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Hazel Gaynor
18 ratings | 8 reviews | avg rating:4.72

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Hazel Gaynor

Goodreads Author


Born
in The United Kingdom
Website

Twitter
HazelGaynor

Genre
Historical Fiction, Fiction, Literature & Fiction

Member Since
March 2012

URL


Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning New York Times and internationally bestselling author of historical novels which explore the defining events of the 20th century. A recipient of the 2015 RNA Historical Novel award and the 2024 Audie award for Best Fiction Narrator, she was also shortlisted for the 2019 HWA Gold Crown, and the Irish Book Awards in 2017, 2020 and 2023.

Hazel’s co-written historical novels with Heather Webb have all been published to critical acclaim, winning or being shortlisted for several international awards.

She is a regular speaker at literary festivals, co-founder of The Inspiration Project, and programmed and hosted a series of Historia Live events in association with Dublin UNESCO City of Literature in 2024. Her work ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

Just finished reading A Memory of Violets which I loved and could not put down. I am reading "about the book" Are the Memoirs of Albert Shaw fiction, were the sisters on the novel based on real children? Thank you, Fran Wilson
Hazel Gaynor Hi Frances! Thank you so much for reading A Memory of Violets, and for your question. Yes, the 'Memoirs of Albert Shaw' are fictional. I wanted to giv…moreHi Frances! Thank you so much for reading A Memory of Violets, and for your question. Yes, the 'Memoirs of Albert Shaw' are fictional. I wanted to give him a chance to share an insight into his experience with the flower girls in his own voice, and also allow the reader to consider things from his point of view. Florrie and Rosie are products of my imagination, although inspired by many accounts of children living and working on the streets of London, and especially an account of two orphaned sisters that I read about during my research. Hope that helps! Best wishes, Hazel.(less)
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Was there ever a time that you felt overwhelmed by the suddeness of your literary rise? I know you have a jouranlistic background, but did you ever need help to cope with the social media side of being published?
Hazel Gaynor Hi Jackie - great question! I am very lucky to have the support of family and friends who keep my feet on the ground! It has been a real whirlwind of …moreHi Jackie - great question! I am very lucky to have the support of family and friends who keep my feet on the ground! It has been a real whirlwind of a year since publishing The Girl Who Came Home, but I have enjoyed every minute. I really enjoy interacting with readers so that part of the process has been a great experience. From time to time I feel a little overwhelmed, but a walk in the mountains and family time brings everything back into perspective. x (less)
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Combine Editions

Average rating: 4.04 · 153,957 ratings · 21,100 reviews · 21 distinct works • Similar authors
Last Christmas in Paris
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4.15 avg rating — 26,571 ratings — published 2017 — 20 editions
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The Girl Who Came Home
3.94 avg rating — 25,608 ratings — published 2012 — 15 editions
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The Lighthouse Keeper's Dau...
4.09 avg rating — 19,783 ratings — published 2018 — 34 editions
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A Memory of Violets
3.97 avg rating — 13,738 ratings — published 2015
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When We Were Young & Brave
4.19 avg rating — 12,509 ratings — published 2020 — 19 editions
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Meet Me in Monaco
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3.90 avg rating — 12,014 ratings — published 2019 — 23 editions
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The Last Lifeboat
4.33 avg rating — 9,884 ratings — published 2023 — 11 editions
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Christmas with the Queen
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4.02 avg rating — 8,663 ratings — published 2024 — 16 editions
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The Cottingley Secret
3.85 avg rating — 7,979 ratings — published 2017 — 18 editions
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The Girl from the Savoy
3.89 avg rating — 5,642 ratings — published 2016 — 21 editions
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121 posts
Hazel Gaynor's Blog

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter is here!

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Hello! It’s been a long time since I updated my blog posts here, but what better reason to finally do so than to share the news that my new novel, THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER’S DAUGHTER, is out now across the globe!!


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I’m so thrilled that after publication in Ireland in September, the book is spending its fourth week in the Irish Times bestsellers chart, and is

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Hazel is Currently Reading

Dreams of Joy
Hazel Gaynor is currently reading
by Lisa See (Goodreads Author)
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Mar 14, 2012 05:49AM
Quotes by Hazel Gaynor  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“We are the sum of those who have touched our lives in one way or another.”
― Hazel Gaynor, The Cottingley Secret
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“Life is fragile Grace – it is no more than a petal of cherry blossom; thriving and in full bloom one minute and blown to the ground by a sudden gust of wind the next. We shouldn’t take our life for granted and we should do whatever we can to make ourselves happy.”
― Hazel Gaynor, The Girl Who Came Home
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“Now you look here. All your father ever dreamed of for you was to do something you loved in life. He didn't care about fancy qualifications or fancy clothes or cars, just that you were both happy and fulfilled. He was so excited about your dreams for a career.”
― Hazel Gaynor, The Girl Who Came Home
tags: daughter, father, life
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Crazy Challenge C...: Karlas Reading List/Challenges (2012) 18 52 Mar 30, 2012 08:00AM  
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Hazel’s Groups

140707 New Voices in Fiction Authors from William Morrow — 132 members — last activity May 04, 2020 10:32AM
This is a group of debut authors published by William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins. All are featured in the New Voices in Fiction Sampler. The ...more
209532 RW Bookclub(Unofficial) — 2840 members — last activity 3 minutes ago
Book discussion based on the Reesesbookclub on Instagram. We also have a monthly group book, buddy reads, challenges and giveaways! Our Facebook gro ...more
49702 Goodreads Ireland — 2105 members — last activity 23 hours, 4 min ago
Welcome to Goodreads Ireland, a bookgroup for people from, or just interested in Ireland and Irish literature. Please introduce yourself in the Introd ...more
7730 Irish Readers — 693 members — last activity Nov 24, 2025 06:55AM
A group for the Irish members of Goodreads! Every month we nominate and vote for a book which we read and discuss the following month. If you are ju ...more
22454 Historical Fictionistas — 15785 members — last activity 7 hours, 32 min ago
Welcome to Historical Fictionistas! We want to experience all different kinds of HF with all different kinds of people. The more diverse, the better. ...more
33864 Romantic Historical Fiction Lovers — 1708 members — last activity Aug 29, 2024 09:01AM
This group was founded as a discussion forum to fill the chasm between historical fiction and historical romance, and to compile a great reading colle ...more
116148 Q & A with Jennifer Laam — 15 members — last activity Oct 22, 2013 12:00AM
...October 20, 2013 to October 22, 2013... My debut novel THE SECRET DAUGHTER OF THE TSAR comes out on Oct. 22. I would love to discuss writing, query ...more
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Hazel’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-4)    post a comment »
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message 4: by Karen
Dec 13, 2017 06:04PM

Karen Macedo Hazel, Thank you for accepting my friend request .I just finished reading The Last Christmas in Paris. Wanted to let you know how much I loved this book. Looking forward to seeing what you write next.


message 3: by Hazel
May 25, 2014 01:10AM

Hazel Gaynor Juliew. wrote: "Hi Hazel!Thanks for accepting my friend request!Looking forward to reading your Titanic novel.Very nice to meet you!!"

Hi and thank you! I hope you enjoy The Girl Who Came Home! Best wishes, Hazel


message 2: by Juliew.
May 24, 2014 03:00PM

Juliew. Hi Hazel!Thanks for accepting my friend request!Looking forward to reading your Titanic novel.Very nice to meet you!!


message 1: by Pamela
Jul 30, 2012 07:37AM

Pamela Hey Hazel...Thanks for accepting my friend request.


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