Christmas with the Queen
'Tis the season! The Crown meets When Harry Met Sally in the latest heartwarming historical novel from Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, bestselling authors of Last Christmas in Paris, Meet Me in Monaco, and Three Words for Goodbye.
December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet as the new monarch, she must also find the right words to continue the tradition of her late father's Christmas Day radio broadcast. But even traditions must evolve with the times, and the queen faces a postwar Britain hungry for change.
As preparations begin for the royal Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk, old friends--Jack Devereux and Olive Carter--are unexpectedly reunited by the occasion. Olive, a single mother and aspiring reporter at the BBC, leaps at the opportunity to cover the holiday celebration, but even a chance encounter with the queen doesn't go as planned and Olive wonders if she will ever be taken seriously.
Jack, a recently widowed chef, reluctantly takes up a new role in the royal kitchens at Sandringham. Lacking in purpose and direction, Jack has abandoned his dream to have his own restaurant, but his talents are soon noticed and while he might not believe in himself, others do, and a chance encounter with an old friend helps to reignite the spark of his passion and ambition.
As Jack and Olive's paths continue to cross over the following five Christmases, they grow ever closer. Yet Olive carries the burden of a heavy secret that threatens to destroy everything.
Christmas Day, December 1957. As the nation eagerly awaits the Queen's first televised Christmas speech, there is one final gift for the Christmas season to deliver...
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Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author known for her deeply moving historical novels which explore the defining events of the 20th century. A recipient of the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award, her work has since been shortlisted for multiple awards in the UK and Ireland. Her latest novel, The Last Lifeboat, was a Times of London historical novel of the month, shortlisted for the 2023 Irish Book Awards and recipient of the 2024 Audie Award for Best Fiction Narrator. Hazel's work has been translated into twenty languages and is published in twenty-seven territories to date. She lives in Ireland with her family.
Heather Webb is the award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of ten historical novels, including her most recent The Next Ship Home, Queens of London, and Strangers in the Night. To date, her books have been translated to eighteen languages. She lives in Connecticut with her family and two mischievous cats.
"A page-turning festive read, full of will they/won't they romance, intriguing glimpses of royal life behind palace doors, and inspiring culinary treats. As delicious as a Christmas pudding topped with flaming brandy and lashings of cream."- Gill Paul, USA Today bestselling author -- Gill Paul, USA Today bestselling author
"Christmas with the Queen is, in a word, delicious. As with Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb's previous collaborations, it balances deftly observed historical details, an engaging plot, and delightful characters (HM the late Queen among them) who become familiar and dear to the reader after only a few pages. This is a story to savor over a cup of tea as the days grow short and the year draws to a close, and I adored every bit of it." -- Jennifer Robson, USA Today and International bestselling author of THE GOWN
"This heartwarming tale weaves together Christmas and a second chance at love into one charming story." -- Booklist
"Reading Christmas with the Queen felt like tucking into the world's loveliest Christmas roast. This sweet and thoughtful book had me hooked from the first page, following along not only for glimpses of Her Majesty and the royal retinue, but for Olive and Jack's irresistible second-chance romance. A triumph and a treat of a novel!" -- Bryn Turnbull, author of The Woman Before Wallis
A captivating Christmas read to be savoured. -- Amanda Geard, author of The Moon Gate
"I was quickly swept up in this warm, lovely book... fun and sweet and tender, with a gorgeous 1950s atmosphere and a really clever blending of fictional characters with the royal family." -- Tracy Rees, bestselling author
"Any reader of heartwarming and poignant romance stories will enjoy this offering from Gaynor and Webb." -- Historical Novels Review
"Christmas with the Queen offers additional insight into royal holiday traditions while serving up a beautiful story about second chances." -- Novels Alive, 5 Star Review
"CHRISTMAS WITH THE QUEEN is a sweet and poignant reunion for Olive and Jack, as well as their private encounters with two members of the royal family." -- Romance Reviews Today
"A tale of reunited romance, royal Christmas festivities, and new beginnings for Queen Elizabeth II, Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb is a captivating historical novel set in the holiday season during the 1950s." -- History Through Fiction
