A Woman's Intuition

The star-crossed lovers of this historical novel set in the Champagne district of France are Nicole Berthois, a beautiful young peasant girl, and aristocratic Philippe de Tramont, a champagne producer who is also a dreamy, aspiring playwright. A pregnant Nicole persuades Madame de Tramont to let them wed by revealing that the Berthois property contains the finest cellarage (a series of caves excavated by the Romans) in the district. (Cellarage, we learn, is one of the key ingredients in producing a successful champagne.) When Philippe dies in a tragic accident, Nicole forces out her mother-in-law and increases the fortunes of the champagne that now bears her label, La Veuve Tramont. Passionate and headstrong, she has a string of affairs. The Franco-Prussian war puts an end to her scheming, though nothing breaks her indomitable spirit. Barclay seems to have had a hard time deciding whether she was writing a light, frothy romance or a dark historical novel. She has, however, interpolated many interesting facts about the period and the production of champagne. (July)