Betty Neels Standalone Novels books in order

Reading order

Betty Neels’s standalone novels make up the vast majority of her work and the reason she has remained so popular with romance readers. Published between 1967 and 2013 (with some posthumous reissues), these 123 books follow a familiar pattern that her fans love: an unassuming English heroine, often a nurse or hospital staff member, crosses paths with a tall, wealthy Dutch doctor or professor. Slow courtship follows, set against detailed descriptions of English countryside, Dutch canal houses, and lovingly described meals.

What sets these books apart from other category romances is their old-fashioned tone. There are no steamy scenes. Instead, Neels focused on the quiet tension of unspoken feelings, misunderstandings between two stubborn people, and the eventual moment when the hero finally declares himself. The heroines are hardworking and practical rather than glamorous, and the heroes are steady and reliable rather than brooding. Many readers describe picking up a Betty Neels novel as feeling like sitting down with a cup of tea.

The novels published after Neels’s death in 2001, such as Innocent Brides To Be (2008) and The Doubtful Marriage (2013), are reissues and compilations rather than new material. Her final original novel was An Independent Woman, published in 2001.