Call the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse

by Jennifer Worth Narrated by Nicola Barber

Overview

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 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.

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.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Barber delivers all the author’s compassion, frustration, and humor in a genuine, convincing manner. . . . A moving and memorable account of a special time and place.”
—AudioFile

“The quality and pacing of the audio is excellent. The narrator, Nicola Barber, is a perfect match for the memoir and vividly recounts the hardships and poverty that Worth encountered during that time.”
—Library Journal

Library Journal - Audio

05/01/2014
This memoir is one of three in which Worth (Call the Midwife; Farewell to the East End) recounts her experiences as a midwife in London's East End in the 1950s. They were recently adapted for a BBC television series, Call the Midwife (now in its third season). The quality and pacing of the audio is excellent. The narrator, Nicola Barber, is a perfect match for the memoir and vividly recounts the hardships and poverty that Worth encountered during that time. The stories are not all about pregnancy and childbirth but also depict a poor community with a sense of family and caring. VERDICT Excellent for all public libraries.—Michele Lauer-Bader, Half Hollow Hills Community Lib., Dix Hills, NY

MAY 2014 - AudioFile

Nicola Barber's rich English accent captivates from the opening lines of Worth’s second memoir of life in London's slums just after WWII. Listeners familiar with the popular PBS series of the same name will recognize people and events—and with plenty of extra detail, this audiobook offers wide appeal to newcomers as well. Barber delivers all the author's compassion, frustration, and humor in a genuine, convincing manner. She effectively differentiates characters through shifts in diction and tone, a highlight being her delivery of the Cockney speech unique to this area. There’s less about midwifery here than in the televised version,but this is still a moving and memorable account of a special time and place. M.O.B. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170070589
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	02/04/2014
Series:	Call the Midwife , #2
Edition description:	Unabridged

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