Reviews & Awards

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Professional Reviews and Accolades

Champagne Widows (2021) | Gold Digger: The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor (2019) | The Secret Life of Mrs. London (2018)


Book cover for Madame Pommery, a Champagne Widows novel by Rebecca Rosenberg

a Champagne Widows novel (2023)


Madame Pommery Creator of Brut Champagne

A heroic mother and widow who created a champagne legacy

Click to read GoodReads ratings for Madame PommerySee goodreads ratings here


ManyBooks Author of the Day badge

ManyBooks Author of the Day Rebecca Rosenberg — A Stunning Tale of Ladies Revolutionizing the Champagne Industry!

Interview by Naomi Bolton

"Rebecca Rosenberg is a champagne geek, lavender grower and novelist of historical fiction of glorious women of the past. When Rebecca discovered the real-life stories of the Champagne Widows of France, she knew she’d dedicate years to telling the stories of these remarkable women who made champagne the worldwide phenomenon it is today."

Please give us a short introduction to what Madame Pommery, Creator of Brut Champagne is about.

"Madame Pommery created the world’s first Brut Champagne in 1870! She was a widow who had to support her family and she had no experience working at all. But she had a singular vision to change champagne from a sweet dessert wine to the dry, crisp wine to drink anytime. ..."
continue reading interview with Rebecca Rosenberg at ManyBooks.net



Champagne Widows book cover with "Editors Choice" Award Badge

AWARDS

  • Pulpwood Queens Book Club award badge
  • Editors Choice award badge
  • Many Books award badge
  • BookLife Prize award badge

REVIEWS

Champagne Widows

the story of Veuve Clicquot, the First Woman of Champagne

Click to read GoodReads ratingsSee goodreads ratings here


"I loved the character of Barbe-Nicole, a strong, determined woman, who defies Napoleon to make her business a success ... The novel contains fascinating details about winemaking and everything that goes into it ..."
continue reading at Historical Novel Society (review by Vicki Kondelik)


"This is a spectacular story, sparkling, based on the true story of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot. Well-written, well researched, and interpreted, I highly recommend this great historical read."
continue reading at Coffee and Ink


" I highly recommend Champagne Widows to fans of historical fiction and badass women from the past who changed history! Kudos to Rebecca for another winner!"
continue reading at Passages to the Past (review and interview by Amy Bruno)


"... a fascinating story of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, ... her uncanny sense of smell (Le Nez) and how this gift led her to make great champagne. Rosenburg is a triple-gold-winning author known for writing novels centered around historical real-life women set in fictional settings ..."
continue reading at Triangle Around Town


"... a triumphant tale of talent and ambition, love and loss , betrayal and redemption, and accepting yourself and others for who they are. Champagne Widows tells the effervescent story of the real life Champagne entrepreneur, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot."
continue reading at Stephanie's Book Reviews


"I was truly enthralled with the story of how Veuve Clicquot came to be what it is. It was not an easy road for the company nor the woman who gave it her name. Ms. Rosenberg quite deftly weaves the craft of winemaking into her story so you don't feel overwhelmed with information but rather want to learn more. rating: 5"
continue reading at Books, Cooks, Looks (review by Patty Woodland)


" ... I am so intrigued with the history behind one of the most iconic champagne brands, Veuve Clicquot. This is the story of a twenty year old with a gift who marries for love (of wineries not for the man.)"
continue reading at Hasty Book List (review by Ashley Hasty)


"... a breath-taking, captivating and intriguing novel. The Genres are Historical Fiction, and Historical Paris Fiction. I love the way that Rebecca Rosenberg appeals to the reader's senses as she describes the wine and champagne successes and failures."
continue reading at Lindas Book Obsession


"What a wonderful work of historical fiction! Rebecca Rosenberg has made the past come to life. Barbe-Nicole's determination sparkles as brightly as her champagne ... 5 stars"
continue reading at Bonnie Reads and Writes


"Another great read from Rebecca Rosenberg. Champagne Widows ... transports the reader into the fascinating world of wine-making during Napoleon's tumultuous reign. The author paints an inspiring portrait of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, the real-life “Grand Dame of Champagne."
continue reading at Sharon Gloger Friedman


"... highly immersive historical fiction that captivates and educates without making it obvious at any point, a beautiful novel ... characters are vividly drawn, and Barb-Nicole is someone who I was right behind ... I enjoyed the time I spent with her."
continue reading at Beyond the Books (review by Sharon Rimmelzwaan)


"Champagne Widows is historical fiction. It includes many colorful characters, opulent settings, war, disease, heartbreak and triumph ... [Widow Clicquot (Veuve Clicquot)] is a character you can't help but root for. ..."
continue reading at Pull That Cork (review by Nancy)


"Rosenberg does a really wonderful job of bringing Barbe-Nicole to life ... using a first-person narrative to help us get inside her head and heart."
continue reading at The Chocolate Lady


" Barbe-Nicole is captivating, particularly with her inheritance of "Le Nez" and the effect on her life. From grapes to pigs, the adventures she gets into with her nose are fascinating and are described in detailed and engaging ways. The champagne empire she builds is admirable, as is her relationship with Francois and its challenges."
Writer's Digest 2022


"This effervescent historical novel paints a richly detailed portrait of the enterprising Veuve Clicquot. The twinned plots of Clicquot and Napoleon Bonaparte's rise and fall are filled with detail that give life to this far-off time. Rosenberg's prose is light, yet detailed, and peppered with moments of wry humor ... Clicquot's character is charming, and readers will love getting to know her. Rosenberg has a superb eye for blending humor with drama."
continue reading at Publisher's Weekly BookLife Prize


"The sun-drenched vineyards of France, a real-life heroine who against all odds refuses to give up her dreams ... and champagne. What's not to love? And that's just what Rebecca Rosenberg delivers in CHAMPAGNE WIDOWS. Barbe-Nicole Clicquot was a woman ahead of her time, a fascinating blend of ingenuity, heart and sheer tenacity, with a nose for wine and a head for business. A 19th century widow who built an empire as war raged all around her. Note: This richly-woven tale is best savored slowly, though as with all delicious things, it won't be easy."
Barbara Davis, best-selling author of The Last of the Moon Girls


"For anyone who loves champagne, a must-read novel about Veuve Clicquot."
Judithe Little, author of The Chanel Sisters


"Rebecca Rosenberg has penned a spectacular saga of the first of the "CHAMPAGNE WIDOWS" of France, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot. Seamlessly interwoven with historical letters from Napoleon, her imaginative tale of Veuve Clicquot's personal life captured me and wouldn't let go until the end, leaving me wanting more!"
continue reading at Susan Cushman (author of John and Mary Margaret and Cherry Bomb)


"These first known women of Champagne/Sparkling winemaking may not have even realized how strong they were until they had to learn and do it all to survive for themselves and their wineries! Reading CHAMPAGNE WIDOWS makes it even more of an honor to learn a craft still dominated by men."
Penny Gadd-Coster, Executive Director of Winemaking, Rack & Riddle


"CHAMPAGNE WIDOWS is an inspired story based on the real-life Grande Dame of Champagne, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who built her famous champagne empire amidst the turbulence of 19th century France. Barbe-Nicole is my kind of heroine: a woman with passion, courage, family loyalty, and a killer business sense. Rebecca Rosenberg's sensual details make every scene of this intimate novel come alive. A true reading pleasure!"
Martha Conway, best-selling author of The Underground River and The Physician's Daughter


"CHAMPAGNE WIDOWS takes the reader back in time for an intimate look at the building of the iconic brand Veuve Clicquot. In the aftermath of Napoleon's rise to power, Barbe-Nicole and her husband François share a vision of creating a champagne that will astound the world. Despite war, death, blockades, and failed harvests, Barbe-Nicole ultimately succeeds. An epic story featuring love, family and the sustaining power of courage."
M.K. Tod, author of Paris In Ruins and award-winning blog A Writer of History


CHAMPAGNE WIDOWS: "Just as a champagne bottle pops bringing delectable flavors and delicious aromas, Rebecca Rosenberg delights the senses with her engrossing novel. She treats the reader to a perfect blend of history and story — with lots of champagne! Sit back and savor the tale of Veuve Clicquot. Raise a glass to her and all the women, from history to the present, who have broken the mold and overcome obstacles to succeed in  what was believed to be all-male professions."
Linda Rosen, author of Sisters of the Vine


CHAMPAGNE WIDOWS: "With crisp writing, Rebecca Rosenberg serves us the sparkling story of Veuve Clicquot, an independent woman of indomitable strength, determined to find her way in a man’s world. CHAMPAGNE WIDOWS is vintage storytelling."
Johnnie Bernhard, author of A Good Girl, How We Came to Be and Sisters of the Undertow


Gold Digger-double gold book cover

AWARDS

REVIEWS

Gold Digger

the Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor

Click to read GoodReads ratingsSee goodreads ratings here


"Rosenberg's exceptional fictionalized portrait of Baby Doe Tabor encompasses her years of triumph and turmoil during Colorado's early statehood. Newlywed Elizabeth “Lizzie” McCourt Doe heads to Colorado in 1878 from Oshkosh, Wis. to prospect for gold in her first husband's family mine. After he abandons her, leaving her penniless and pregnant, Lizzie divorces him and supports herself as a tailor in a haberdashery. Her beauty, enhanced by large doe-like eyes, earns her the nickname Baby Doe and the adoration of U.S. senator and mining magnate “Silver King” Horace Tabor, who is twice her age ..."
continue reading at Publisher's Weekly


GOLD DIGGER: "10 out of 10! An engaging and beautifully-written story, this fact-based novel celebrates the endurance of the human spirit in one woman's determination to survive ..."
continue reading at Publisher's Weekly Book Life Prize


GOLD DIGGER: "The Old West comes alive through Rosenberg's descriptions... [M]iners clad in sooty denim and bankers sporting pork chop sideburns cross paths and swill whiskey at the local saloons. Lingo such as “hornswoggle” and “skilamalink” enriches the writing... Rosenberg's research enables her to shine a light on lesser-known aspects of Colorado's past, such as the 1880 Hop Alley Riot in which a mob destroyed parts of Denver's Chinatown... [A] captivating saga based on the true story of a bold woman mining for romance and riches... [T]his book will particularly appeal to Colorado readers and fans of American Western historical fiction ..."
continue reading at Blue Ink Review


[GOLD DIGGER is] an "accomplished and absorbing novel ..."
continue reading at Prairies Book Review


GOLD DIGGER: "A gripping story of female grit and resilience. Baby Doe has a wonderful, indomitable spirit, and Rosenberg brings her physical and emotional challenges vibrantly to life."
Historical Novel Society


GOLD DIGGER: "If you like historical fiction ... grab this book."
Diane Dicke (Barnes & Noble)


GOLD DIGGER: "Fantastic depiction of the late 1800s-early 1900s gold rush in Colorado."
Jaymi C. (Librarian)


[GOLD DIGGER is] "... a roller coaster ride of opulence, scandal, heartbreak and resiliency."
Eric (Goodreads Review)


"Rosenberg's rollicking Western adventure [GOLD DIGGER] strikes gold with a gutsy, good-hearted spitfire of a heroine and action aplenty."
Thelma Adams, bestselling author of Bittersweet Brooklyn and The Last Woman Standing


"GOLD DIGGER tells the true story of Lizzie "Baby Doe" Tabor, a beautiful young woman who in 1878 marries the son of a wealthy miner in order to save her family from penury. Shrewd and stubborn, Lizzie fights back-biting Victorian society, wins and loses vast fortunes, and bests conniving politicians in her larger-than-life story. A twisting tale worthy of Mark Twain, with a big-hearted heroine at the center."
Martha Conway, author of The Underground River


Mrs. London book cover

AWARDS

  • IPPY Gold Medal Best Regional Fiction West-Pacific 2019
  • Golden Poppy Book Award 2019
  • WIKI: 12 Marvelous Novels about the 20th Century
  • Pulpwood Queens 5-Diamond Selection
  • Spirited Woman Top 12 Books Fall 2018
  • California Book Awards nominee
  • Center for Fiction Best First Novel nominee

REVIEWS

THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON

Charmian London's relationships with her husband Jack London, and their friend Harry Houdini

Click to read GoodReads ratingsSee goodreads ratings here


"An impressively original and exceptionally well-crafted novel by an author who is a master of character- and narrative-driven storytelling, Rebecca Rosenberg's THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON is an inherently riveting and thoroughly reader-engaging story from beginning to end and feature[es] many an unexpected plot twist and turn."
Midwest Book Review


"Interesting, and based on the actual lives of the participants … Learning more about Jack London was enjoyable, as well as seeing early feminist examples."
continue reading at Historical Novel Society


THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON: "… Rosenberg paints an immensely intriguing portrait of a marriage and tells it in an accomplished lyrical prose that captures each moment with poetic intensity."
continue reading at Prairies Book Review


THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON: "Women of all ages and historical fiction fans will love this book."
continue reading at Online Book Club


"THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON is a riveting behind-the-scenes look at the marriage of Jack and Charmian London, both fascinating and complicated characters with rich inner lives that Rosenberg conveys in crisp yet poetic prose. This contemporary historical fiction raises questions that are still relevant today about what makes a good marriage, and whether creativity and stability are incompatible. A rich, resonant, deeply satisfying novel sure to delight and leave readers thinking long after they put it down ..."
Malena Watrous, author of If You Follow Me and Sparked! and director of the Stanford Continuing Studies Program in Novel Writing (Goodreads review)


"THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON is a heart-wrenching portrait of a marriage between two people who utterly depend on one another, but ultimately aren't enough for each other. With skillful precision of language, Rosenberg weaves a narrative that defines the complexities of love, passion, and art. This is a perceptive, deeply moving novel by a great new talent about a couple who has gone unnoticed in historical fiction until now. Anyone who has ever loved another person will want to read this book."
Victoria Kelly, author of Mrs. Houdini: A Novel


"One of Houdini's best-kept secrets was his affair with Charmian London in 1918. Now Rebecca Rosenberg tells the story using an elegant blend of fact and fiction, creating a Houdini book like no other. THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON is a true peek behind the curtain and a page-turner."
John Cox at Wild about Harry


"Rebecca Rosenberg has written a touching, informative, yet passionate novel within the Historical Fiction genre." [THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON] is "... quirky, humorous, fascinating and heart-wrenching with a conclusion as significant as it is symbolic."
DeniseMarie (BookBub Review)


"[THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON] … is a great read for history buffs, especially if you enjoy stories set in early 20th Century America ... Charmian London is the wife of famous writer Jack London. This story is hers … It is interesting to see her grow into an awareness of who she really is."
Bette Lee Crosby, Author (BookBub Review)


"[THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON] … reads as if the author has known all the characters in her lifetime and they are larger than life. All in all, a beautiful and vivid read where the reader won't look at page numbers but instead will devour the novel in a few settings as possible."
Sveta (Svetlana's Reads and Views)


"I read this book … and I couldn’t put it down! I highly recommend [THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON] to all and hope to see more stories like this from this author. I am a big fan!"
Stephanie M. Hopkins (Layered Pages review)


" … Rosenberg's writing is accessible. She never hides her story behind verbose verbiage. This helps to mirror and bring home to the reader the loving yet somewhat antagonistic relationship between Charmain and Jack ..."
Miss Eliza (Strange & Random Happenstance review)


[THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON]  " … is very well written and gives a great look into the literary/celebrity world during the WWI era. As a first novel it's a roaring success, and I look forward to future efforts from this author ..."
Teresa Kander (Book Babble review)


"THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON is a warm, engaging portrait of a woman struggling to find herself … How she succeeds and/or fails had me totally gripped. Highly recommended ..."
Kate Braithwaite (KateBraithwaite.com)


"THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON is a fascinating story beautifully told. The creative and romantic lives of Jack and Charmian London were full of passion, genius, and intrigue. I fell in love with the characterizations and the ups and downs of their careers, family lives, and romantic relationships kept me riveted throughout. A wonderful read!"
Kathleen (Goodreads review)


THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDONa MUST READ "… The way Ms. Rosenberg develops her characters and the plot is intense and draws the reader in, making the story one that you won’t want to put down ..."
Kelly (Kelly's Thoughts on Things)


"THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON is one of the best books I have ever read. It's a story I will never forget ..."
Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede (Goodreads review)


"I've always said that historical fiction about real people makes history come alive, and this is quite evident in MRS. LONDON … I love reading about strong female characters at any point in history and Ms. Rosenberg's works are a great source for such material ..."
LuAnn Braley (Back Porchervations)


"After a few chapters, I realized I was reading something more than just ok … I thought about this book a long time after I read it and often I found myself wondering what would I do if I were in Charmian's place. For me the fact that I kept coming back to this story was a sign of a great read ..."
Literary aggressive go-getter (The Lit Bitch)


"For all my love of author biographies, I've never read much about the Londons, but after just a few pages of THE SECRET LIFE of MRS. LONDON, I found myself absolutely captivated by this fascinating literary couple … What a lovely surprise this book was!"
Barbara Davis (Bookbub Community Reviews)

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