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"What is she like, this beautiful, dedicated woman whose comforting smile eases pain, who can give efficiency, the magical quality of tenderness, and whose strength, courage, and devotion stand fast in the darkest of moments! What is she like as an ordinary human being, this crisp, clean, shining creature in the service of humanity ... for the nurse is also a woman and this is her story ..."
Alas, readers had but a single issue to learn what this paragon of virtue named Helen Grant was like.
In that issue, Helen begins a new life as an office nurse and promptly falls in love with her handsome and demanding boss, Dr. Brian Clark (who haughtily informs her that working for him involves more than "seeing that nice old ladies take their pills on time").
So what if he becomes engaged to an aggressive businesswoman; he soon realizes their lifestyles aren't compatible--he's dedicated to saving lives; she's dedicated to making money--and noble Helen has been waiting patiently on the sidelines for him to come to his senses.
Helen also has a chance to stray, as she nearly confuses pity with love when she meets a handsome Hungarian pianist whose irreparably damaged hand keeps him from pursuing his musical career--but she manages both to lift him out of his depression and to remain true to her Brian. The last we see of Nurse Helen Grant and her romances, she's happily setting off on a date with the doctor of her dreams.
The issue also included another non-Helen romantic story, about a newlywed wife who learns that she needs to share her husband's interests if she expects to keep him, and--in a more "feminist" vein--a text story about a girl who isn't getting anywhere with men till she learns to stop suppressing her opinons and speak up.
Cover illustration from The Romances of Helen Grant, issue no. 1, August 1957, copyright © 1957, Vista Publications.
Information on issue numbers and dates comes from The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, 27th edition, 1997.
Copyright © 1996-2003. All rights reserved.
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