A fascinating true story about how a woman turns her husband's brewing company into an empire that survives Prohibition, after he is murdered by one of his mistresses.

I knew nothing about Emma Koehler or Pearl Brewing before picking this up, but the only thing better than a dramatic story is one that's true, so I couldn't resist. It's a great story, but I think it could have been told in a slightly better way. It's as though the author attempted to tell it in dual time periods - one when Emma is elderly and hires a young woman to take notes for her autobiography, and the other as Emma's past. The problem is, we only get Emma's past as she's dictating it, so it's not always a true dual-time period story because we only really hear Emma telling us about her past, we don't get to actually see it very much. That was a little disappointing, and I felt like much of her accomplishments were brushed over, but it's still a great story about woman who wouldn't be held back by the personal tragedies that befell her. Not only did she rise above them, she became more successful and powerful than her narcissistic husband had been during a time when women didn't have the right to vote, and managed to maintain it through WWI, Prohibition, the Great Depression, and even the start of WWII.

Additional dimension is added by exploring the fictional character Mabel Hartley, the notes taker. Rather than just being a means of storytelling, she provides a much needed happier ending too.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which has actually been inspired by true events and I would highly recommend it to all the lovers of historical fiction.
It is presently 1943 and Mabel Hartley gets a positive reply to the job she applied for, in a desperate attempt to get away from her home town, Baltimore, where she has lost so much. Little did she know that this move to San Antonio would change her life. Mabel's new job is to help Mrs Emma Koehler, her new employer, to record her memoirs as she has only a few months to live. While transcribing Mrs Koehler's account, Mabel is inspired and in awe of that woman who single handedly managed one of the largest breweries of Texas through so many crises and also the various businesses of the Koehler empire. However, Emma did not have an easy journey. She had to overcome the pain of an unhappy and childless marriage, a husband who was unfaithful to her and eventually murdered by one of his mistresses. Emma had to prove her mettle to retain her place on the Board of directors of the brewery.
The story is highly engaging as it also captivates the reader's attention with newspaper clippings that are included between the chapters, that give further insight into Emma's husband scandalous murder, which was one of the most shocking one of its times.
The First Emma kept me hooked as I was amazed by Emma's inspiring rise to becoming a successful business woman during a time where the woman's place was still considered to the home. Further, there was also alongside the intrigue created by the newspaper clippings as to who of the two mistresses killed Emma's husband and the author also kept a track in the plotline for how Mabel's life changed post her coming to San Antonio.

Beautifully written by This author ! This story touched my heart and it's characters! A huge fan of this author and this did not disappoint!! Highly recommend this book!

The First Emma is a powerful story of strong women supporting strong women. This felt like an original idea to me and I was so happy to have had the honor to follow the journeys of Emma and Mabel. Not only was the writing absolutely beautiful, this book introduced me to new events that lead me down a rabbit hole of investigation! Only the best books will do that.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

A very enjoyable book. No surprise due to the author. Lots of research went into this book which I appreciated. A sweet love story in among facts. A woman who breached a world mostly made up of men. The beer brewing industry which I knew little about and found very interesting. The main character was quite controlling but in this case was done with heart.

Nobody writes historical fiction quite like Camille Di Maio! Her attention to detail and commitment to research is in a class of its own. Who would have guessed that I'd be hooked on a story about the creating of a beer-brewing empire, unable to put the book down until I had finished it? But this fictionalized version of the real-life widow of a World War 2-era beer titan, and the bizarre twists and turns their life together took, is compelling -- as is the accompanying love story di Maio weaves in. A fun and fascinating read!

This book is the reason I love historical fictions. The brewery that was started at the beginning of the 20th century and was able to survive prohibition is fascinating. Emma Koehler was the "power behind the throne", supporting her husband's business and eventually taking over when he is murdered. The story is told as flashbacks, with Emma working on her autobiography by dictating it to a young woman hired for that purpose. The story of the family, both good and bad, the murder of her husband and her near fatal accident keep your interest piqued.
Don't miss this book!

THE FIRST EMMA by Camille Di Maio is another excellent story that showcases a girl coming into her own and a woman standing on her own. You have romance, mentorship, humor, sorrow, and a lot of information about brewing beer. While I wasn’t a big fan of the newspaper articles before each chapter, I loved how Di Maio took those articles as inspiration to create a complete world for Emma Koehler when very little is known about the details. She emerges from the ashes of her husband’s death as a true phoenix and she’s not the only one that rises. I received an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

With very little known facts existing about the fascinating Emma Koehler, the author decided to approach this book in a different way: through the eyes of a completely fictional character, Mabel.
It’s 1943 in Baltimore and Mabel finds herself jilted by her fiancé, losing both her brothers to the war (one killed and one MIA), her mother is dead and her father is an alcoholic. So she responds to an add placed in the paper to take notes for an older woman in San Antonio, Texas, and is given the job. She is awed by Emma Koehler, who is widowed, childless, and in charge of a major beer production company.
Emma shares her story with Mabel, but she also shares exactly what Mabel needs most: a home and family she never expected.
This was a sweet, interesting historical fiction read. I felt like the character of Emma was very wonderfully developed (especially for such little detail being available on her). I loved the newspaper clippings throughout that kept the story moving along as well!

Camille Di Maio writes the most amazing historical fiction books! This is another one that is based in fact. The first Emma was an actual person and was a formidable and remarkable woman. She was quite the business woman and ran a brewery in San Antonio in and around 1918. Not the thing that women did in those days. The book documents what the author could find out about Emma’s life and develops a fiction story around it. Fun fact - there were three Emma’s in real life and they were all vastly different women. I’ll let you find out how that works. This is a historical fiction book that I highly recommend. The research alone for this story is amazing.

Essentially, this story is about three women's perseverance through all of life's challenges,. Only two are Emmas. Our narrator, Mabel, is a lost woman trapped in the midst of WWII posterity, and she finds herself writing the memoirs of Emma Koehler. A widow who is as famous as her backstory is tantalizing. The best part of the story, to me, was the relationships - romantic and otherwise. To find out that it is fiction based on reality only enhanced my reading experience.

The First Emma is yet another wonderfully written novel by Camille Di Maio. I fell in love with her writing in The Way of Beauty and her latest novel did not disappoint with the emotionally compelling stories of Emma and Mabel. There is a little bit of everything in this book and it takes place during one of my favorite and most intriguing time periods in American History. I love how the characters come to life between the pages and the descriptive setting completely transports the reader back in time! Intriguing and fast paced, you will not want to miss this incredible story.

Stunning and intriguing historical fiction at its finest! This author is my favorite historical fiction writer. She writes of strong women the history forgot and deserve to be celebrated and known. I will read everything she writes.

I'm a big fan of Camille Di Maio's writing. She always amazes me with her historical fiction and all the details she puts into the stories to keep them engaging while also teaching an interesting lesson.

I have never heard of Otto and Emma Koehler prior to reading The First Emma, so this story was fascinating and compelling. I don't even like beer, nor do I care about how it is made, but somehow I found myself enjoying reading about the process through Camille's eyes. I love how Emma was so business savvy and that she stood up for herself and for what she wanted.

I know Camille didn't have much background information to work with, but she crafted an interesting story based on what she had. Mabel was a great character too and I only wanted to see good things happen for her. One of those good things was Erik, who sounds like an amazing guy. Aside from the adultery and murder, which was foreshadowed at the beginning, it's mostly a sweet and empowering story. Even though it took place around World War II, I appreciated that the war was more in the backdrop of the story instead of the main focus.

I definitely recommend checking this one out!

Mabel: Shira Haas
Emma (mid-late 1800s): Elizabeth Debicki
Emma (early 1900s): Elizabeth Mitchell
Emma (early 1940s): Elizabeth Ashley
Erik: Cody Christian
Ernestina: Amy Forsyth
Emma Dumpke: Eline Powell
Emma Burgermeister: Rachel Brosnahan
Otto (early 1900s): Mads Mikkelsen

I love a story based on history with a strong independent woman as the main character. I knew nothing about this chapter of San Antonio history and Emma, the queen of Pearl Beer.

This story is extraordinary. The fact that it is based on a true story makes it even more enjoyable.

The First Emma by Camille Di Maio

Brief Summary: This is a historical fiction account of Emma Koehler; the wife of Otto Koehler who ran the Pearl Brewing Empire and was killed in a crime of passion by his mistress and wife’s nurse also named Emma. This is my second book by Camille Di Maio.

Highlights: I absolutely loved the beer and brewing history with the St. Louis tie in to Anheuser Busch. It gave me an appreciation for what the industry went through during prohibition. I also loved Emma Koehler and what an inspiring and strong woman leader she is! Her story holds hope for women trying to break into male dominated fields today! I loved her moves for the Pearl workers. Her complicated relationship with her husband is similar to other power couples in the news. As a female with a disability, I did have a strong reaction to her husband’s affairs with her nurses after she was in a wheelchair after a car accident. This book had me googling Emma Koehler and Hotel Emma will be on my itinerary next time I’m in San Antonio along with a taste of Pearl beer.

Explanation of Rating: 5/5; this book had it all; history, inspiring female protagonist with life lessons to author and an interesting plot!

Favorite Quotes: A woman owning a business in a time when it was unheard of. And not any woman. A widow. A widow in a wheelchair. Mrs. Koehler’s story was interesting, yes. But more than that, it offered hope to girls who were only beginning to see a world where opportunities were available to them that were never there before.

You always have more power over your adversaries when they underestimate you.

This is a must for historical fiction fans and beer enthusiasts!

Thank you to Net Galley and Wyatt-McKenzie Publishing for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I already bought a copy for my personal library to support the author!

A Camille Di Maio historical fiction never fails. Never. The research and creativity that she puts into her works is astounding and The First Emma is no different.

The First Emma is Camille's fictional take on Emma and Otto, real life owners of Pearl Brewery in San Antonio. Meticulously researched, Di Maio's intention was to tell Emma's story. Of course, true to history, there was not much to tell because women didn't have much of a voice then and all credit was given to the men. So through research, and how Camille imagined Emma would have felt and acted at the time, The First Emma was created.

Otto was a bit of an asshole and philanderer, hence the FIRST Emma title. What started with good intentions and love, turned into a one sided, then an altogether loveless marriage. Otto had thing for the name Emma, which would end up being his demise. Divorce would have been too much of a scandal at the time and would ruin the empire that was built. So, while Otto dallied elsewhere, Emma turned her love and attention to the brewery, eventually even making sure it survived Prohibition without losing a single employee.

The First Emma is a story of building strength from loss and a woman making a life for herself in a time when that was almost unheard of. It is love lost, love found, a murder, and gumption. I couldn't ask for more in a story.

I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book is a shining triumph that is not to be missed. It has powerful women, romance, betrayal, and survival. I loved reading it.
Many thanks to Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

By all accounts, Emma Koehler was an extraordinary woman. A prominent figure in the history of San Antonio, Texas, she was a German immigrant who ran the city’s Pearl Brewery, succeeding her late husband Otto in the role; she used her ingenuity to reinvent the business during Prohibition and keep it afloat during the Depression. It’s fair to say that she wouldn’t have attained such success if her personal life had been less traumatic. Following a traffic accident that left her a semi-invalid, Otto took her two German-born nurses – both also named Emma – as his mistresses, installing them in their own house, and one of them murdered him in 1914.

In Camille di Maio’s fifth novel, young Baltimore native Mabel Hartley is hired in 1943 to take down the elderly Emma Koehler’s memoirs. The two women’s interactions create an intriguing dynamic: while beer is Emma’s lifeblood, Mabel avoids alcohol after seeing how it destroyed her father’s life. Mabel is a realistic character for her time, but her storyline lacks conflict. Her developing romance with Emma’s nephew, Erik, is sweet but has few surprises, and his presence in her life feels too convenient. Emma’s story has more drama and bite – with the outline above, how could it not? Leaving her siblings behind to marry Otto at seventeen and move with him to San Antonio, Emma quickly discovers his workaholic nature. She also learns that to escape her loneliness, she must educate herself and meet Otto on his own ground: the brewery.

The lurid prologue depicting Otto’s murder feels somewhat misleading for the rest of the book, which isn’t a thriller. Comparatively few historical novels focus on successful businesswomen, however, and Emma Koehler is a deserving subject. Her position and attitude combine to create an admirable character that readers will root for.

(from the Historical Novels Review, May 2020)