Adeline McElfresh

Adeline McElfresh (May 28, 1918 – 2015) was an American writer, journalist, and author of mystery, romance, and childhood and youth literature. She also signed her works under the pseudonyms Jennifer Blair, John Cleveland, Jane Scott, and Elizabeth Wesley.

Elizabeth Adeline McElfresh was born May 28, 1918, in Knox County, Indiana, the daughter of John Cleveland and Martha Jane Kelso McElfresh.

Between 1936 and 1942, she worked as a proofreader for Sun-Commercial newspaper in Vincennes, Indiana. She then worked as a reporter for Daily News newspaper in Troy, Ohio, for a year, before returning to Sun-Commercial as an editor of women's pages and feature editor from 1943 to 1956.

In 1956, McElfresh resigned from her post to devote herself to writing. She was a self-employed writer from 1956 to 1965. From 1966 to 1968, she served as a director of public relations at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, Indiana, after which she returned to writing full-time.

From 1973 to 1983, she was appointed member of the editorial board at Sun-Commercial.

McElfresh began her literary career with detective and romance novels between 1949 and 1956. She then abandoned the detective genre and only returned to it in the 1970s, under the pseudonym "Jennifer Blair." She is perhaps best known for her romance novels in a medical setting, a pretext for the narration of romance between doctors and nurses.

Jane Romance Series

• Doctor Jane (1954)
• Calling Doctor Jane (1957)
• Dr. Jane's Mission (1958)
• Dr. Jane Comes Home (1959)
• Dr. Jane's Choice (1963)

Jill Nolan Series

• Jill Nolan, R. N. (1962)
• Jill Nolan, Surgical Nurse (1962)
• Jill Nolan's Choice (1963)
• Nurse Nolan's Private Duty (1966)

Novels

• My Heart Went Dead (1949)
• Murder with Roses (1950)
• Keep Back the Dark (1951)
• Charlotte Wade (1952)
• Homecoming (1953)
• Minus One Corpse (1954) (as by John Cleveland)
• Ann and the Hoosier doctor (1955)
• Ann Foster, Lab Technician (1956) (as by Elizabeth Wesley)
• Barbara Owen, Girl Reporter (1956) (as by Jane Scott)
• Kay Rogers, Copy Writer (1956) (as by Jane Scott)
• Nurse Kathy (1956)
• Sharon James Free-Lance Photographer (1956) (as by Elizabeth Wesley)
• Shattered Halo (1956)
• Nora Meade, M. D. (1957) (as by Elizabeth Wesley)
• Polly's Summer Stock (1957) (as by Elizabeth Wesley)
• Young Doctor Randall (1957)
• Career for Jenny (1958)
• Doctor Barbara (1958) (as by Elizabeth Wesley)
• Nurse Judy (1958) (as by Elizabeth Wesley)
• Hill Country Nurse (1959)
• Jane Ryan, Dietician (1959) (as by Elizabeth Wesley)
• Kay Manion, M.D. (1959)
• Nurse Nancy (1959) (as by Jane Scott)
• Team-up for Ann (1959)
• Ann Kenyon: Surgeon (1960)
• Doctor Dee (1960) (as by Elizabeth Wesley)
• A Nurse for Rebels' Run (1960) (as by Jane Scott)
• Wings for Nurse Bennett (1960)
• Hospital Hill (1961)
• Night Call (1961)
• Romantic Assignment (1961)
• To Each Her Dream (1961)
• Doctor Dee's Choice (1962) (as by Elizabeth Wesley)
• Jeff Benton, M.D. (1962)
• Challenge for Dr. Jane (1963)
• Dr. Dorothy's Choice (1963) (as by Elizabeth Wesley)
• The Magic of Dr. Farrar (1965)
• Dr. Jane, Intern (1966)
• New Nurse At Dorn Memorial (1969)
• Nurse for Mercy's Mission (1969)
• The Two Loves of Nurse Ellen (1969)
• Assignment in the Islands (1970) (as by Jennifer Blair)
• Nurse in Yucatan (1970)
• A New Love for Cynthia (1971) (as by Jane Scott)
• Skye Manor (1971) (as by Jennifer Blair)
• Doctor for Blue Hollow (1971)
• Ellen Randolph, R.N (1971)
• Flight Nurse (1971)
• Nurse Anne (1971)
• Danger At Olduvai (1972) (as by Jennifer Blair)
• The Patient in 711 (1972) (as by Elizabeth Wesley)
• Evil Island (1974) (as by Jennifer Blair)
• Dangerous Assignment (1975) (as by Jennifer Blair)
• Kanesbrake (1975) (as by Jennifer Blair)
• The Long Shadow (1976) (as by Jennifer Blair)
• To Last a Lifetime (1977) (as by Jennifer Blair)
• Safe Harbor (1977) (as by Jennifer Blair)
• If Dreams Were Wild Horses (1988)
• Sycamore Point (1990)
• Crane's Mountain (1990)

McElfresh died in 2015 at the age of 96.