Introduction

’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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Discussion Questions

From the authors:

How is Queen Elizabeth humanized through the author’s portrayal of her in the book?

What are some of the royal family’s Christmas traditions? Are there any similarities to American traditions and how so?

Jack has faced a lot of loss in his life. Why do you think the authors decided to add this bittersweet element to the book?
How does it underscore the messages of Christmastime?

What kinds of prejudices and obstacles would a young, single mother like Olive Carter face in the 1950s? Today? What has changed, for better or worse?

The authors create a cast of characters portraying more than one kind of love in the book: Jack and Andrea, Olive and Lucy, Olive’s parents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Rosie and Mason, Ryan and Maggie. Compare and contrast these relationships and how they change by the end of the book. How do they complement each other and/or the story arc?

Do you believe you can love more than one person passionately in the span of a lifetime? Discuss.

Weblinks

»	Author Hazel Gaynor's web site
»	Author Heather Webb's web site

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