We recieved a very nice email over the weekend from a concerned reader. Newcomer Betty Lourdes is worried...after she's read all of Neels, what next?"...I have a question – have you found any other writer that’s similar to Betty out there? I worry what I will do when I run through all of her books. Naturally, I don’t expect her exact (and perfect) blend of british-girl-nurse-meets-dutch-doctor-slash-professor-with-millions from anyone else – but someone with her charm, her wit, her very genteel approach??? Is there a second-tier Betty Neels somewhere?"
She signs it "much love and lardy cake to you," and with that, we fell in love. Welcome to the Family of Betty.
I'm assuming "genteel" is code for "doesn't go to Brighton" (and you know how we feel about going to Brighton!).
Here is an excerpt of my reply: (just so we don't all have the same suggestions)
Have you tried Grace Livingston Hill? She is absolutely squeaky clean and has some real gems...she does tend to be a little spotty...and many of her novels are quite dated (dancing and lipstick are pretty much Unforgivable Sins), but if you read her with your own sense of humor, some can be quite fun (some good ones: Exit Betty, The Strange Proposal, The Best Man, The Red Signal). She started writing over 100 years ago and was quite prolific,many of her books are still in print. Be aware, her books are often very "Christian" - and sometimes quite heavy handed about it.
Another good, clean romance author is Essie Summers. She can be a little harder to find (or a lot harder). Her romances are sometimes a little more serious, and they take place in New Zealand. I haven't read many of hers, but Betty Keira collects them whenever she finds them (at the thrift store) and highly recommends them.
So how 'bout it ? We are now open to suggestions.
I am a serious Essie Summers fan. Can recommend 'Bride in Flight', 'Postscript to Yesterday' and 'Come Blossom-Time, My Love'. I find them at Goodwill and in the large print section of the library (thank you old ladies).
ReplyDeleteLots of sheep mustering, New Zealand travelogues, drapers, snatches of poetry, scratch cooking. A bit more passion-y than Neels but her husband was a Presbyterian minister so the don't get Brighton-ish. Occasionally, I won't like something of hers but she always wins me over with pikelets. I'm a sucker for when she has her heroines make pikelets.
Georgette Heyer!! My favorite faaaaaavorite book ever is "Devil's Cub," yes, even more favorite than Harry Potter. Another good one of hers is "The Masqueraders." Sooo good.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to find Devil's Cub now...I might even be willing to risk the ****** used book store here in town for it - and that's saying a lot.
ReplyDeleteIf you can hang tight until April, either I will loan it to you when I see you or I can give my copy to my mom to give to you... no way she will part with her copy haha.
ReplyDeleteDeal.
ReplyDeleteWell, they're not Boons & Mill romances, but they are "in the style of Betty," I think -- the Anne of Green Gables series. Yes, they're children's books, but I'm 42 and re-read the whole series (there's about a dozen or so) every other year or two. I don't care for G. Livingston Hill, gave them a try many years ago. I wholeheartedly agree with the Essie Summers recommendation although I've only read 5 or 6. Try Valerie Parv -- she writes Australian Mills & Boon, very tame. Perhaps a little more kissing than Betty, but no one going to Brighton. I love, love, love Georgette Heyer, my late grandad (!) read them and gave them to me in the late 1970s, along with about a 100 Louis L'Amour paperbacks, go figure! ....Betty Aimee in VT, needs to go Hoover now, it's mud season here...
ReplyDeleteI love the Anne of Green Gables series but there are only seven of them, so that won't tide us over. I never liked Essie Summers as well as some other M&B authors (and thus didn't buy, or bought but didn't keep, her M&B books). There I think I would let you guys read & review them, as I don't feel like buying her stuff over again.
ReplyDelete(Why Betty Neels did it for me and Essie never did is an interesting question. I think it's because while Betty may have written superficially unBrightony books, there's a depth of emotion behind those placid gazes and refusals to tell tales.)
Georgette Heyer is wonderful, if the Bettys are willing to go historical. I also like the Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey books -- basically it would be like reading about a Betty Neels hero solving crime with his trusted Jolly Bunter at his side. And the romance with Harriet Vane, which plays out over several books is wonderful. Similarly, the Mary Russell / Sherlock Holmes books are great.
Finally, Robin McKinley's reworkings of fairy tales are all very good. I'd recommend Mercedes Lackey as well, but The Fairy Godmother (the best of that series) makes the trip to Brighton as part of her falling in love with the hero. Just once, but it's not exactly a "suitable for all ages" trip!
L.M. Montgomery wrote a lot more than the Anne Series and they are all good. My favorite romance of hers is "The Blue Castle"
DeleteThe Blue Castle is my favourite Lucy Maud Montgomery romance, too. 🤗
DeleteYou Bettys are FAB - thank you so much for your recommendations! I am a big Anne of Green Gables fan, so already read those, unfortunately. I also have read (and liked) Georgette Heyer, but I wasn't really looking for Regency/historical - I will definitely try Essie Summers and Grace Livingston Hill - please pass on any other recommendations you might have!
ReplyDeleteWishing you all an afternoon full of treacle tarts,
Betty Lourdes :-)
Recommendations from Betty Maria,
ReplyDeletePeople might want to try Lucy Walker (1917-1987), an Australian writer. Bettys may enjoy The Call of the Pines, The Loving Heart, Wife to Order, The Distant Hills... She wrote about 35 novels (but be aware that Pepper Tree Bay, The Bell Branch, and one or two others are a little dark). Many are set in the outback. In the States you can find 70's editions published by Beagle Books.
Betty Maria
I've just now noticed Sara Seale, an old Mills and Boon author. So far, hers are gentle like Neels and reasonably well written.
ReplyDeleteMary Burchell was a wonderful old Mills & Boon author. Her books may be hard to find now. Heyer is the grandmother of Regency romance and a great writer.
ReplyDeleteOooh, I love Mary Burchell. She's particularly good if you like music. Oh, and she and her sister were literally heroes during WWII: you can read her Wiki bio here.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, she wrote 125 books for Mills & Boon. I read a lot of them back in the day, but when the time came to pack up, I only kept the music ones. (Oskar Warrender is a hero worth keeping, a Betty Neels hero kicked up a notch!) Which suggests to me that the others weren't as good. Part of Betty's appeal is her overall consistency: they aren't all as good, but none of them deserves donation to the church jumble sale.
Oh yes, Georgette Heyer is a winner. I love "The Quiet Gentleman," and "The Nonesuch" especially. Both had Neels-like heroines, sensible and not that pretty. Clare Darcy also has some regencies I've liked too.
ReplyDeleteMary Burchell, some of her nurse/doctor ones I've loved include Honey, Meet Me Again,and Forever and Ever.They're all really good.
Essie Summers is good as well and Joyce Dingwell had some Harlequin romances that sometimes remind me Essie Summers.
Australian writer Lucy Walker often featured kind, steady heroines in her novels, in The Distant Hills and The Call of the Pines.
Lastly, I'm surprised no one mentioned Emilie Loring, who has similar books to Grace L. Hill, set in the 1940's, etc., but without the religious overtures. Some of my favorites are ones with marriage of convenience, like When Hearts Are Light Again, Here Comes the Sun!, and I Take This Man.
I always see Emily Loring books at the thrift store but haven't ever picked one up. I'll be on the lookout for those titles now...
ReplyDeleteBetty Barbara here--
ReplyDeleteVery, very hard to find, but worth the effort--Elizabeth Cadell. My favorite is I Love a Lass. She often has older women as her heroines. The Wallflower is also one I remember fondly. Unfortunately for me, I read most of her stuff from the library and never bothered buying a copy. Now that I'd love to read her again the libraries no longer have her books on the shelf and they are almost impossible to find at Used Book Stores. Rats!
Hi! I enjoy a good Betty Neels as well as most of the authors recommended in these comments. You might like to try D.E. Stevenson as well. She had a more literary style but her novels are in that 'no man's land': no Brighton, not much religion. I'd start with "Charlotte Fairlie", my favorite!
ReplyDeleteLooking for Brighton-free romances? I can name a few: Historical author Sarah Eden wrote a favorite, Seeking Persephone, and various other books. I also like Joan Wolf in historical. Carla Kelly, too, especially her Royal Marine books. Also, Barbara Metzger is great, and funny, too. Jessica Steele wrote tons for Mills & Boon and many of her books do avoid the whole Brighton scene, but a few get naked. Her early books are the cleanest. Georgette Heyer is a big favorite of mine and never a hint of Brighton. Grace Livingston Hill is hit or miss, as she can get too evangelical and sacrifice characters and plot for sermon, but some are very good: Re-creations. Enchanted Barn. Honor Girl. April Gold. https://a.co/d/eMs62s6
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