Vintage Nurse Romance Novels: 2022 VNRN Awards

Wow, what a year. This is our tenth anniversary, friends, but I’m disappointed to tell you that no glamorous alloy do we merit for this accomplishment; tin or aluminum is our reward, meant to symbolize resilience. Well, resilient we are, to soldier on in our mission to restore the vintage nurse romance novel to its former glory and to frolic in the camp, the sparkly ballgowns, the moody beaux, the humor, and the strength of our nurse heroines.

I will add that this year has also seen my 500^th nurse novel review (the most enjoyable Recovery Room Nurse by William Neubauer; see below) as well as a new venture, Nurse Novels Publishing, which is re-releasing as ebooks the very best of the VNRNs (run, don’t walk, to the web site, and shop your little hearts out!).

And for the fine print: Winners are chosen from the 47 VNRNs I read this past year, which were penned by 36 different authors. The Best and Worst Authors categories includes all the VNRNs reviewed for this blog (516 to date), but only authors with more than one review are included. The Best Books category is packed with old favorites (e.g. Dorothy Fletcher, Olive Norton, Jean Francis Webb III, Florence Stonebraker), while Ida Cook (writing as Mary Burchell) is breaking into the top echelons with a bang. It’s an interesting year for Peggy Gaddis, who has the dubious distinction of gracing both the Best Books and the Worst Books categories (the latter twice, which is not the first time she has done this; see 2010).

In conclusion: Thanks to all who have supported this endeavor with a kind word. It means a lot.

Best Books
1. Nurse Sally's Last Chance, Anne Durham
2. Graduate Nurse, Ann Rush (pseud. Sara Jenkins Cunningham)
3. Hope Wears White, Florence Stuart (pseud. Florence Stonebraker)
4. Surgeon of Distinction, Mary Burchell (pseud. Ida Cook)
5. House of Hate, Dorothy Fletcher
6. Recovery Room Nurse, Rebecca Marsh (pseud. William Neubauer)
7. The Doctor’s Challenge, Marjorie Moore
8. The Nurse from Hawaii, Ethel Hamill (pseud. Jean Francis Webb III)
9. Night Duty at Duke’s, Bess Norton (pseud. Olive Norton)
10. Reach for Tomorrow, Georgia Craig (pseud. Peggy Gaddis)

Worst Books
1. Florida Nurse, Peggy Dern (pseud. Peggy Gaddis)
2. Future Nurse, Peggy Gaddis
3. North Country Nurse, Robert Ackworth
4. Nurse of the Wine Country, Ruth McCarthy Sears
5. Amy Marsh, Star Nurse, Sarah Nichols
6. Nurse Jenny, Margaret Howe
7. Park Avenue Nurse, Adelaide Humphries
8. Community Nurse, Arlene Hale
9. Nurse Harlowe, Jane Arbor
10. Nurse in Residence, Arlene Hale

Best Authors
1. Noreen Ford (3.9 average, based on 2 reviews)
2. Faith Baldwin (3.8 average, based on 4 reviews)
3. Ida Cook (3.7 average, based on 2 reviews)
4. Marguerite Mooers Marshall (3.7 average, based on 4 reviews)
5. Olive Norton (3.6 average, based on 6 reviews)
6. Maysie Sopoushek (3.5 average, based on 2 reviews)
7. Elizabeth Seifert (3.4 average, based on 3 reviews)

Worst Authors
1. Mary Mann Fletcher (1.5 average, based on 2 reviews)
2. Arlene Fitzgerald (1.6 average, based on 5 reviews)
3. Ruth McCarthy Sears (1.6 average, based on 6 reviews)
4. Zillah Macdonald (1.7 average, based on 3 reviews)
5. Peggy Blocklinger (1.7 average, based on 11 reviews)
6. Kellier, Elizabeth (1.9 average, based on 3 reviews)
7. Virginia K. Smiley (1.9 average, based on 4 reviews)

Best Quotes

“Lena made a quick check of his condition and confirmed the fact that he was in a coma.”
Behind Hospital Walls, by Ruth Dorset

“I’m just sick that I lost my temper and shot you!”
Betsy Moran, R.N., by Peggy Gaddis

“Number Fifteen has just slopped over herself her new bottle of orange squash and the other dimwit who came with you is making heavy weather of mopping up. Go and see how much you can add to the confusion.”
Nurse Sally’s Last Chance, by Anne Durham

“Just about the time you think the guy’s human, he gets a faraway look in his eye, and then he explains why he prefers to use Sim’s abdominal tenaculum over Kelly’s.”
Nurse in Danger, by Jane Converse (pseud. Adele Maritano)

“The knowledge that Jimmie would never be a mental case cheered her.”
Nurse Jenny, by Margaret Howe

“‘Want to hear about the abscess now?’ he inquired, and she forced a look of interest into her face.”
The Hospital World of Susan Wray, by Anne Lorraine

“You’re a lousy nurse. You stick to too much procedure. Don’t you know that a kiss or two would do me more good than anything?”
Camp Nurse, by Arlene Hale

“No, I had no special plans. Nothing that couldn’t be arranged, anyway. Eddie Fisher wanted to take me to the New York Hilton for dinner, but I put him off. Some other time, I told him. He was terribly disappointed, but never let it be said I let a colleague down.”
First Year Nurse, by Diane Frazer (pseud. Dorothy Fletcher)

“Whoever would have thought this place would have a homey air? I would call it a definite triumph over the landlord’s intentions.”
Airport Nurse, by Monica Edwards

“If I had my teeth in, I’d bite you, honey.”
Hope Wears White, by Florence Stuart (pseud. Florence Stonebraker)