“When good American’s die they go to heaven. If they’ve been REALLY good they go to Paris.” - Oscar Wilde
All About Me
Ms. Cahall began her writing career as a columnist for Cape Cod newspapers and local periodicals including Cape Cod Life before spending over a decade writing for women’s, men’s, and food magazines. Her articles have been published in Redbook, Cosmo Girl, Seventeen, SELF, Marie Claire, Ladies Home Journal, Reader’s Digest, Men’s Journal, and Bon Appetit. In the UK she’s written for RED, GQ, Psychologies, and for The Times.
Ms. Cahall’s first novel, Plan C: Just in Case, (Bloomsbury 2012) was a #1 best-seller in the UK. It remained in the top three for e-book fiction on Amazon for that year before selling into international translation markets. Ms. Cahall’s second novel Court of the Myrtles (Bloomsbury) was hailed as “Tuesdays with Morrie on estrogen,” by Ladies Home Journal. Her forthcoming novel is entitled The Many Lives & Loves of Hazel Lavery.
Lois Cahall has become a singularly successful advocate for authors, editors, and publishers. In 2015 she founded the Palm Beach Book Festival, a 501 c-3 non-profit bringing in New York Times best-selling and celebrity authors. Her reach spans between the world’s most beloved commercial fiction writers to award-winning authors of literary merit.
James Patterson is the Palm Beach Festival’s Honorary Chairman. In 2020 Ms. Cahall was named Creative Director of Development for James Patterson Entertainment (JPE) adapting his novels into films. With his blessing, she’s now turned her direction to her home state of Massachusetts, founding the Cape Cod Book Festival (CCBF.)
Ms. Cahall divides her life between Cape Cod and New York, although her spiritual home is London. But most importantly, she can twirl the Hula Hoop for an hour non-stop and clear a Thanksgiving table in just under ten minutes. And we won’t even discuss how fast she can shuck an oyster, though she savors her clam chow-dah slowly.
My HP Books
In the heart of tumultuous times, amidst the grandeur of Victorian opulence, there existed an American socialite whose influence altered the course of the Anglo-Irish treaty:
Lady Hazel Lavery
Boston-born Hazel ascended from her Irish roots to become the quintessential Society Queen of Chicago, and later London, where she lived a delicate dance between two worlds: one with her esteemed husband, Sir John Lavery, a portrait artist to royalty, and the other with Michael Collins, the daring Irish rebel whose fiery spirit ignited her heart. Together, they formed a love triangle that echoed through the corridors of power at 10 Downing Street, London.
Hazel's wit and charm touched on the lives of the who's-who of England including Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw and Evelyn Waugh. The image of her memorable face graced the Irish note for close to half-a-century.
Book Excerpt
Set up: from Chapter 25. Hazel is infatuated with Michael Collins who has risen up in the ranks of the Sinn Fein and is director of the Irish organization (in Ireland). Hazel sends a letter from England telling Michael that her husband, John Lavery, Royal’s portrait artist would like to paint him. The telegraph arrives at his Dublin headquarters:
One day, the office at 6 Harcourt Street was abuzz with business, when one of Michael’s assistants popped her head into the door. “Hey Mick, sorry to bother yer, but ye got a massive pile of fan mail.” The assistant dropped the box of envelopes and packages on his desk with a deliberate and humorous thump.
“Aren’t you a cheeky bugger,” said Michael, fingering through the envelopes and separating them. Donations too, dropped out of the letters onto his desk. A pence here, a pence there. There was a lot to sort - brown envelopes, parchment envelopes, large and small, and one rather very large one with green official markings. Michael flipped it over back to front. More a diploma than a piece of correspondence, he ran his finger along the seam to open it. Then unfolded the letter.
An official request from the British government.
Michael knit his brow. “Am I reading this right?” He handed it to the assistant who read it for him.
“Says a Sir John Lavery is coming to Ireland and has asked permission to paint yer.”
“Wants to paint me. Me?” Looking to his assistant for a response, she struggled to contain a giggle. “Fucksake!” said Michael, bursting into laughter. And now the laughter was contagious. Michael slapped his desk in humor. “Jaysus, Mary and Joseph, what the heavens for?”
“Wants to hang your portrait on his wall,” teased the assistant. “Thinks you’ve got a handsome mug.”
“Ahhh, don’t be taking the piss out of me.”
“I’m not,” said the assistant. “Swear on the good Lord. Says it right here, look...” She handed him the second page. “Handsome mug.”
He scanned it laughing. “Does not say that. Besides, I’m only handsome by a blind woman’s standards.” He dropped the letter on his desk and looked up to the assistant.
“Why do you suppose then?” she asked.
“This is some bloody plot, I tell yer. A plot to get me to sit in a room and then kill me!”
“Naw, don’t think so, Mick,” she said. “They say he’s a very famous portrait artist. Never ‘eard of him me self but doesn’t mean he ain’t famous.”
“Surely I think I read about this Sir John Lavery,” said Michal, his eyes focused to the corner of the room deep in thought, “And his wife, what’s her name?”
“Lady Lavery.” said the Assistant, picking up the page and reading from the request. “She believes in us. Says she’s sympathetic to the cause.”
“She’s a Yank, yeah?”
“Think so.”
“Then she can’t be trusted. And I certainly don’t trust him. He’s from Belfast,” said Michael pondering and biting his lip before adding, “Tell her and her fancy-pants husband to bugger off. There’ll be no portraits of Mick Collins, not today and not ever.”
Book Trailer
Hazel Lavery Reviews
Book Reviews
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"The Many Lives & Loves of Hazel Lavery sweeps the reader along in a riveting tale of thwarted desires, crushing duty, and inescapable destiny. Lois Cahall captures beautifully the echoes of past conflicts resonating anew."
- Amanda Foreman, author of the prize-winning bestsellers, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and A World on Fire: An Epic History of Two Nations Divided
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"Lois Cahall is a storyteller of verve and vibrant enthusiasm, and that is precisely who is needed to tell the tale of a woman who lived so many lives on a worldwide stage... Cahall tells the story with evident love and admiration for her intrepid subject, and Hazel Lavery is a name that we should all know."
- Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling author of Finding Margaret Fuller
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"I love reading historical fiction about people who actually lived. This is one such book, and what a life! Spanning the Victorian era through the roaring twenties, Lady Hazel Lavery defied convention at a time when society judged more harshly than today. However, that did not slow her down. Thank you, Lois Cahall, for bringing this amazing story to light."
- Kathleen Grissom, NYT best-selling author, The Kitchen House & Glory Over Everything
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"Like one of John Lavery's portraits, Lois Cahall's Hazel Lavery oozes love and passion, intrigue and imagination. To that canvas add chiaroscuro-loyalty and infidelity, diplomacy and assassination-and you have a novel almost Shakespearean."
- Larry Loftis, New York Times bestselling author of The Princess Spy
