THE WINEMAKER’S WIFE joins the ever-growing World War II-era historical fiction subgenre. A number of recent books, including this one, revolve around personal, lesser-known events or people who are unfamiliar to many readers. Kristin Harmel’s story is set in and around Reims, France, in the Champagne region and takes place during the German occupation of that area. She focuses on the effects of the occupation on the residents and their varying responses to the Germans.

Told from multiple perspectives and in a dual timeline format, THE WINEMAKER’S WIFE is the story of Michel Chauveau, who is the owner of the fictional Maison Chauveau, a champagne house in the heart of the champagne and winemaking region near Reims. Michel inherits the property in his early 20s and marries Inès soon after a brief courtship.

"The beauty of historical fiction is its ability to transport readers to another time and place, and THE WINEMAKER’S WIFE succeeds by effectively conveying the horrors of living in Nazi-occupied Reims and the sacrifices that were made..."

As the book opens in 1940, World War II is underway, and the Nazis are headed to the region. Michel and Inès are not very compatible; Inès believes that Michel and Maison Chauveau’s chef de cave, Theo, and his wife, Céline, treat her like a child. As the months progress and the Germans arrive, the relationships among the various individuals at Maison Chauveau shift, and numerous poor decisions are made. The long-term consequences of the betrayals reverberate for decades to come.

The second timeline in 2019 centers on Liv Kent and her French grandmother, Edith Thierry. Recently divorced, Liv is adrift in New York City when Edith shows up to whisk her away to France. While Liv is enjoying her time in Paris, Edith unexpectedly insists that they visit Reims. The longer they spend there, the more Liv determines that her grandmother is harboring family secrets that may alter her entire history. Meanwhile, she is realizing that life after divorce exists when she meets a handsome attorney in Reims.

The highlight of THE WINEMAKER’S WIFE is the setting and the portions of the book addressing the role that various champagne makers played in the French Résistance and the tactics they employed to resist. The caves used to store champagne and wine in the area provided fabulous cover for weapon storage, harboring Jewish people and illicit meetings. Harmel’s exhaustive research is detailed in her Author’s Note, where she elaborates on the effect of World War II on the region and the heroics of many of its residents when the Germans invaded Champagne.

A drawback to the book is that the residents of Maison Chauveau are not particularly likable. While war forces people to endure the unimaginable and can explain away certain choices, the main characters in the earlier timeline are difficult to embrace even before the Germans arrived. Eventually, several of them pay for their poor decisions, but this aspect of the novel may not appeal as much to people who prefer quality characters.

The beauty of historical fiction is its ability to transport readers to another time and place. THE WINEMAKER’S WIFE succeeds by effectively conveying the horrors of living in Nazi-occupied Reims and the sacrifices that were made by residents to ensure freedom for later generations of French people.