The sequel to Jennifer Worth’s New York Times bestselling memoir and the basis for the PBS series Call the Midwife
When twenty-two-year-old Jennifer Worth, from a comfortable middle-class upbringing, went to work as a midwife in the direst section of postwar London, she not only delivered hundreds of babies and touched many lives, she also became the neighborhood’s most vivid chronicler. Woven … neighborhood’s most vivid chronicler. Woven into the ongoing tales of her life in the East End are the true stories of the people Worth met who grew up in the dreaded workhouse, a Dickensian institution that limped on into the middle of the twentieth century.
Orphaned brother and sister Peggy and Frank lived in the workhouse until Frank got free and returned to rescue his sister. Bubbly Jane’s spirit was broken by the cruelty of the workhouse master until she found kindness and romance years later at Nonnatus House. Mr. Collett, a Boer War veteran, lost his family in the two world wars and died in the workhouse.
Though these are stories of unimaginable hardship, what shines through each is the resilience of the human spirit and the strength, courage, and humor of people determined to build a future for themselves against the odds. This is an enduring work of literary nonfiction, at once a warmhearted coming-of-age story and a startling look at people’s lives in the poorest section of postwar London.
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excellent
If you like true, historic and honest life stories, I think this is a superb book.
*Disclaimer: we lived in the U.K. from 1974-1985, in both ENGLAND AND Scotland and both of our daughter’ were delivered by midwives under the auspices of the NHS (National Health System). I highly recommend learning more about it!
So, if you like history, and specifically, interesting and well-written accounts of post-WWW II England (circa 1945-1965), centered around the specific work/calling of a group of midwives, this is a book for you. It’s a journal, actually, about the , lives of a diverse group of dedicated Anglican nuns who are also midwives
perhaps an easier way to approach this book’s subject matter would be to think of it as a novel or a movie. It’s that good.! Encompassing a wide range of personalities, from gruff old girl’s, raised in poverty, who can handle any emergency, speak th and peel varnish off a wall, to more highly educated, compassionate and wise leaders, and others just finding their way in life and in a strange new era. This was a group of highly trained, intelligent and articulate professional women. In addition to their case load of patients (mothers, babies, children and pregnant women) they also served as a training site for a very diverse group of younger public health nurses, newly trained midwives, and acted as liaisons with the local doctors. As such, they were at the forefront of Britain’s move to socialized medicine, after WWII , providing public health for everyone, and making women’s pre-and-post-natal care available to everyone. If that interests you, you’ll probably like this book.
If you like books about the early days of community organization, or about people who are vitally concerned about their local communities and willing to go the extra mile, and/or to change themselves, personally, and be able to work with others, then you can’t find a better book. (Some of it, well — a chunk of it is God-centered. I mean, they ARE nuns. That said they are also very human and wonderfully flawed, so it’s also about doubt, fear and every other human emotion you can name.
The book examines, with great compassion, all those human weaknesses we tend to hide and label as “sin,” when in reality they are the same fearful, embarrassed response that humans have used since supposedly hiding from God in the garden after eating forbidden fruit. So frankly, even if you aren’t big on ‘faith” or “Church” or any of that so-called “hocus-pocus, God-stuff,” you may either find yourself pleasantly surprised by this read to further convinced it’s all hooey. if so, you can skip those parts. The history of that era and the incredible work these women did, given the conditions in society and the poverty of the dock area in post-WW II Britain may just be impressive enough to make you reconsider some of your of your long-held prejudices/opinions.
Delightful to read. Informative & inspirational & charming. Love the wonderful characters & clear depictions of real life situations. Well researched. Historically accurate. Outstanding “voice.”
A good example of working people in the 50’s in England.
Sad to read about the conditions faced and the tragedy of being sent to the workhouse for invalid reasons.
Watched the series on t.v. i loved it. On the 3rd book now. It tells you so much more. I have learned so much about how life was back then.
Fantastic book, no wonder it was made into a PBS series…
Excellent! I bought 5 years of the series CDs. So realistic.
A gread read.
A heart breaking read.
great read, though parts are sad. Some characters I understood better that I did not get from the show
Love the compassion
This true based story was different. I enjoyed it and learned a lot t o keep my interest up.
love the books
Love this book. Great characters and a view into a different world!
Loved the book
Love it.
a very real picture of the times and the people
If you love the series, the book will add to your enjoyment. If you haven’t seen the tv series this will take you to a place you didn’t know and characters you’ll love.
Caring and compassion on an everyday basis. Thank goodness health care is so advanced now, but that personal touch shown in the book is sadly missed.