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My Friend the Professor
Young probationer nurse, Frances Dorland, is dealing with the ups and downs of 1960's hospital life when she meets an understanding older man - the Professor.
Frances's nursing friends joke about the identity of the Professor, but the truth is that none of them know anything about him, except that he proves to be a loyal and kind friend to Frances. As Frances starts to realise she feels more than friendship for the Professor, she is also trying to help the course of true love run smoothly for her best friend Estelle Dexter. And handsome student doctor Bart More is sending mixed signals to both young women.
It is only when one of the hospital staff becomes dangerously ill that Frances and her friends come to realise home truths that will change their lives forever.
Frances's nursing friends joke about the identity of the Professor, but the truth is that none of them know anything about him, except that he proves to be a loyal and kind friend to Frances. As Frances starts to realise she feels more than friendship for the Professor, she is also trying to help the course of true love run smoothly for her best friend Estelle Dexter. And handsome student doctor Bart More is sending mixed signals to both young women.
It is only when one of the hospital staff becomes dangerously ill that Frances and her friends come to realise home truths that will change their lives forever.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1960
38 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Lucilla Andrews
85 books9 followersLucilla Matthew Andrews Crichton
aka
Lucilla Andrews, Diana Gordon, Joanna Marcus.
Lucilla Matthew Andrews was born on 20 November 1919 in Suez, Egypt, the third of four children of William Henry Andrews and Lucilla Quero-Bejar. They met in Gibraltar, and married in 1913. Her mother was daughter of a Spanish doctor and descended from the Spanish nobility. Her British father workerd by the Eastern Telegraph Company (later Cable and Wireless) on African and Mediterranean stations until 1932. At the age of three, she was sent to join her older sister at boarding school in Sussex.
She joined the British Red Cross in 1940 and later trained as a nurse at St Thomas' Hospital, London, during World War II. In 1947, she retired and married Dr James Crichton, and she discovered, that he was addicted to drugs. In 1949, soon after their daugther Veronica was born, he was committed to hospital and she returned to nursing and writing. In 1952, she sold her firt romance novel, published in 1954, the same year that her husband died. She specialised in Doctor-Nurse romances, using her personal experience as inspiration, and wrote over thirty-five novels since 1996. In 1969, she decided moved to Edinburgh.
Her daugther read History at Newnham College, Cambridge, and became a journalist and Labour Party communications adviser, before her death from cancer in 2002. In late 2006, Lucilla Andrews' autobiography No Time for Romance became the focus of a posthumous controversy. It has been alleged that the novelist Ian McEwan plagiarized from this work while writing his highly-acclaimed novel, Atonement. McEwan has protested his innocence. She passed away on 3 October 2006. She was a founder member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, which honoured her shortly before her death with a lifetime achievement award.
aka
Lucilla Andrews, Diana Gordon, Joanna Marcus.
Lucilla Matthew Andrews was born on 20 November 1919 in Suez, Egypt, the third of four children of William Henry Andrews and Lucilla Quero-Bejar. They met in Gibraltar, and married in 1913. Her mother was daughter of a Spanish doctor and descended from the Spanish nobility. Her British father workerd by the Eastern Telegraph Company (later Cable and Wireless) on African and Mediterranean stations until 1932. At the age of three, she was sent to join her older sister at boarding school in Sussex.
She joined the British Red Cross in 1940 and later trained as a nurse at St Thomas' Hospital, London, during World War II. In 1947, she retired and married Dr James Crichton, and she discovered, that he was addicted to drugs. In 1949, soon after their daugther Veronica was born, he was committed to hospital and she returned to nursing and writing. In 1952, she sold her firt romance novel, published in 1954, the same year that her husband died. She specialised in Doctor-Nurse romances, using her personal experience as inspiration, and wrote over thirty-five novels since 1996. In 1969, she decided moved to Edinburgh.
Her daugther read History at Newnham College, Cambridge, and became a journalist and Labour Party communications adviser, before her death from cancer in 2002. In late 2006, Lucilla Andrews' autobiography No Time for Romance became the focus of a posthumous controversy. It has been alleged that the novelist Ian McEwan plagiarized from this work while writing his highly-acclaimed novel, Atonement. McEwan has protested his innocence. She passed away on 3 October 2006. She was a founder member of the Romantic Novelists' Association, which honoured her shortly before her death with a lifetime achievement award.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 24, 2022
Heavy on vintage British slang, this was the story of Frances Dorland’s journey through nursing school. With a considerable portion of time spent on the narrative, I would have preferred if the story was written in the 3rd person tense. Frances was a likable person, but I need other POVs.
The actual romance plodded along slowly and was buried under nurse-speak and writing letters to each other. The camaraderie between the H/h was a bit too two-dimensional.
*I thought I might have found another romance author similar to The Betty. And, actually, I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn if Mrs. Neels had read some of Ms. Andrews’ stories before starting her writing career.*
Sadly, this author is not my cuppa.
The actual romance plodded along slowly and was buried under nurse-speak and writing letters to each other. The camaraderie between the H/h was a bit too two-dimensional.
*I thought I might have found another romance author similar to The Betty. And, actually, I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn if Mrs. Neels had read some of Ms. Andrews’ stories before starting her writing career.*
Sadly, this author is not my cuppa.
November 22, 2017
This was cute and I liked the glimpse of 1950's/60's, but the love interest is a stalker, so that was kind of a concern.
October 31, 2018
Charming story of a young probationer and her relationships with the people she encounters: her fellow student nurses, other more senior nurses at all levels, student doctors, patients and hospital staff. In particular her relationships with a sympathetic man who listens to her and gives her good advice, and with her best friend Estelle. We watch as she realises that her feelings for the 'Professor' are becoming deeper than friendship, and as she navigates these relationships. Frances is a lovely character, sincere and honest and clear-sighted, and it is a joy to travel with her towards a happy ending.
January 2, 2025
This takes me back, some reading nostalgia. It's been many, many years since I first read this hospital romance. Love reading about nursing in the "olden"days. It holds a special significance for this reader.
August 23, 2022
This is a delightfully innocent little story that is rather more a love letter to the joys & rigours of 1950s nursing than it is a romance. The titular MC really doesn't feature a great deal; he is required merely to be remotely benign, which, since he is 20+ years older than the heroine, is not a difficult task.
The delight comes from the minutiae of nursing life, and flashes of a tart wit that suggests the author might herself have once been an all-powerful Ward Sister or Matron.
CW for age-gap, and a prevailing sense that women do and should play second fiddle to men (this was written in the 1950s).
The delight comes from the minutiae of nursing life, and flashes of a tart wit that suggests the author might herself have once been an all-powerful Ward Sister or Matron.
CW for age-gap, and a prevailing sense that women do and should play second fiddle to men (this was written in the 1950s).
May 31, 2020
This is the 2nd Lucille Andrews book I’ve read. Like the first, this totally takes me to another place and time as Frances trains to be a nurse in a London hospital in the 1960’s. It’s pretty old fashioned and there’s a big age difference between Frances and her professor, but if you can deal with that, it’s a cute book and sweet romance.
June 4, 2016
Such a shame that, apart from one book Lucilla Andrews is out of print. A lovely gentle romance of bygone times cleverly written
June 2, 2020
Kind of like a medical, slightly less creepy tribute to Daddy Longlegs.
June 15, 2018
I read this on the kindle
This is the 1st book by this author that I have read she done previous & later book about nurses all are stand alone
In this on Frances Dorland who is just starting her training at St Martha's one day she goes for a walk & meet JS Slane she knows nothing about him but have an interesting talk about birds
He takes some photos of some falcon & she can't understand how he knew her name she learns his his from the note but that is it so she & her set calls him the Professor not that she knows he is
He visits her parents turkey farm in Kent
They write letters to each other where she ask him medical question he had helped her with her curdled custard
You find out about the other people in her set especially Estelle Dexter granddaughter of a very wealthy man
The book is good but does go in to the hospital side a lot & I did get confused at the beginning of who was saying what but the last few chapters are really good & we find out about the Professor
I will read more of this author
This is the 1st book by this author that I have read she done previous & later book about nurses all are stand alone
In this on Frances Dorland who is just starting her training at St Martha's one day she goes for a walk & meet JS Slane she knows nothing about him but have an interesting talk about birds
He takes some photos of some falcon & she can't understand how he knew her name she learns his his from the note but that is it so she & her set calls him the Professor not that she knows he is
He visits her parents turkey farm in Kent
They write letters to each other where she ask him medical question he had helped her with her curdled custard
You find out about the other people in her set especially Estelle Dexter granddaughter of a very wealthy man
The book is good but does go in to the hospital side a lot & I did get confused at the beginning of who was saying what but the last few chapters are really good & we find out about the Professor
I will read more of this author
August 29, 2024
I first read this book about 60 years ago and I wanted to read it again to see if I still might enjoy it. I did.
It is a fascinating insight into the life of a new student nurse in 1950's and honestly they were far more domestic workers than nurses in those early years. The cleaning and cooking seemed to far outweigh the actual nursing.
Nevertheless this is about to down-to-earth Frances Dorland who accidentally met her 'professor' and formed a relationship with him based on her need to have help to get through her early days as a nurse from making an egg custard to a poultice. (Not skills needed today in nursing).
The course of true love does not run smooth and through misunderstandings and the death of a patient and a serious illness of one of her best friends, Frances finally discovers the identity of her professor and true love.
It is a fascinating insight into the life of a new student nurse in 1950's and honestly they were far more domestic workers than nurses in those early years. The cleaning and cooking seemed to far outweigh the actual nursing.
Nevertheless this is about to down-to-earth Frances Dorland who accidentally met her 'professor' and formed a relationship with him based on her need to have help to get through her early days as a nurse from making an egg custard to a poultice. (Not skills needed today in nursing).
The course of true love does not run smooth and through misunderstandings and the death of a patient and a serious illness of one of her best friends, Frances finally discovers the identity of her professor and true love.
January 13, 2023
The romance when we got it was lovely, but it was hardly there. I would say this book is 80% about a young nurse finding her feet and being utterly baffled by the huge volumes of hospital jargon (and believe me we the reader are subjected to pages upon pages of tertiary characters yelling acronyms at each other) and our beleaguered h being told-off by Sister this matron Matron that. The titular professor is pretty much absent for most of the tory.
I will give this author another go -I read one of hers before and it was really good with a decent amount of romance, so I'm guessing when she wrote this one she was in full 'I'm going to write just a book about being a nurse' mode for this one.
I will give this author another go -I read one of hers before and it was really good with a decent amount of romance, so I'm guessing when she wrote this one she was in full 'I'm going to write just a book about being a nurse' mode for this one.
April 17, 2025
‘Nurse, you are holding a hypodermic syringe, not brandishing a harpoon. And look what you’ve done to that needle! Possibly you might be able to use it as a crochet-hook ‒ you can certainly never use it again for an injection. Put it all away now and make a linseed poultice. You have just time to get one made before the test ends.’
I found this one on my Kindle while looking for another title. I have no idea why I originally downloaded it. Probably due to a long ago recommendation or maybe related to my flirtation with Betty Neels a while back. Published in 1960 it is a real nugget of social history and of the nursing profession the way it used to be. Contrary to many readers, the age gap between the two male and female leads (22 years) did not bother me. What did bother me was his constant cigarette smoking! He was a real fiend!
Frances Dorland is our heroine, a new student nurse, learning on the job. You didn't have to get a degree in Nursing back then, at least in England. Apparently you learned on the job while attending classes on the side while living at the hospital with your "set." Most of the book is about her and her friends challenges navigating the political gauntlet of dealing with the Nurses (or Sisters) that outrank them. Which is everybody. Always obedient, eyes down, never explain or give excuses, or be anything less than subservient at all times. It was very eye-opening. Nursing back then appeared to be mostly cooking and cleaning and keeping their patients company.
She becomes best friends with a very rich debutante, Estelle Dexter, who has eschewed her former shallow life to do something substantial and meaningful and nursing is in her blood. Her other good friend is "The Professor" whom she meets by chance on the hospital grounds. He is a loyal and wise advisor whom she mostly communicates with via letters. Every so often, not very often, they meet in person. But nevertheless, despite his age and lack of sex appeal, it is not long at all before she begins to fall in love with him. I honestly didn't blame her. I would have too. Later in the book, Frances becomes the target of gossip and hostility on the part of some of her peers and superiors and undeserved deference in others. This mystery fuels much of the latter part of the book. Frances thinks it is because of her close relationship with Estelle, her rich friend whose grandfather is a large benefactor of the hospital. It turns out that it is not that relationship that is the source of all the speculation and gossip.
I thought the romance was very sweet. I would have loved to see them as an established couple navigating their differences and dealing with the reactions of others in their circles. they had an interesting dynamic. There is a secondary romance between Estelle and a young doctor trainee as well, whom the professor thinks is interested in Frances and vice versa. And I liked Frances who was very down to earth and was just spirited and irreverent enough to mitigate some of the meekness that was required with her superiors . The book is told in First Person and I liked her breezy, humorous and forthright tone. Unfortunately, the book suffers from an excess of not very memorable characters who I had a difficult time keeping straight as Frances is transferred to different posts in the same hospital. Also there was way too much out of date and specialized terminology tossed around which even Google couldn't help with, that were like little speed bumps on a road. And also some out of date British slang was mildly irritating. All of the young medical students persist in referring to Estelle's wealth as her "cash" or "lolly" . As in "Why can't you just forget her cash, and treat her like a human being?" I don't know it just took me out of the story. Not really the book's fault.
Lucilla Andrews was one of those unsung female heroines who had to step up to the plate when the going got rough and at a time where women were, in our more enlightened eyes, discounted and scorned unless in their prescribed traditional roles. She began nursing during WWII and married a doctor who turned out to be a drug addict. When her husband was institutionalized, she turned to writing to support herself and her little daughter. In 1952, she sold her first short story for 25 guineas, equivalent to a month's work as a staff nurse. From then on she became an author of "hospital fiction." One of her 37 books was autobiographical, No Time for Romance, about her experiences nursing in London during the blitz. The Booker Prize winning British Novelist, Ian McEwen, based part of his 2001 Novel Atonement ( the basis of the Academy Award Winning movie), on her "superb reportage". Even though he duly credited her in the acknowledgements, in some circles he was accused of plagiarism. Ms Andrews was amused when she learned of his indebtedness to her memoir. Her reaction? "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." According to her Obituary, Lucilla Andrews was "strong-minded, considerate, kind and great fun. She made friends wherever she lived.... She was fond of both whisky and cigarettes...and was famed for her elegance and enthusiasm for hats."
https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings....
December 17, 2024
Read as a comparison to Betty Neels. Betty wins!
Notes: I didn't believe the romance between young Frances(19) and 'the professor', Sir Marcus(42). Not. At. All.
However, there was a lovely secondary romance between Bart, a houseman, and Estelle, a fellow nurse. That one is worth reading.
Andrews put in so much hospital detail that the book seems dated. It was written in 1960 and could qualify as a bit of historical fiction.
A bit from a piece I did years ago forthe Neels blog The Uncrushable Jersey Dress:
How to tell you are not reading a book by Betty Neels:
The book is told in first person, from the point of Frances Dorland, our nominal heroine.
There are almost no clothing descriptions.
There is no food. Wait, that’s not quite true. There are no glowing descriptions of food. I vaguely remember sandwiches being mentioned.
There is no Veronica.
There is no socking great Bentley.
There are no critters: no dogs, no cats
There are no Jollys.
Notes: I didn't believe the romance between young Frances(19) and 'the professor', Sir Marcus(42). Not. At. All.
However, there was a lovely secondary romance between Bart, a houseman, and Estelle, a fellow nurse. That one is worth reading.
Andrews put in so much hospital detail that the book seems dated. It was written in 1960 and could qualify as a bit of historical fiction.
A bit from a piece I did years ago forthe Neels blog The Uncrushable Jersey Dress:
How to tell you are not reading a book by Betty Neels:
The book is told in first person, from the point of Frances Dorland, our nominal heroine.
There are almost no clothing descriptions.
There is no food. Wait, that’s not quite true. There are no glowing descriptions of food. I vaguely remember sandwiches being mentioned.
There is no Veronica.
There is no socking great Bentley.
There are no critters: no dogs, no cats
There are no Jollys.
March 25, 2025
This might be historical romance now, but it was stories by Lucilla Andrews that I loved as a Teen. Many of them were serialised in the English Women’s Weekly. I thoroughly enjoyed this one today and felt it ended too quickly. Loved the view of nursing in that era and the young women learning to be nurses. Nice gentle romance.
May 3, 2021
I'm not really sure how I feel about this one--the age difference is a bit bigger than usual, and the heroine forgives the hero way too quickly. But as usual, the details of the heroine's training are very interesting--it sounds absolutely exhausting. Probably won't read this one again--no dogs.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2019
Kept me guessing but end was soppy
April 3, 2020
Loved it
I first read it 20 years ago ... I missed it ... I searched for it and was very happy to reread it on kindle ... took my mind from the Coronavirus disaster for sure
I first read it 20 years ago ... I missed it ... I searched for it and was very happy to reread it on kindle ... took my mind from the Coronavirus disaster for sure
June 30, 2020
All times favorite love story about a nurse-student that falls in love with a brilliant older man.
August 8, 2025
I could not like this book though I liked the heroine.It was too much on hospital and medical aspect than romance.
April 2, 2020
Frances, Estelle and Hannah set off to train as nurses at St Martha’s, the fictional hospital where Lucilla Andrews sets many of her hospital romances, and based on St Thomas’ where she herself trained. The story is told through Frances’ eyes as she meets “her professor,” progresses through the first months of her training and tries to sort out her wealthy friend’s love life.
As ever, the details of the old way of training nurses within the strict regime and traditions of a long established hospital are the most interesting part of the story - the predictable outcome of the romance aspect jars slightly when looked at through modern eyes when we’d see eighteen/nineteen as rather young to be committing to a relationship with a man more than twice her age - plus the implication in the last chapter that she will be giving up her training to marry him. Maybe 3.5 stars - but this is a rereading after many years and I remember now why it wasn’t one of my favourites of the author’s books.
As ever, the details of the old way of training nurses within the strict regime and traditions of a long established hospital are the most interesting part of the story - the predictable outcome of the romance aspect jars slightly when looked at through modern eyes when we’d see eighteen/nineteen as rather young to be committing to a relationship with a man more than twice her age - plus the implication in the last chapter that she will be giving up her training to marry him. Maybe 3.5 stars - but this is a rereading after many years and I remember now why it wasn’t one of my favourites of the author’s books.
July 26, 2022
A Young Nurse Falls for A Pundit
I could not like that the pundit, Sir Marcus, is so much older than the 19/20 year old nurse, Francis Dorland. He was 22 when WWII began and she was born a year later. But romance writers continue to write these kinds of romances. It's a very good romance and the ins and outs of hospital life is portrayed so well... The death of a patient, a friend that succumbs to a pandemic... So like the world today trying to live through the Covid pandemic. I loved this romance very much.
I could not like that the pundit, Sir Marcus, is so much older than the 19/20 year old nurse, Francis Dorland. He was 22 when WWII began and she was born a year later. But romance writers continue to write these kinds of romances. It's a very good romance and the ins and outs of hospital life is portrayed so well... The death of a patient, a friend that succumbs to a pandemic... So like the world today trying to live through the Covid pandemic. I loved this romance very much.
January 22, 2025
Dull, floppy, weak sauce. Against my better judgement I love a lot of Andrews' work, but not this one.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews