Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Christmas with the Queen

A Novel

Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

'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...


  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      June 1, 2025

      In their latest historical novel (following Three Words for Goodbye), Gaynor and Webb deliver a heartwarming, second-chance romance for Olive Carter, an unwed single mother who is a typist at the BBC in 1952 but aspires to be a reporter. When her colleague falls ill, Olive gets to cover Christmas Day broadcast of the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II at Sandringham. There, Olive is reunited with her long-lost American friend Jack Devereux, a new widower who used to cook for the U.S. Navy and now works in the queen's kitchens. Beginning in the 1950s and spanning several years, with flashbacks to how Olive and Jack first met, the novel reveals the challenges of being an unwed working woman and mother in postwar England. The audio is narrated by Fiona Hardingham as Olive, Gary Furlong as Jack, and Esther Wane as the queen, with wonderfully apt character voices and accents. The trio of narrators ensures that listeners can easily track when the story shifts perspectives. VERDICT A must for historical fiction devotees and fans of Netflix's The Crown seeking to learn more about 1950s England and how women from all backgrounds fought their way into spheres traditionally dominated by men.--Shannon O'Connor

      Copyright 2025 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Loading