Two-step kinetic crystallization processes from the glass-like disordered state of N-(4-nitrophenyl)-(L)-prolinol have been found during the monitoring of the time evolution of dielectric strength and these are discussed within steady state theory. The dynamics of structure relaxation in the disordered state have been investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy. The temperature dependence of the relaxation times is described by the Vogel-Fulcher equation with an anomalous pre-exponential parameter. The anomaly is discussed within the framework of the two-order parameter model of glass formation proposed by H Tanaka (1999 J. Chem. Phys. 111 3163; 1998 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 10 L207).