Betty Behrens

Catherine Betty Abigail Behrens (24 April 1904 – 1989), known as Betty Behrens and published as C. B. A. Behrens, was a British historian and academic. Her early interests included Henry VIII, Charles II, and the early modern period of English history, with her later research focused on the Ancien Régime (the Kingdom of France from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution). She was elected a Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge in 1935, and moved to become a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge after the publication of The Ancien Régime (1967). She "achieved an international reputation" with The Ancien Régime, with reviews describing it as "remarkable and absorbing" and "a lively, thought-provoking essay in historical revision".

Behrens was born on 24 April 1904 in London, England. Her father was Noel Edward Behrens (1879–1967), a Jewish civil servant and banker who had inherited a large amount of money from his father. Her mother was Vivien Behrens (1880–1961), the daughter of Sir Cecil Coward, was a Christian. She was educated at home by a series of governesses and never attended school. She spoke French and English from an early age and later added German.

In 1923, Behrens matriculated into Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford to study modern history. She graduated in 1926 with a first class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. She was awarded a Commonwealth Fellowship to Radcliffe College, a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, in 1928.

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