‘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

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December 1952

As a young Queen Elizabeth II prepares to deliver her first Christmas speech, staff work behind the scenes to get ready for the festivities at Sandringham Estate. Among them are Jack and Olive – old friends who are surprised to be reunited after seven years apart.

While Olive works for the BBC reporting on the royal family, and Jack is employed in the queen’s kitchens, their bond deepens – until a secret threatens to tear them apart. When the truth comes to light, it could change Olive and Jack’s lives forever.

But maybe Christmas has one last gift to deliver?

Readers love Christmas with the Queen!:

‘Oh what a gorgeous read? full of warmth and love and nostalgia’ ?????

‘So well researched you almost feel like you are with the Queen’ ?????

‘I loved this book from the very first page’ ?????

‘Jack and Olive were both wonderfully real and complex, they leapt from the page ? A captivating Christmas read to be savoured’ Amanda Geard

‘A must read for anyone in need of Christmas magic’ Georgie Blalock

‘Moving and authentic’ Dinah Jefferies
‘Vivid, heart-rending and so, so beautiful’ Jenny Ashcroft
‘A beautiful, tender and fascinating story’ Sinead Moriarty

‘Deeply moving. Be prepared – have handkerchiefs on standby at the end’ Antonia Senior, The Times
‘An inspiring novel about the power of determination, courage and unity’Woman’s Own

China, 1941. With Japan’s declaration of war on the Allies, Elspeth Kent’s future changes forever. When soldiers take control of the missionary school where she teaches, comfortable security is replaced by rationing, uncertainty and fear.

Ten-year-old Nancy Plummer has always felt safe at Chefoo School. Now the enemy, separated indefinitely from anxious parents, the children must turn to their teachers – to Miss Keny and her new Girl Guide patrol especially – for help. But worse is to come when the pupils and teachers are sent to a distant internment camp. Unimaginable hardship, impossible choices and danger lie ahead.

Inspired by true events, this is the unforgettable story of the life-changing bonds formed between a young girl and her teacher, in a remote corner of a terrible war.

Shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards for Popular Fiction Book of the Year
USA Today bestseller

Published in the USA and Canada under the title When We Were Young and Brave.