Order of Hazel Gaynor Books

Hazel Gaynor is an English author of historical fiction, fantasy, and romance novels. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Studies from Manchester Metropolitan University. After being laid off from her job as a learning and development exec, Hazel decided to try her hand at writing as a career. She launched a blog called Hot Cross Mum and interviewed authors for other websites. Then, she self-published her novel The Girl Who Came Home and received the Cecil Day Lewis Literary Bursary Award, leading to a publishing deal with HarperCollins.

Hazel Gaynor made her debut as a novelist in 2012 with The Girl Who Came Home. Below is a list of Hazel Gaynor’s books in order of when they were first published:

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

If You Like Hazel Gaynor Books, You’ll Love…

• Kristin Harmel
• Madeline Martin
• Susan Meissner

Hazel Gaynor Synopses: The Last Lifeboat is a standalone novel by Hazel Gaynor. Kent, 1940. Former schoolteacher Alice King has always found her courage between the covers of books, not out in the world. But when a wartime plane crash near her home jolts her from the sidelines, Alice steps forward to aid Britain’s most vulnerable – its children – by volunteering for a daring overseas evacuation program.

In London, Lily Nichols once dreamed of applying her gift for mathematics to greater pursuits, but life led her to love, motherhood, and a quiet domestic existence. Now, with her husband called to war and bombs falling daily, Lily faces an agonizing decision: keep her children close in the danger of the Blitz, or send them across the ocean, hoping to save them.

When the ship carrying Lily’s children is torpedoed in the Atlantic, a single lifeboat remains, adrift in the storm. As fate binds two women – one left waiting on English soil, the other fighting for survival at sea – their stories converge in a powerful tale of resilience, sacrifice, and the unbreakable bond between mothers and children.

When We Were Young & Brave is a standalone novel by Hazel Gaynor. China, December 1941. Elspeth Kent left behind a troubled life in England for a teaching position at a missionary school in northern China, hoping for peace and purpose. But just as she’s preparing to return home and join the war effort, Japan declares war on Britain and the United States, upending everything.

Ten-year-old Nancy Plummer has always felt secure at the Chefoo School, surrounded by friends and protected by her British citizenship. That illusion shatters when Japanese forces seize the school, turning it into a place of fear and hardship. Cut off from their families, the children look to their teachers – and especially to Miss Kent and her Girl Guide troop – for stability and hope.

As food grows scarce and restrictions tighten, the school community must summon extraordinary strength, clinging to friendship, courage, and faith. But the greatest test lies ahead when they are relocated to a remote internment camp, where survival becomes more uncertain than ever.

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter by Hazel Gaynor is a standalone novel. 1838, Northumberland, England – Grace Darling has spent her entire life on the windswept Farne Islands, tending Longstone Lighthouse with her family. When a violent storm wrecks a ship nearby, Grace and her father brave the crashing waves to save the survivors – an act of heroism that propels her into the national spotlight. As artists and admirers flood the lighthouse, Grace forms a bond with George Emmerson, a painter whose admiration turns to something deeper. But as her fame grows, so do the challenges to her quiet life.

1938, Newport, Rhode Island – Nineteen-year-old Matilda Emmerson is sent away from Ireland in shame after becoming pregnant out of wedlock. Exiled to live with a distant relative – Harriet, the stern and solitary assistant keeper of a coastal lighthouse – Matilda discovers a forgotten, unfinished portrait that reveals a mysterious link to her past. As a fierce hurricane bears down on the coast, Matilda must summon the same courage that defined her ancestor a century earlier.

Across generations, two women separated by time are bound by the sea, their bravery, and a legacy of love and sacrifice.