What do you think?
Rate this book
The Dysarts #3
Mistletoe Miracles: Dearest Eulalia/The Extra-Special Gift/The Doorstep Baby
A trio of enchanting romances captures the magic and wonder of newfound love during the holiday season and includes Betty Neels's "Dearest Eulalia," in which Eulalia must enter into a marriage of convenience with dashing surgeon Aderik van der Leurs to save her home, as well as Catherine George's "The Extra-Special Gift" and "The Doorstep Baby" by Marion Lennox. Original.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
86 people want to read
About the author
Betty Neels
576 books419 followersEvelyn Jessy "Betty" Neels was born on September 15, 1910 in Devon to a family with firm roots in the civil service. She said she had a blissfully happy childhood and teenage years.(This stood her in good stead later for the tribulations to come with the Second World War). She was sent away to boarding school, and then went on to train as a nurse, gaining her SRN and SCM, that is, State Registered Nurse and State Certificate of Midwifery.
In 1939 she was called up to the Territorial Army Nursing Service, which later became the Queen Alexandra Reserves, and was sent to France with the Casualty Clearing Station. This comprised eight nursing sisters, including Betty, to 100 men! In other circumstances, she thought that might have been quite thrilling! When France was invaded in 1940, all the nursing sisters managed to escape in the charge of an army major, undertaking a lengthy and terrifying journey to Boulogne in an ambulance. They were incredibly fortunate to be put on the last hospital ship to be leaving the port of Boulogne. But Betty's war didn't end there, for she was posted to Scotland, and then on to Northern Ireland, where she met her Dutch husband. He was a seaman aboard a minesweeper, which was bombed. He survived and was sent to the south of Holland to guard the sluices. However, when they had to abandon their post, they were told to escape if they could, and along with a small number of other men, he marched into Belgium. They stole a ship and managed to get it across the Channel to Dover before being transferred to the Atlantic run on the convoys. Sadly he became ill, and that was when he was transferred to hospital in Northern Ireland, where he met Betty. They eventually married, and were blessed with a daughter. They were posted to London, but were bombed out. As with most of the population, they made the best of things.
When the war finally ended, she and her husband were repatriated to Holland. As his family had believed he had died when his ship went down, this was a very emotional homecoming. The small family lived in Holland for 13 years, and Betty resumed her nursing career there. When they decided to return to England, Betty continued her nursing and when she eventually retired she had reached the position of night superintendent.
Betty Neels began writing almost by accident. She had retired from nursing, but her inquiring mind had no intention of vegetating, and her new career was born when she heard a lady in her local library bemoaning the lack of good romance novels. There was little in Betty's background to suggest that she might eventually become a much-loved novelist.
Her first book, Sister Peters in Amsterdam, was published in 1969, and by dint of often writing four books a year, she eventually completed 134 books. She was always quite firm upon the point that the Dutch doctors who frequently appeared in her stories were *not* based upon her husband, but rather upon an amalgam of several of the doctors she met while nursing in Holland.
To her millions of fans around the world, Betty Neels epitomized romance. She was always amazed and touched that her books were so widely appreciated. She never sought plaudits and remained a very private person, but it made her very happy to know that she brought such pleasure to so many readers, while herself gaining a quiet joy from spinning her stories. It is perhaps a reflection of her upbringing in an earlier time that the men and women who peopled her stories have a kindliness and good manners, coupled to honesty and integrity, that is not always present in our modern world. Her myriad of fans found a warmth and a reassurance of a better world in her stories, along with characters who touched the heart, which is all and more than one could ask of a romance writer. She received a great deal of fan mail, and there was always a comment upon the fascinating places she visited in her stories. Quite often those of her fans fortunate enough to visit Ho
In 1939 she was called up to the Territorial Army Nursing Service, which later became the Queen Alexandra Reserves, and was sent to France with the Casualty Clearing Station. This comprised eight nursing sisters, including Betty, to 100 men! In other circumstances, she thought that might have been quite thrilling! When France was invaded in 1940, all the nursing sisters managed to escape in the charge of an army major, undertaking a lengthy and terrifying journey to Boulogne in an ambulance. They were incredibly fortunate to be put on the last hospital ship to be leaving the port of Boulogne. But Betty's war didn't end there, for she was posted to Scotland, and then on to Northern Ireland, where she met her Dutch husband. He was a seaman aboard a minesweeper, which was bombed. He survived and was sent to the south of Holland to guard the sluices. However, when they had to abandon their post, they were told to escape if they could, and along with a small number of other men, he marched into Belgium. They stole a ship and managed to get it across the Channel to Dover before being transferred to the Atlantic run on the convoys. Sadly he became ill, and that was when he was transferred to hospital in Northern Ireland, where he met Betty. They eventually married, and were blessed with a daughter. They were posted to London, but were bombed out. As with most of the population, they made the best of things.
When the war finally ended, she and her husband were repatriated to Holland. As his family had believed he had died when his ship went down, this was a very emotional homecoming. The small family lived in Holland for 13 years, and Betty resumed her nursing career there. When they decided to return to England, Betty continued her nursing and when she eventually retired she had reached the position of night superintendent.
Betty Neels began writing almost by accident. She had retired from nursing, but her inquiring mind had no intention of vegetating, and her new career was born when she heard a lady in her local library bemoaning the lack of good romance novels. There was little in Betty's background to suggest that she might eventually become a much-loved novelist.
Her first book, Sister Peters in Amsterdam, was published in 1969, and by dint of often writing four books a year, she eventually completed 134 books. She was always quite firm upon the point that the Dutch doctors who frequently appeared in her stories were *not* based upon her husband, but rather upon an amalgam of several of the doctors she met while nursing in Holland.
To her millions of fans around the world, Betty Neels epitomized romance. She was always amazed and touched that her books were so widely appreciated. She never sought plaudits and remained a very private person, but it made her very happy to know that she brought such pleasure to so many readers, while herself gaining a quiet joy from spinning her stories. It is perhaps a reflection of her upbringing in an earlier time that the men and women who peopled her stories have a kindliness and good manners, coupled to honesty and integrity, that is not always present in our modern world. Her myriad of fans found a warmth and a reassurance of a better world in her stories, along with characters who touched the heart, which is all and more than one could ask of a romance writer. She received a great deal of fan mail, and there was always a comment upon the fascinating places she visited in her stories. Quite often those of her fans fortunate enough to visit Ho
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 29, 2009
This is one of the (many) books I have inherited. It belonged to my Grandmother who died recently. I shared her love for Mills and Boon and in my early teens I used to love delving into her huge collection.
The bulk of my grandmother's books are still in boxes - yet this morning I came across Mistletoe Miracles sitting on the side table next to my sofa. Last night I finished the M&B I'd been reading and I'd planned to read the next M&B on my TBR pile (one that I'd purchased a couple of months ago).
Sitting here, looking at this Christmas book with the spine showing how well-read and loved it has been by my grandmother, I know I have to read it next. I know that I'm in for one emotional but enjoyable read and during this Christmas period I'm going to feel close to my nan...
Dearest Eulalia by BETTY NEELS
This was a sweet story and took me back to the past when I used to read Betty Neels. Betty Neels has a delightful 'voice' which while being a tad old-fashioned in today's times, brings back memories of an innocent age gone by...
The Extra-Special Gift by CATHERINE GEORGE
Catherine George is a new-to-me author and I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I'm cursing my poor memory and wishing that I'd written notes while I was reading so I could share specifics of why I enjoyed this story so much. One thing I do remember is feeling it was an honour to share Christmas with Jess and Lorenzo. It's a story that I will want to revisit at future Christmases to come and I also intend to keep an eye out for other stories by Catherine George.
The Doorstep Baby by MARION LENNOX
This story reminded me that it's been far too long since I read a Marion Lennox. I LOVED this gorgeous story and will definitely read it again. I will scour my bookshelves for other Marion Lennox books because I'd forgotten just how much I enjoy her books. Rest assured that The Doorstep Baby is well worth reading.
My overall opinion of Mistletoe Miracles is that it contained everything a good collection of stories should. This book gave me fond memories of days gone by with Betty Neels; it introduced me to a new-to-me author in Catherine George, whose books I will now look out for; and it reminded me how much I LOVE Marion Lennox. A perfect read for Christmas and beyond!
The bulk of my grandmother's books are still in boxes - yet this morning I came across Mistletoe Miracles sitting on the side table next to my sofa. Last night I finished the M&B I'd been reading and I'd planned to read the next M&B on my TBR pile (one that I'd purchased a couple of months ago).
Sitting here, looking at this Christmas book with the spine showing how well-read and loved it has been by my grandmother, I know I have to read it next. I know that I'm in for one emotional but enjoyable read and during this Christmas period I'm going to feel close to my nan...
Dearest Eulalia by BETTY NEELS
This was a sweet story and took me back to the past when I used to read Betty Neels. Betty Neels has a delightful 'voice' which while being a tad old-fashioned in today's times, brings back memories of an innocent age gone by...
The Extra-Special Gift by CATHERINE GEORGE
Catherine George is a new-to-me author and I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I'm cursing my poor memory and wishing that I'd written notes while I was reading so I could share specifics of why I enjoyed this story so much. One thing I do remember is feeling it was an honour to share Christmas with Jess and Lorenzo. It's a story that I will want to revisit at future Christmases to come and I also intend to keep an eye out for other stories by Catherine George.
The Doorstep Baby by MARION LENNOX
This story reminded me that it's been far too long since I read a Marion Lennox. I LOVED this gorgeous story and will definitely read it again. I will scour my bookshelves for other Marion Lennox books because I'd forgotten just how much I enjoy her books. Rest assured that The Doorstep Baby is well worth reading.
My overall opinion of Mistletoe Miracles is that it contained everything a good collection of stories should. This book gave me fond memories of days gone by with Betty Neels; it introduced me to a new-to-me author in Catherine George, whose books I will now look out for; and it reminded me how much I LOVE Marion Lennox. A perfect read for Christmas and beyond!
May 29, 2016
Hard to rate this one, so I'm splitting the vote. The Neels story was terrible. I've never read her before and don't plan to do so again. I enjoyed the George story (it was better than the original one about Jess and Lorenzo), and I loved Lennox's story. It was definitely the best of the lot--poignant and funny with nicely drawn characters. It made slogging through the Neels story worth it.
December 30, 2025
Three stories
1) ok, a little boring. A little love affair in merry old england. So the plot goes, both are in love but only the man knows it, naive young lady finally figures it out.
2)good. silly xmas story of husband reluctant to have children due to knowing of women who died in childbirth and his new wife who really wants a baby bad. So they argue about it and guess who wins.
3)best, liked it. So a baby is left on the doorstep of an inn because the mom didn't want to raise it. Spurned lovers of 7 years ago have to figure out how to deal with it - and their feelings of abruptly broken past relationship which turned out to be a set-up. And they fall back in love in the end.
1) ok, a little boring. A little love affair in merry old england. So the plot goes, both are in love but only the man knows it, naive young lady finally figures it out.
2)good. silly xmas story of husband reluctant to have children due to knowing of women who died in childbirth and his new wife who really wants a baby bad. So they argue about it and guess who wins.
3)best, liked it. So a baby is left on the doorstep of an inn because the mom didn't want to raise it. Spurned lovers of 7 years ago have to figure out how to deal with it - and their feelings of abruptly broken past relationship which turned out to be a set-up. And they fall back in love in the end.
October 24, 2017
I read this book every Christmas. I love it so much looking to put it on my Nook or Amazon app.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews