Racing Pulses: Gender, Professionalism and Health Care in Medical Romance Fiction

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Following the foundation of the NHS in 1948, a new sub-genre of romantic fiction emerged: ‘Doctor–Nurse’ romances, usually involving romance between a male doctor and a female nurse, were set in NHS hospitals. Drawing on the Mills &amp; Boon archive and the novels themselves, this article explores representations of the health service and notions of gendered healthcare professionalism in postwar Britain. I argue that rather than presenting ‘retrograde’ and ‘limited’ views of women’s lives, medical Mills &amp; Boon novels frequently put forward nuanced versions of womanhood, professional identity, clinical labour, and the effective functioning of the welfare state.</jats:p>