Veuve Clicquot champagne epitomizes glamour and style, with tribute paid everywhere from Lord Byron to Casablanca. But who was this young widow - the 'Veuve' - Clicquot, whose champagne sparkled at the courts of France, Britain, and Russia, and how did she rise to celebrity and fortune? Newly widowed, she assumed the reins of the fledgling wine business she and her husband started, steering it through huge political and financial reversals to succeed as a single woman in a man's world. Visitors flocked to see this cultural icon and taste the vintages she imbued with magic. As much a fascinating journey through the process of making this temperamental wine as a biography of a uniquely tempered woman, "The Widow Clicquot" is a read to savour.

The extraordinary true story of the unlikely friendship between three women - Mussolini's daughter, a German spy, and an American socialite - who conspired to assist the Allies. In 1943, Edda Mussolini, daughter of the fascist dictator, gave her father and Hitler an extraordinary ultimatum: release her husband, Italy's former foreign minister, Galeazzo Ciano, from prison, or risk her leaking her husband's incendiary diaries to the press. Instead, Hitler and Mussolini vowed to do everything in their power to destroy the diaries - even if it meant killing Edda. They ordered Hilde Beetz, a German spy, to seduce Ciano in prison in order to learn the diaries' location. But Beetz fell in love with Ciano, and joined forces with Edda to try to save him from execution. When this failed, Edda fled with Hilde's assistance. Upon learning of Edda's escape, US intelligence sent in socialite Frances de Chollet to find Edda and get her to hand over the diaries to the Americans. Against all expectations, what developed was a rich and humanising friendship. With all the twists and turns of a spy thriller, this is the story of three women whose lives were drawn together in one of the most unlikely rescues of the Second World War.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Irena's Children comes a "vivid, compelling, and unputdownable new biography" (Christopher Andersen, #1 New York Times bestselling author) about the extraordinary life and times of Eliza Hamilton, the wife of founding father Alexander Hamilton, and a powerful, unsung hero in America's early days. Fans fell in love with Eliza Hamilton-Alexander Hamilton's devoted wife-in Lin-Manuel Miranda's phenomenal musical Hamilton. But they don't know her full story. A strong pioneer woman, a loving sister, a caring mother, and in her later years, a generous philanthropist, Eliza had many sides-and this fascinating biography brings her multi-faceted personality to vivid life. This "expertly told story" (Publishers Weekly) follows Eliza through her early years in New York, into the ups and downs of her married life with Alexander, beyond the aftermath of his tragic murder, and finally to her involvement in many projects that cemented her legacy as one of the unsung heroes of our nation's early days. This captivating account of the woman behind the famous man is perfect for fans of the works of Ron Chernow, Lisa McCubbin, and Nathaniel Philbrick.

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge, and Sam Riley!

"Narrative history that fizzes with life and feeling.” — Benjamin Wallace, New York Times bestselling author of The Billionaire's Vinegar

The New York Times bestselling biography of the visionary young woman who built a champagne empire, became a legend, and showed the world how to live with style

Veuve Clicquot champagne epitomizes glamour, style, and luxury. In The Widow Clicquot, Tilar J. Mazzeo brings to life—for the first time—the fascinating woman behind the iconic yellow label: Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who, after her husband's death, defied convention by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured together. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she became one of the world's first great businesswomen and one of the richest women of her time.

As much a fascinating journey through the process of making this temperamental wine as a biography of a uniquely tempered woman, The Widow Clicquot is the captivating true story of a legend and a visionary.

The unauthorized biography of the world's most famous, seductive, and successful perfume.

With its rich golden hue, art deco–inspired bottle, and timeless, musky scent, Chanel No. 5 is the world's bestselling perfume. Reverently known among industry insiders as le monstre—the monster—it is arguably the most coveted consumer luxury product of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Yet how did this pioneering celebrity fragrance, introduced in the early 1920s, eventually take on a life of its own, becoming a cultural monument celebrated by millions of devoted consumers?

The Secret of Chanel No. 5 is Tilar J. Mazzeo's far-ranging and fascinating search beyond the stuff of legend to uncover the full story of No. 5's creation, iconic status, and extraordinary success. Mazzeo goes back through time and deep into the life of Coco Chanel, the brilliant, controversial, and steel-willed businesswoman at the heart of the fragrance. She takes readers to the rose plantations and celebrated jasmine fields where the perfume begins and then to the laboratories and boardrooms where scent and sex are forever intertwined. And she travels to the heart of the Chanel empire: 31 Rue Cambon, Coco Chanel's flagship boutique, where six decades ago American GIs stormed the counters to possess the magical elixir that captured the luxury and romance of Paris for their girls back home.

A blend of evocative history and thoughtful research, here is a glittering account of where art and sensuality mingle with dazzling entrepreneurship and desire: Chanel No. 5.

Set against the backdrop of the Nazi occupation of World War II, The Hotel on Place Vendome is the captivating history of Paris's world-famous Hotel Ritz-a breathtaking tale of glamour, opulence, and celebrity; dangerous liaisons, espionage, and resistance-from Tilar J. Manzeo, the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow Clicquot and The Secret of Chanel No. 5 When France fell to the Germans in June 1940, the legendary Hotel Ritz on the Place Vendome-an icon of Paris frequented by film stars and celebrity writers, American heiresses and risque flappers, playboys, and princes-was the only luxury hotel of its kind allowed in the occupied city by order of Adolf Hitler. Tilar J. Mazzeo traces the history of this cultural landmark from its opening in fin de siecle Paris. At its center, The Hotel on Place Vendome is an extraordinary chronicle of life at the Ritz during wartime, when the Hotel was simultaneously headquarters to the highest-ranking German officers, such as Reichsmarshal Hermann Goring, and home to exclusive patrons, including Coco Chanel. Mazzeo takes us into the grand palace's suites, bars, dining rooms, and wine cellars, revealing a hotbed of illicit affairs and deadly intrigue, as well as stunning acts of defiance and treachery. Rich in detail, illustrated with black-and-white photos, The Hotel on Place Vendome is a remarkable look at this extraordinary crucible where the future of post-war France-and all of post-war Europe-was transformed.

Plagiarism and Literary Property in the Romantic Period Tilar J. Mazzeo "Mazzeo's new book is . . . smart and insightful, and points out that eighteenth-century writers took a certain amount of borrowing for granted. What mattered was whether you were sneaky about it and, even more important, whether you improved upon what you took, by weaving it seamlessly into your own text and adding some new context or insight."--"New York Times" "The author has read prodigiously and provides a vast amount of material bearing on laws governing literary property, much of it obscure. She discusses in detail plagiarism charges against Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, and Clare that have often been dismissed or ignored. The bibliography is extensive."--"Choice" In a series of articles published in "Tait's Magazine" in 1834, Thomas DeQuincey catalogued four potential instances of plagiarism in the work of his friend and literary competitor Samuel Taylor Coleridge. DeQuincey's charges and the controversy they ignited have shaped readers' responses to the work of such writers as Coleridge, Lord Byron, William Wordsworth, and John Clare ever since. But what did plagiarism mean some two hundred years ago in Britain? What was at stake when early nineteenth-century authors levied such charges against each other? How would matters change if we were to evaluate these writers by the standards of their own national moment? And what does our moral investment in plagiarism tell us about ourselves and about our relationship to the Romantic myth of authorship? In "Plagiarism and Literary Property in the Romantic Period," Tilar Mazzeo historicizes the discussion of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century plagiarism and demonstrates that it had little in common with our current understanding of the term. The book offers a major reassessment of the role of borrowing, textual appropriation, and narrative mastery in British Romantic literature and provides a new picture of the period and its central aesthetic contests. Above all, Mazzeo challenges the almost exclusive modern association of Romanticism with originality and takes a fresh look at some of the most familiar writings of the period and the controversies surrounding them. Tilar J. Mazzeo teaches English at Colby College. Material Texts 2006 256 pages 6 x 9 ISBN 978-0-8122-3967-6 Cloth $65.00s 42.50 ISBN 978-0-8122-0273-1 Ebook $65.00s 42.50 World Rights Literature Short copy: Were the Romantic poets plagiarists, and did plagiarism have the same meaning two hundred years ago as it has today? Tilar J. Mazzeo offers a major reassessment of the role of borrowing, textual appropriation, and narrative mastery in British Romantic literature and provides a new picture of the period and its central aesthetic contests.