Great stories about the lost world of London’s East End in the 50s before the slum clearances when community was all-important and no one locked their doors. Jennifer Worth, attached to an order of nuns, was the midwife.
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.
'this delightful memoir brings to vivid life London's East End... full of humour... Worth's talent shines from every page.' SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE
'Worth is indeed a natural storyteller... gripping, moving and convincing from beginning to end a powerful evocation of a long-gone world ' LITERARY REVIEW
'Funny, disturbing and incredibly moving, 'Call the Midwife' opens a window onto the fascinating and colourful world of the East End in the 1950s.' MATURE TIMES
Author
About Jennifer Worth
Jennifer Worth was a nurse, midwife, ward sister and night sister from 1953 until 1973. Her Call the Midwife trilogy comprises Call the Midwife, first published by W&N in 2007, as well as Shadow of the Workhouse and Farewell to the East End. The books were based on Worth's experiences as a midwife in London's East End in the 1950s, and have sold almost a million copies in the UK, according to the publisher.
Call the Midwife has been made into a major television series for the BBC, produced by Neal Street Productions and scripted by Heidi Thomas, who also wrote the screenplay for "Cranford". The series runs for 6 weeks from 15th January 2012.
Jennifer Worth died on 31st May 2011 and is survived by her husband Philip Worth, their two daughters and three grandchildren.
