Peggy Gaddis (1895–1966)
Author of No Nice Girl
About the Author
Works by Peggy Gaddis
Clinic Nurse 4 copies
Nurse's Dilemma 2 copies
Harlot's Return 2 copies
Palm Beach Nurse 2 copies
This is happy 1 copy
Peddler of Dreams 1 copy
Nurse at Burford's Landing 1 copy
A little love 1 copy
3 Love Stories: This, too, is Love • Friendly Enemy • Love's Tender Rebels — Author of 'This, too, is Love' — 1 copy
Leona Gregory R.N. 1 copy
Skygger under solen 1 copy
Society nurse 1 copy
Illicit Pleasure 1 copy
Doctor (Dr.) Jerry 1 copy
Farmer's Wife 1 copy
A Voyage To Arcturus 1 copy
Shameless Woman 1 copy
Six times a bride 1 copy
The passionate widow 1 copy
Blonde Trouble (Century #77) 1 copy
Farmer's Woman 1 copy
Shamed! 1 copy
Palm Beach girl 1 copy
Orchids for a Nurse 1 copy
Substitute Angel 1 copy
Marriage Can Wait 1 copy
Alaska Love 1 copy
Backwoods girl 1 copy
Secret Honeymoon and A Handful of Miracles (2 Novels in 1) (Signet Double Romance, Signet 451 - Y6761) (1975) 1 copy
Doctor Reid 1 copy
Två kvinnor om en man 1 copy
The wild girls 1 copy
Wedding Night Confession 1 copy
Emotions Of Fire 1 copy
Runaway Lovers 1 copy
Kiss love goodbye 1 copy
Everglades Nurse — Author — 1 copy
Dr. Jerry 1 copy
Den envise kavaljeren 1 copy
Sing For Your Supper 1 copy
Nurse Melinda — Author — 1 copy
Hurricane Nurse — Author — 1 copy
Associated Works
3 Love Stories: The Persistent Suitor; Hopeless Love; More Than a Woman Could Want: Treasures of Love #107 (1979) — Contributor — 2 copies
3 Love Stories, Enchanted Spring, Look Back My Love, strANGE IMPERSONATION — Contributor — 1 copy
Masters Of Horror: The Damned Thing — Actor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Dern, Erolie Pearl Gaddis
- Other names
- Lindsay, Perry
Courtland, Roberta
Jordan, Gail
Sherman, Joan
Craig, Georgia
Clayford, James (show all 11)
Tucker, Joan
Erskine, Sylvia
Gordon, Luther
Lee, Carolina
Dern, Peggy - Birthdate
- 1895-03-05
- Date of death
- 1966-06-14
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- pulp fiction writer
magazine editor
romance novelist
screenwriter - Short biography
- |aContemp. auth., new revision ser., v. 6|b(Dern, Erolie Pearl Gaddis, 1895-1966; maiden name: Erolie Pearl Gaddis; b. 3-5-1895; m. John Sherman Dern, 3-13-31; d. 6-14-66; wrote under the names Peggy Gaddis and Peggy Dern and under the pseudonyms: Roberta Courtland, Georgia Craig, Gail Jordan, Carolina Lee, Perry Lindsay, and Joan Sherman). According to Contemporary Authors, her early career revolved around the entertainment business. She had small roles in two short films and is credited as a writer on five films made during the 1920s. She edited trade journals and fan magazines, and wrote prolifically for the romance pulp magazines. For 30 years she wrote traditional romance novels, and also produced "nurse novels" for about the last 10 years. Her novels have been reprinted, some of them several times, under an array of titles and bylines.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Gaddistown, Georgia, USA
- Place of death
- Tucker, Georgia, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Georgia, USA
Members
Reviews
The February 2026 #TBRChallenge is "Vintage," which is, of course, the name of the game here. I decided to consult my LibraryThing, and pick the oldest original paperback romance that I had on my shelves, which turned out to be this book. It's actually a MMPB republish of a hardcover novel from 1960 titled Nurse Melinda, which frankly makes more sense than this title. Melinda doesn't really have any secrets, even if she believes that she's hiding her hero worship of the head physician at her show more hospital (spoiler alert: she's not).
Nurse Melinda, our titular character, actually lives in an on-site dormitory at the hospital where she works. She wears a white uniform and cap, and takes great pride in her vocation. She is a nurse on the orthopedics floor of the children's hospital, and believes that empathy and affection are just as important to the healing process as surgical procedures. The head physician of the hospital, Dr. Grayle, does not agree, and often has to warn his nurses not to get too close to the patients, because the setback of losing staff they may have bonded with when they leave the hospital. Melinda manages to stand up to Dr. Grayle (and not lose her job, much to her surprise), and secretly delights in accompanying him to lunch. She is beyond half in-love with him, her feelings being of the hero-worship variety, and though she believes she is being discreet, she isn't. All of her fellow nurses know how she feels, and eventually empathize with her when Grayle announces his engagement to another woman.
Anyway! At the start of the story, Melinda is intrigued by a new patient on her floor, a little boy who has been admitted for multiple procedures to treat his club foot. Pietro Gardella is very small, even at 5 years old, and seems very withdrawn. He has the dark hair and olive skin of an Italian, which does him no favors, and the only person who visits him is a very strict, shabbily dressed English woman named Stella Landsdowne, whom Pietro is obviously afraid of.
Melinda's apple cart is upset not only by Dr Grayle's admonitions to not get attached to the child, but also by the sudden appearance of a real-life teen idol, Peter Fife, whose presence turns all of the other nurses and candy-stripers into a screaming, baying, teenybopper mob. Fife has been visiting all of the hospitals up and down the coast of California on a publicity tour, bringing along an entourage of press people and a huge basket of toys for the kids. Melinda finds this all extremely distasteful, and pretty much loathes Peter on site. Only the idea that Dr Grayle gave this little stunt his blessing makes Melinda bite her tongue and show Peter & co around.
Peter also takes a curious interest in little Pietro, and actually sits and talks with him in Italian. Pietro's obvious adoration of Peter rankles Melinda's nerves, and she absolutely refuses to discuss Pietro with Peter. She's epically upset when Peter announces that he wants to adopt the little boy.
Melinda finally stops insulting Peter long enough for him to tell her why he's so interested in Pietro - because the little boy is actually his long-lost son, the product of a young marriage while he was on a filmset in Italy before he was drafted into the service. His wife's parents hated him, so when he went to war, he was gone for good as far as they were concerned. It's taken Peter these long years to even find out what happened to his wife (she died in childbirth), and the publicity tour of hospitals has actually been him stealthily trying to find his child.
Around this time, Pietro has had all of his surgeries, and has fully recovered and thus, is about to leave the hospital. Neither Melinda nor Peter want Stella Landsdowne to take Pietro, but as she is the boy's legal guardian, she takes him with her when she starts a new job as the housekeeper for a wealthy family in Pebble Beach.
Pietro is so love-starved, and so homesick for the friendly environment of the hospital, that he decides to run away to try to find Melinda again. He hops into a random car at the estate, and when the driver finds him a few hours later, he is summarily booted out into the woods. A friendly but extremely poor dirt farmer finds him and brings him back to his shack, where his wife feeds him and the other kids include him in their games.
When Stella realizes that Pietro is gone, she informs Melinda, who tells Peter Fife. They all fear that he's been kidnapped, mistaken as a child of the wealthy family that Stella works for. Peter decides that his son is more important to him than his burgeoning movie career, so he holds a big to-do press conference and spills the beans to the media, much to the shock and horror of his publicity manager (who blames Melinda for this decision). The publicity manager fears that Peter has just torpedoed his movie career, and with it, the manager's.
The dirt farmers learn about Pietro's being missing a few days after he arrives, and they are cautious and wary of informing the world-famous teen idol Peter Fife, but they do so, and Peter is happily reunited with Pietro, who learns that Peter is his father. Peter had been leaning on Melinda during the kidnapping crisis, and Melinda begins to soften towards him, once she realizes that Peter the man is not Peter the carefully constructed image.
Stella immediately gives up any claim on the boy, and the publicity manager manages to salvage Peter's movie role, so he sweeps Pietro up to Idaho for the rest of the location shoot. In six weeks, Pietro's personality does a total 180, and by the time Peter gets around to thanking the Perkins family for saving his son, Pietro is acting like a little shit to everyone, kids and adults alike. Melinda is, of course, reproving, telling Peter that spoiling his son will basically ruin his character, but Peter turns it all around on her and asks her to marry him, so she can take them both in hand. Melinda says yes, they kiss, the end.
The entire time I was reading the book, I was trying to figure out who Peter Fife was based on - like Elvis, he is a singer and actor who served in the war, and who meets mobs of screaming, teary-eyed girls everywhere he goes; but unlike Elvis, Peter can't sing worth a flip, doesn't want to sing, and hopes to shed his teen idol image ASAP. This novel originally being published in 1960 is the clue: I'm pretty sure Peter Fife is a thinly-veiled version of Fabian Forte. Melinda strongly dislikes Peter for most of the novel, and is super judgmental about his fame and his career. She is downright nasty to him, especially when they first meet, but somehow Peter just falls head over heels for her. And, of course, there is the super-problematic "solution" to all of Pietro's troubles being that he needs a strong hand from a mother figure, because daddy is too hopelessly clueless and indulgent to actually parent. Bleh!
Obviously this book rode the wave of "nurse romances" during this period, and though the characters are kinda meh (or completely unbelievable, like Pietro's sudden turn into a jackass at the end), the story itself flowed smoothly and hit its beats. There is no variation on the theme - I mean, the second Peter takes interest in Pietro, I guessed the reason why - but it is nonetheless a pleasant read. show less
Nurse Melinda, our titular character, actually lives in an on-site dormitory at the hospital where she works. She wears a white uniform and cap, and takes great pride in her vocation. She is a nurse on the orthopedics floor of the children's hospital, and believes that empathy and affection are just as important to the healing process as surgical procedures. The head physician of the hospital, Dr. Grayle, does not agree, and often has to warn his nurses not to get too close to the patients, because the setback of losing staff they may have bonded with when they leave the hospital. Melinda manages to stand up to Dr. Grayle (and not lose her job, much to her surprise), and secretly delights in accompanying him to lunch. She is beyond half in-love with him, her feelings being of the hero-worship variety, and though she believes she is being discreet, she isn't. All of her fellow nurses know how she feels, and eventually empathize with her when Grayle announces his engagement to another woman.
Anyway! At the start of the story, Melinda is intrigued by a new patient on her floor, a little boy who has been admitted for multiple procedures to treat his club foot. Pietro Gardella is very small, even at 5 years old, and seems very withdrawn. He has the dark hair and olive skin of an Italian, which does him no favors, and the only person who visits him is a very strict, shabbily dressed English woman named Stella Landsdowne, whom Pietro is obviously afraid of.
Melinda's apple cart is upset not only by Dr Grayle's admonitions to not get attached to the child, but also by the sudden appearance of a real-life teen idol, Peter Fife, whose presence turns all of the other nurses and candy-stripers into a screaming, baying, teenybopper mob. Fife has been visiting all of the hospitals up and down the coast of California on a publicity tour, bringing along an entourage of press people and a huge basket of toys for the kids. Melinda finds this all extremely distasteful, and pretty much loathes Peter on site. Only the idea that Dr Grayle gave this little stunt his blessing makes Melinda bite her tongue and show Peter & co around.
Peter also takes a curious interest in little Pietro, and actually sits and talks with him in Italian. Pietro's obvious adoration of Peter rankles Melinda's nerves, and she absolutely refuses to discuss Pietro with Peter. She's epically upset when Peter announces that he wants to adopt the little boy.
Melinda finally stops insulting Peter long enough for him to tell her why he's so interested in Pietro - because the little boy is actually his long-lost son, the product of a young marriage while he was on a filmset in Italy before he was drafted into the service. His wife's parents hated him, so when he went to war, he was gone for good as far as they were concerned. It's taken Peter these long years to even find out what happened to his wife (she died in childbirth), and the publicity tour of hospitals has actually been him stealthily trying to find his child.
Around this time, Pietro has had all of his surgeries, and has fully recovered and thus, is about to leave the hospital. Neither Melinda nor Peter want Stella Landsdowne to take Pietro, but as she is the boy's legal guardian, she takes him with her when she starts a new job as the housekeeper for a wealthy family in Pebble Beach.
Pietro is so love-starved, and so homesick for the friendly environment of the hospital, that he decides to run away to try to find Melinda again. He hops into a random car at the estate, and when the driver finds him a few hours later, he is summarily booted out into the woods. A friendly but extremely poor dirt farmer finds him and brings him back to his shack, where his wife feeds him and the other kids include him in their games.
When Stella realizes that Pietro is gone, she informs Melinda, who tells Peter Fife. They all fear that he's been kidnapped, mistaken as a child of the wealthy family that Stella works for. Peter decides that his son is more important to him than his burgeoning movie career, so he holds a big to-do press conference and spills the beans to the media, much to the shock and horror of his publicity manager (who blames Melinda for this decision). The publicity manager fears that Peter has just torpedoed his movie career, and with it, the manager's.
The dirt farmers learn about Pietro's being missing a few days after he arrives, and they are cautious and wary of informing the world-famous teen idol Peter Fife, but they do so, and Peter is happily reunited with Pietro, who learns that Peter is his father. Peter had been leaning on Melinda during the kidnapping crisis, and Melinda begins to soften towards him, once she realizes that Peter the man is not Peter the carefully constructed image.
Stella immediately gives up any claim on the boy, and the publicity manager manages to salvage Peter's movie role, so he sweeps Pietro up to Idaho for the rest of the location shoot. In six weeks, Pietro's personality does a total 180, and by the time Peter gets around to thanking the Perkins family for saving his son, Pietro is acting like a little shit to everyone, kids and adults alike. Melinda is, of course, reproving, telling Peter that spoiling his son will basically ruin his character, but Peter turns it all around on her and asks her to marry him, so she can take them both in hand. Melinda says yes, they kiss, the end.
The entire time I was reading the book, I was trying to figure out who Peter Fife was based on - like Elvis, he is a singer and actor who served in the war, and who meets mobs of screaming, teary-eyed girls everywhere he goes; but unlike Elvis, Peter can't sing worth a flip, doesn't want to sing, and hopes to shed his teen idol image ASAP. This novel originally being published in 1960 is the clue: I'm pretty sure Peter Fife is a thinly-veiled version of Fabian Forte. Melinda strongly dislikes Peter for most of the novel, and is super judgmental about his fame and his career. She is downright nasty to him, especially when they first meet, but somehow Peter just falls head over heels for her. And, of course, there is the super-problematic "solution" to all of Pietro's troubles being that he needs a strong hand from a mother figure, because daddy is too hopelessly clueless and indulgent to actually parent. Bleh!
Obviously this book rode the wave of "nurse romances" during this period, and though the characters are kinda meh (or completely unbelievable, like Pietro's sudden turn into a jackass at the end), the story itself flowed smoothly and hit its beats. There is no variation on the theme - I mean, the second Peter takes interest in Pietro, I guessed the reason why - but it is nonetheless a pleasant read. show less
The Girl Next Door by Peggy Gaddis is a 2013 Crimson Romance publication.
This book was originally published in 1968. Peggy Dern/Gaddis was a prolific author with a large catalogue of medical romances under her belt. This book is one of her later releases which tended to focus on the timely topic of the Vietnam war and soldiers returning home wounded or disabled.
This is a short story – 171 pages in the 1968 print copy of this novel, the digital version claims only 100 pages. Either way show more it’s novella length at best. But, in this limited space the author manages to create a real soap opera of a story, filled with self-serving women, willing to use men as a means to an end, with little or no conscience about it. Oy!
Yes, this book was bad in many ways. Two women fighting over the same man- one who was sure she was in love and would never truly love another man- while the other just wanted a man to sponsor her singing career- which made them both look bad.
While this is one of those ‘Dime-store’ novels- and obviously, any book written in 1968 is dated- especially one categorized as romance- there are lessons to be learned from reading it. One is that it’s a ‘time-capsule’ experience. Today, due to intense pressure- authors may write a book set in the past- but they can’t fully capture the reality of it as today’s enlightened reader might not be able to relate- or will be outraged by the actual historical details. But, if you read a book written in a specific time you get the real deal- no modernizing involved- perhaps a bit of exaggeration, but you get a glimpse of the mindset of many, non- counter-culture young women in 1968- (though occasionally Betsy was a bit too square- LOL!)
No formal education was mentioned- not even considered an option- it was marriage or work in a five and dime or department store- with marriage being the favored choice. This might mean settling for someone even if they weren’t your first choice or the person you had feelings for. There was a desperation there that was not healthy. Also, explored, was the way parents tended to shelter their daughters- to the point where, despite their chronological age, they remained emotionally immature.
So, despite the high dramatics, catty women, and aloof heroes, I’m so happy someone had the presence of mind to digitize these books. They aren’t going to get high ratings- especially since few people can get past the datedness- but they do give one insight into small-town 1968 mindsets- the type of books teenage girls might have been reading- which really helps us understand just how far we’ve come in many ways- and gives one perspective so as not to judge this older material too harshly. In their time, these books were probably the equivalent of a ‘Harlequin’ Romance- some better- some worse- but certainly worth preserving as a piece of history, if nothing else. Now, if someone would digitize Dern’s medical romances!!
2.5 stars show less
This book was originally published in 1968. Peggy Dern/Gaddis was a prolific author with a large catalogue of medical romances under her belt. This book is one of her later releases which tended to focus on the timely topic of the Vietnam war and soldiers returning home wounded or disabled.
This is a short story – 171 pages in the 1968 print copy of this novel, the digital version claims only 100 pages. Either way show more it’s novella length at best. But, in this limited space the author manages to create a real soap opera of a story, filled with self-serving women, willing to use men as a means to an end, with little or no conscience about it. Oy!
Yes, this book was bad in many ways. Two women fighting over the same man- one who was sure she was in love and would never truly love another man- while the other just wanted a man to sponsor her singing career- which made them both look bad.
While this is one of those ‘Dime-store’ novels- and obviously, any book written in 1968 is dated- especially one categorized as romance- there are lessons to be learned from reading it. One is that it’s a ‘time-capsule’ experience. Today, due to intense pressure- authors may write a book set in the past- but they can’t fully capture the reality of it as today’s enlightened reader might not be able to relate- or will be outraged by the actual historical details. But, if you read a book written in a specific time you get the real deal- no modernizing involved- perhaps a bit of exaggeration, but you get a glimpse of the mindset of many, non- counter-culture young women in 1968- (though occasionally Betsy was a bit too square- LOL!)
No formal education was mentioned- not even considered an option- it was marriage or work in a five and dime or department store- with marriage being the favored choice. This might mean settling for someone even if they weren’t your first choice or the person you had feelings for. There was a desperation there that was not healthy. Also, explored, was the way parents tended to shelter their daughters- to the point where, despite their chronological age, they remained emotionally immature.
So, despite the high dramatics, catty women, and aloof heroes, I’m so happy someone had the presence of mind to digitize these books. They aren’t going to get high ratings- especially since few people can get past the datedness- but they do give one insight into small-town 1968 mindsets- the type of books teenage girls might have been reading- which really helps us understand just how far we’ve come in many ways- and gives one perspective so as not to judge this older material too harshly. In their time, these books were probably the equivalent of a ‘Harlequin’ Romance- some better- some worse- but certainly worth preserving as a piece of history, if nothing else. Now, if someone would digitize Dern’s medical romances!!
2.5 stars show less
Return to Love by Peggy Gaddis is a 2013 Crimson Romance publication. ( Originally published in 1967)
I discovered this author when I became interested in collecting the ‘medical’ or ‘nurse’ romance novels of the 40’s and 50’s. Gaddis was a prolific writer in this genre, but also wrote under numerous pseudonyms, which was quite common in those days.
This group of books, written mainly during the 60’s, was digitized by Crimson Romance- which I believe was a division Simon & show more Schuster.
Unfortunately, for those who love medical romances, this block of books are ordinary contemporary romances, but at least some of the author’s work has been preserved!
This book was published in 1967, which would have made it a posthumous release. The story is centered around Carey, a wealthy, self-absorbed young woman. When her father is narrowly prevented from committing suicide after his business goes bust, Carey is forced to live a plain, simple life out on a farm surrounded by simple people who are the salt of the earth and find her fascinating.
The only person that finds her less than impressive is her father’s doctor, Joel, who makes no secret of his dislike of her....
As the novel progresses, Carey becomes resigned to her fate but is bitter and still pines for her former life. A series of events makes her even more miserable, but when a ray of hope arrives, she jumps at the chance to get her life back, but do the people and things that once brought her pleasure still hold the same charms?
Yes, this story has been told in various ways for decades and it still shows up from time to time today. This version of the ‘reverse’ Cinderella tale, (meaning rich girl loses wealth, instead of poor girl acquires wealth), would have been good, except that the brevity of the book makes the writing choppy and concludes so abruptly it feels unfinished somehow.
Written in this time frame, there were some really odd developments, like the arrival of Carey’s father’s former secretary, and a scheme devised by her father and Joel to prevent Carey from making a huge mistake. It is a terrible case of manipulation and ‘handling’ that would certainly be slammed today.
Other than that, the datedness is not all that bad, and it wasn’t a bad story, overall, if you can manage to keep your expectations reasonable considering the mass market production of these books, and the era in which they were written.
Personally, I find these books fun to read from time to time. What I would really like to see digitized are the old medical romances. I’m terrified these books are going to be lost as finding the copyright holders can be a real challenge and I’d like see these books preserved.
Overall, this book is still readable and enjoyable despite some obvious flaws.
3 stars show less
I discovered this author when I became interested in collecting the ‘medical’ or ‘nurse’ romance novels of the 40’s and 50’s. Gaddis was a prolific writer in this genre, but also wrote under numerous pseudonyms, which was quite common in those days.
This group of books, written mainly during the 60’s, was digitized by Crimson Romance- which I believe was a division Simon & show more Schuster.
Unfortunately, for those who love medical romances, this block of books are ordinary contemporary romances, but at least some of the author’s work has been preserved!
This book was published in 1967, which would have made it a posthumous release. The story is centered around Carey, a wealthy, self-absorbed young woman. When her father is narrowly prevented from committing suicide after his business goes bust, Carey is forced to live a plain, simple life out on a farm surrounded by simple people who are the salt of the earth and find her fascinating.
The only person that finds her less than impressive is her father’s doctor, Joel, who makes no secret of his dislike of her....
As the novel progresses, Carey becomes resigned to her fate but is bitter and still pines for her former life. A series of events makes her even more miserable, but when a ray of hope arrives, she jumps at the chance to get her life back, but do the people and things that once brought her pleasure still hold the same charms?
Yes, this story has been told in various ways for decades and it still shows up from time to time today. This version of the ‘reverse’ Cinderella tale, (meaning rich girl loses wealth, instead of poor girl acquires wealth), would have been good, except that the brevity of the book makes the writing choppy and concludes so abruptly it feels unfinished somehow.
Written in this time frame, there were some really odd developments, like the arrival of Carey’s father’s former secretary, and a scheme devised by her father and Joel to prevent Carey from making a huge mistake. It is a terrible case of manipulation and ‘handling’ that would certainly be slammed today.
Other than that, the datedness is not all that bad, and it wasn’t a bad story, overall, if you can manage to keep your expectations reasonable considering the mass market production of these books, and the era in which they were written.
Personally, I find these books fun to read from time to time. What I would really like to see digitized are the old medical romances. I’m terrified these books are going to be lost as finding the copyright holders can be a real challenge and I’d like see these books preserved.
Overall, this book is still readable and enjoyable despite some obvious flaws.
3 stars show less
Enchanted Spring by Peggy Gaddis is a 2013 Crimson Romance publication. (Originally published in 1960)
This contemporary romance, that is copyrighted 1960, is centered around Lynn Carter, a young woman who is determined to be a career woman- which is being an executive secretary- where she can practice charm school etiquette in a work environment- LOL. Anyway, before she embarks on her big career plans, she feels the urge to return to her small town and visit her family. Upon her arrival she show more bumps into Wayde McCuller, a man who is tied to their community because of a strange demand in his grandfather’s will. He must spend at least three months in the old family home per year, or else he loses his inheritance. Lynn dislikes him because she feels he has a certain disdain for their small town, and never mingles amongst the locals. They clash instantly, but to her dismay she finds Wayde has charmed her parents, and everyone seems to like him, but she digs her heels in refusing to give the guy a chance…
For its age, this is an enjoyable contemporary romance. Naturally, there are dated opinions and remarks, but the biggest complaint I had was that some threads weren’t developed, and one thing just morphed into another without shoring it up with more depth. That said, these types of novels were very short, pumped out at warp speed, and were meant to be escapist type reading- but it would have been nice to see more time invested here so that some threads were not so abrupt or ignored, simply fading out altogether without a follow-up.
Other than that, this is a quick and easy read- a fun bit of nostalgia and a look at what young women were reading back in the early sixties and their frame of mind in those days.
Overall, while this author was quite prolific, the writing is never allowed to really develop, though the basic talent is certainly there. I love the ‘nurse novels’ Dern wrote, though they too are often skimpy - but I just love the medical themes which gave them a bit more depth. I do wish more of these books would be digitized- especially now that the only way to find these books will be at garage sales, or online used bookstores where the quality of these books are usually quite poor, the print is too small for me to read, and overpriced. 😔
*As of this writing, this book is part of the KU program. show less
This contemporary romance, that is copyrighted 1960, is centered around Lynn Carter, a young woman who is determined to be a career woman- which is being an executive secretary- where she can practice charm school etiquette in a work environment- LOL. Anyway, before she embarks on her big career plans, she feels the urge to return to her small town and visit her family. Upon her arrival she show more bumps into Wayde McCuller, a man who is tied to their community because of a strange demand in his grandfather’s will. He must spend at least three months in the old family home per year, or else he loses his inheritance. Lynn dislikes him because she feels he has a certain disdain for their small town, and never mingles amongst the locals. They clash instantly, but to her dismay she finds Wayde has charmed her parents, and everyone seems to like him, but she digs her heels in refusing to give the guy a chance…
For its age, this is an enjoyable contemporary romance. Naturally, there are dated opinions and remarks, but the biggest complaint I had was that some threads weren’t developed, and one thing just morphed into another without shoring it up with more depth. That said, these types of novels were very short, pumped out at warp speed, and were meant to be escapist type reading- but it would have been nice to see more time invested here so that some threads were not so abrupt or ignored, simply fading out altogether without a follow-up.
Other than that, this is a quick and easy read- a fun bit of nostalgia and a look at what young women were reading back in the early sixties and their frame of mind in those days.
Overall, while this author was quite prolific, the writing is never allowed to really develop, though the basic talent is certainly there. I love the ‘nurse novels’ Dern wrote, though they too are often skimpy - but I just love the medical themes which gave them a bit more depth. I do wish more of these books would be digitized- especially now that the only way to find these books will be at garage sales, or online used bookstores where the quality of these books are usually quite poor, the print is too small for me to read, and overpriced. 😔
*As of this writing, this book is part of the KU program. show less
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