Jennifer Worth: Call The Midwife, Kartoniert / Broschiert

Short description

Jennifer Worth came from a sheltered background when she became a midwife in the Docklands in the 1950s. The conditions in which many women gave birth just half a century ago were horrifying, not only because of their grimly impoverished surroundings, but also because of what they were expected to endure. But while Jennifer witnessed brutality and tragedy, she also met with amazing kindness and understanding, tempered by a great deal of Cockney humour. She also earned the confidences of some whose lives were truly stranger, more poignant and more terrifying than could ever be recounted in fiction. Attached to an order of nuns who had been working in the slums since the 1870s, Jennifer tells the story not only of the women she treated, but also of the community of nuns (including one who was accused of stealing jewels from Hatton Garden) and the camaraderie of the midwives with whom she trained. Funny, disturbing and incredibly moving, Jennifer's stories bring to life the colourful world of the East End in the 1950s.

Blurb

'Unforgettable' GUARDIAN

'Poignant, funny and enlightening' DAILY EXPRESS

'Gripping, moving and convincing from beginning to end . . . a powerful evocation of a long-gone world' LITERARY REVIEW

THE BESTSELLING BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE AWARD-WINNING BBC TV SERIES

In this extraordinary account of life as midwife in 1950s London, Jennifer Worth recounts her experiences - and those of the women she helped - in all their stark, colourful and at times shocking reality.

Life in London's East End in the 1950s was tough. The brothels of Cable Street, the Kray brothers and gang warfare, the meths drinkers in the bomb sites - this was the world that Jennifer Worth entered when she became a midwife at the age of twenty-two. Babies were born in slum conditions, often with no running water.

In Call the Midwife , Worth describes the romance and beauty of London as well as the bug-infested tenements, the spectre of disease, the sense of community and the incredible resilience of women who often bore more than ten children. Funny and moving, it brings to life a world that has now changed beyond measure.

'Superbly moving but also witty' CLOSER

'The characters . . . stay with you for a long time' WOMAN MAGAZINE