REVIEW: Damsel in Green by Betty Neels
B Reviews / Book Reviewsdoctor hero / England / family relationships / Netherlands / nurse7 Comments
She’d do anything for the children’s sake
Georgina Rodman had been given a special nursing assignment—she was to look after the Van den Berg Eyffert children, who were recovering from an accident. Having worked in a casualty ward, Georgina felt she could cope with just about anything life threw at her.
But that was before she met the children’s guardian, Julius. Afterward, she realized that even common sense and a practical nature couldn’t stop her from falling in love…with a man who didn’t even know she existed!
Review
In a recent News Bit, Mzcue mentioned how she learned Dutch and we all exchanged comments about the awesomeness of the Dutch in regard to the number of languages they speak and I mentioned Betty Neels heroines learning Dutch and this book title came up. Since I knew that lots of people like it and I’d been meaning to read it, I loaded it on my reader and here we are.
Yeah so English nurse heroine meets handsome Dutch doctor round seven? eight?…. I don’t even know at this point. George (as most everyone at the hospital calls her) finds out she’s passed her nursing exams on the day the book starts. Matron tells George that with a few months of experience under her belt, she ought to be able to secure a Staff Nurse position at St. Athels. In the meantime, it’s a couple of weeks of night nurse duty in the Emergency Department for her!
When paired with her favorite interns, George doesn’t mind but put her with a stuck up sub and George has no problem icily putting the man in his place. With the patients though, George is wonderful. One night the ambulance drivers bring in a car full of relatives – two young children and their older brother. Soon she’s helping take care of poor Cor, with two broken legs, and his sister Beatrix when a large man arrives. Professor Julius Van den Berg Eyffert (wow, what a name!) has entered George’s life.
Before George knows what has hit her, she’s been hired to nurse Cor at home while he’s stuck in traction. Soon she’s charmed by all the children in the family (who are NOT plot moppets) and finds herself intrigued by their cousin Julius (it’s complicated). Before much longer, she realizes she’s falling for the handsome doctor as well as (but this is much less important) getting used to the lifestyle of the Van den Berg Eyfferts.
George is a natural with the children who adore her as much as they do their cousin Julius. But Julius had strictly specified that George wear her nursing uniform at all times and always politely addresses her as Nurse Rodman. George realizes her feelings but also realizes that Julius appears to feel nothing but polite interest in her. When another woman’s name is mentioned – no doubt a beautiful creature straight from the pages of Vogue – George acknowledges to herself that she’d better take that nursing position she’s been offered. But could there be another fate in store for her?
This book is heavy on the nursing duties at the beginning and then continues that – to a degree – through a lot of the book. It was still the age when minor things could keep one actually in the hospital for a while and when private duty nursing wasn’t considered outrageous. I enjoyed the little touches that Betty might have done or at least seen such as when George is called in to see Matron and only has time to flip her apron over, hoping the stains won’t show.
The professor is loaded with moolah so having George live in the grand old Tudor house along with the four children, Julius and the staff is nothing. The family treats her so well that George is understandably confused over what to think given the requirement to wear her uniform and how Julius always treats and addresses her courteously but formally. Every time one of them appears ready to actually say anything, they’re interrupted.
And therein might be the problem for readers. We know that George is falling for Julius and from things he and others say and do, we can tell he’s falling for her but darn it! he won’t say anything (for totally noble reasons and it seems only to her though everyone else is watching him bungle things with exasperation) and poor George is all confused. It takes the beastly other woman to bring matters to a head before Julius finally gets with the proposal.
Things and people I adored: George sticks up for herself professionally and never falls into Squashed Cabbage Mode, the children are wonderful and I actually never minded any scene they were in, George politely but firmly rounds on Julius for the messes he can create with his mail and he meekly listens to her, Cor begins teaching George Dutch, and finally Great Uncle Ivo who is eighty years old and speaks his mind. I’ve no doubt George will soon be learning even more Dutch and finally getting to do some sightseeing in Holland. B
~Jayne
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This is actually one of my favorite Neels books but, boy, did I ever want to smack Julius upside the head at one (or maybe more than one) point.
As an aside, one fun thing about the Neels books is how characters from previous books (including this one) will make appearances in other books. I wish I were organized enough to have made notes of who shows up in which books. Sadly, I read most of the books before I joined GR, otherwise I might have done it. When/if I do rereads, I’ll try to remember to do so.
I kept getting the feeling that Julius had discussed his feelings for George with almost everyone else except George. Her aunt certainly seemed to “be in on something” and the Old Doc Sawbones expressed his concern to George that she make a wise decision about accepting the post of Staff Sister. I too wanted to yell “Speak up Julius. Don’t just expect her to read your mind.”
Some how I got this link which has proved handy.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dgKrcwRxHvf_-PyL4DjTR5i6c_VvPcnSSUGYxV01J5k/edit#slide=id.p13
Thank you Jayne for this review and for the earlier encouragement to give Betty Neels a try. I did enjoy Damsel in Green though the references to 1970s hospital and nursing terms made me grateful for the ease of highlight and search on digital books.
I was in awe of George’s boundless energy throughout each day, as well as her ingenuity in keeping a youngster amused while he was stuck in bed. I thought my own childhood memories of having the family doctor make house calls spoke to more accessible medical care in the past. Having a radiologist make weekly visits to check the progress of the little boy’s knitting bones, as he does in Damsel in Green, was a real eye-opener.
I had a lot of fun with the story but it did heighten my appreciation for what the passage of time has done for keen romance readers like me. One article I read about Neels called her the queen of chaste romance, which I find an interesting place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.
@Mzcue: It took me a little while to mentally translate all the British medical terms to US ones. Life in hospitals certainly has changed!
Sometimes I’m in the mood for more chaste books and when I am, Neels, Burchell, Stevenson and Cadell are there to fill the bill.
One thing I’d love to know is if Neels invented the “Damsel in Green” Dutch liqueur. I tried to find it on the internet but so far, no luck.
@Jayne: If there is a liqueur by that name I don’t remember it being mentioned. I’ll do a bit of research (ask my Dutch husband) to see if it rings any bells.
@Mzcue: This is one post I found. I think the author is American and married to a Dutchman.
https://www.wanderlustingk.com/travel-blog/dutch-spirits-liquors
She also has some posts on Dutch food and travel tips for (mainly) Amsterdam.
@Jayne: Thanks for that link. I had no idea of the historical significance of liqueur. I haven’t located a good resource yet for 16th century Dutch distilling, but I bet it’s out there. In the mean time two possibilities arose. One is that there’s been confusion with the Dutch translation of damsel, which is jonkfrau, and Dutch gin identified as jonge (young). Jonge Jenenver is what my husband and father in law drank of an evening, a sweet gin made sweeter with doll house sized spoons of sugar stirred in. I bet that turns up somewhere in a Betty Neels book because it is uniquely Dutch.
Another possible precursor for Damsel in Green might be a liqueur distilled from green walnuts. Or it might be an old Dutch version of the more commonly known Chartreuse. If I ever find a convincing answer, I’ll check back to let you know.