Overview

Champagne Charlie tells the story of a dashing young Frenchman, Charles Heidsieck, who introduced hard-drinking Americans to champagne in the mid-nineteenth century and became famously known as Champagne Charlie. Ignoring critics who warned that America was a dangerous place to do business, Heidsieck plunged right in, considering it the land of opportunity and succeeding there beyond his wildest dreams. Those dreams, however, became a nightmare when the Civil War erupted and he was imprisoned and nearly executed after being charged with spying for the Confederacy. Only after the Lincoln administration intervened was Heidsieck saved, but his champagne business had gone bankrupt and was virtually dead. Then, miraculously, Heidsieck became owner of nearly half the city of Denver, the fastest-growing city in the West. By selling the land, Heidsieck was eventually able to resurrect his business to its former glory. For all its current-day glamour, effervescence, and association with the high life, champagne had a lackluster start. It was pale red in color, insipid in taste, and completely flat. Champagne's success can be traced back to King Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour, Napoleon Bonaparte, countless wars and prohibitions, and, most important to the United States, Charles Heidsieck.

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Petie Kladstrup is a freelance writer who has written widely about France and French life. An Overseas Press Club winner, she has worked as newspaper journalist and, more recently, as a protocol officer for the US ambassador to UNESCO. She is the author, together with her husband, Don, of Champagne: How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times. The parents of two daughters, Don and Petie divide their time between Paris and Normandy, France. Don Kladstrup is the author, together with his wife, Petie, of Champagne: How the World's Most Glamorous Wine Triumphed Over War and Hard Times. A former television news correspondent for ABC and CBS, he has received three Emmys and numerous other awards for his work overseas. The parents of two daughters, Don and Petie divide their time between Paris and Normandy, France. Multiple Voice Arts Award nominee Steve Marvel is one of only four narrators to be chosen a winner of the ACX Audiobook Narration Contest by Audible's Mike Charzuk. Steve received his classical theater training at Northwestern University and continues to work in theater, film, and television. The former voice of financial writer John Mauldin's Thoughts from the Frontline weekly newsletter, Steve's voice-over work also includes video games for the likes of Mattel, Sony, and Activision, and regular stints in eLearning. Steve applies his performance skills and mastery of accents to craft unique, distinctive characters for his fiction titles.

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