Betty Neels

Betty Neels was a highly prolific British author, born on September 15, 1910, in Devon, England. She is known for her significant contribution to the romance genre, having written over 134 novels throughout her career, which began in 1969 and continued until her death in 2001. Neels' work is notably characterized by its chaste content.

Born into a family with deep roots in the civil service, Neels enjoyed a blissfully happy childhood and teenage years. She was sent away to boarding school and later trained as a nurse, gaining her SRN and SCM, which are equivalent to State Registered Nurse and State Certificate of Midwifery. Neels' nursing career took a dramatic turn when she was called up to the Territorial Army Nursing Service in 1939, which later became the Queen Alexandra Reserves. She was sent to France with the Casualty Clearing Station, where she experienced a lengthy and terrifying journey to Boulogne in an ambulance during the French invasion in 1940. After her return to England, Neels met her Dutch husband while he was recovering from injuries sustained during the war.

After the war, Neels and her husband lived in Holland for 13 years, where she resumed her nursing career. Upon their return to England, Neels continued nursing until she retired, reaching the position of night superintendent. Neels' writing career began almost by accident when she heard a lady in her local library complaining about the lack of good romance novels. Her first book, "Sister Peters in Amsterdam," was published in 1969, and she went on to write four books a year, completing 134 books in total. Neels' Dutch doctors in her stories were not based on her husband but were instead amalgamations of several doctors she met while nursing in Holland.

Neels' novels brought quiet joy to the author, and she was always amazed and touched that her books were widely appreciated. She never sought plaudits and remained a very private person throughout her life. Neels' work is remembered for its kind and well-mannered characters, who possessed honesty, integrity, and a warmth that resonated with her myriad of fans worldwide. She received a great deal of fan mail, with many comments on the fascinating places she visited in her stories. Neels' life and career were a reflection of her upbringing in an earlier time, providing reassurance and a better world to her millions of fans.