The Jane Healey Happy Hour

110 Episodes

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The Queen's Coronation by Jennifer Ryan

2026-11-0242:47

In this episode of The Jane Healey Happy Hour, Jane Healey welcomes bestselling author Jennifer Ryan back to discuss The Queen’s Coronation, a historical novel inspired by her mother’s memories of Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation. Ryan explains how she tells the story through three women working around the palace—including an assistant dresser, a laundry maid, and an ambitious American journalist—to explore the opportunities and restrictions women faced in 1950s Britain. She also shares f...

Untamed Coast by Kevin C. Morris

2026-10-2621:59

In this episode of The Jane Healey Happy Hour, Jane Healey talks with debut novelist Kevin C. Morris about Untamed Coast, an atmospheric mystery inspired by a real 1930s radio outpost he discovered while boating along the remote coast of Southeast Alaska. Morris shares the remarkable story behind Radioville, where a lone radio operator once carried messages by rowboat between isolated gold mines and the outside world, and explains how that mystery grew into a novel spanning three timelines. H...

One of Them by Kitty Zeldis

2026-10-2327:45

In this episode of The Jane Healey Happy Hour, Jane Healey welcomes author Kitty Zeldis to discuss her historical novel One of Them, a story of friendship, identity, and belonging at Vassar College in the years following World War II. Kitty shares how Vassar's history of antisemitism inspired her to explore two Jewish women who make very different choices about revealing their identities, and recalls a troubling experience from her own college years. They also discuss the challenges of writin...

The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch by Laura Jensen Walker

2026-10-1927:30

In this episode of The Jane Healey Happy Hour, Jane Healey talks with award-winning author Laura Jensen Walker about The Pilgrimage of Primrose Honeychurch, the story of a solitary 70-year-old book lover who sets out for the legendary Welsh book town of Hay-on-Wye. Walker shares how discovering she was neurodivergent at 67 inspired Primrose and her journey, and why the character’s unexpected bond with her young neurodivergent great-niece became such an important part of the story. She also ta...

The Half Life by Rachel Beanland

2026-10-1633:39

In this episode of The Jane Healey Happy Hour, Jane Healey talks with bestselling author Rachel Beanland about The Half Life, set on the Mediterranean island of La Maddalena in the 1970s, when an American naval presence brought Navy families into a close and sometimes contentious relationship with the local community. Beanland shares her personal connection to the island, where she lived as a child, and how interviews with former residents helped her recreate everything from Navy-wife culture...

#box-pro-ellipsis-179422824245521{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}The Jane Healey Happy Hour