Three Words for Goodbye by Heather Webb, Hazel Gaynor
There’s so much to love about a novel that gives us insight into what it was like to be a woman during a certain time in history. Even better if that time was pivotal, unforgettable and hovering on the brink of seismic shifts that will leave the world forever changed.
What was it like for two unmarried sisters to travel on their own nearly a century ago? What was it like for American women traveling far, far from home, by ship, by train, gondola, hot air balloon or even the Hindenburg? What was it like to cross the Atlantic in 1937 with the world on the cusp of war?
Three Words for Goodbye (William Morrow Paperbacks) by Heather Webb and Hazel Gaynor takes us there: Inside the cultural and class norms, the social pressures, the sense of duty and propriety, the unrealized dreams, plus all the complexities that test and form relationships along the way: from sisterhood to family, courtship, engagement, friendship, even an encounter with a charming stranger.
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS
Clara and Madeleine leave the United States on a mission, but it’s a reluctant one. The two don’t get along, to put it mildly; but their beloved dying grandmother, Violet, has thrust them together at her bequest to resolve some unfinished business she can no longer handle herself. There are amends to be made on Violet’s behalf, respects to be paid and family secrets to be uncovered.
Chapters alternate between the two sisters’ points of view, each preoccupied with her own problems. Clara is set to marry a high-society businessman who Madeleine cannot stand — for arguably good reasons — and is wrestling with aspects of the new life that will be awaiting her when she returns home. It all looks so good on paper: Her future mother-in-law is handling all the wedding planning while she’s gone, and her groom even has a gift awaiting her on each leg of her journey. So why are her gut feelings still so uncertain?
Madeleine has journalistic ambitions that have thus far yielded far more rejection letters than bylines. The last thing she’d want to do is tie herself to a man at this point in her life. For her, this trip is an opportunity, an adventure — but single-minded pursuit of professional success might come at a personal price.
WORKING TOGETHER MEANS WORKING HARD
Not surprisingly, the two have very different visions about how the journey should transpire, even as they share a common goal. But nothing will go according to either of their plans, and — you guessed it — they’ll have to work together to overcome fresh obstacles and unforeseen curves in their path if they want to do justice to their grandmother’s last wishes.
Along the way, they have much to learn about themselves, about why they’re really here, and about each other. Heather Webb and Hazel Gaynor have won over historical fiction readers with their earlier collaborations: the wistful, transportive Last Christmas in Paris and Meet Me in Monaco. Three Words for Goodbye will not disappoint their fans and is sure to win over many more.
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