling novel which takes place during the Nazi occupation of France during the Second World War. The courage and determination exhibited by the three generations of Leblanc widows drew me into the story immediately.

The novel employs the alternative narrative technique which allows the reader to understand the characters thoughts and emotions. Renee Ryan’s descriptive writing depicts the family matriarch Josephine’s decline perfectly. Josephine struggles with her memory but, she’s clever enough to figure out that the Germans are stealing valuable paintings and family heirlooms. The Germans ignore Josephine believing that she is senile which enables her to pass on important information to the résistance.

Helene choses to fight for her family’s heritage in an unorthodox way as she believes she has the most to lose as the Nazi’s invade Reims. The author crafts Helene perfectly as she chooses to align herself with the German officers who occupy the chateau. Can she be trusted?

Gabrielle is the vineyards winemaker. She is determined to preserve her family and their heritage—the vineyards. I admired Gabrielle’s strength of character, her sense of duty and her determination to survive all of the obstacles in her path. Each of the three woman faced difficult choices and they remained steadfast in their beliefs.

The Widows of Champagne is a thought provoking novel of bravery, faith and sacrifice. The suspenseful storyline drew me into the story immediately and kept me on the edge of my seat with its unexpected twists and turns. I could feel the despair when France surrendered to the Germans, the tension when the chateau was occupied and the very real sense of danger that the widows faced every day. This poignant story has made a lasting impression on me. Through the characters of Josephine, Helene and Gabrielle, the author depicts the war in occupied France from a woman’s point of view -- this resonated with me.

The Widows of Champagne is a must read for historical fiction readers—it’s a beautifully written story of the Leblanc’s courage to preserve their heritage.

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

ARC provided by the publisher