Shadows of the Workhouse - Softcover

Worth, Jennifer

4.16

25,257 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1407228056 ISBN 13: 9781407228051

Publisher: Orion, 2009

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In the 1950s, Jennifer Worth was a district midwife in East London. She worked with an order of nursing nuns, learning how to cope with midwifery in slum conditions. In the course of her training she met many interesting characters, whose stories are told in this book. When the workhouses of Britain officially closed in 1930, there was nowhere for inmates to go. So workhouses merely changed their names and carried on much the same as before. The conditions, rules and lifestyle that continued to be endured by the residents cast their shadows and shame over most of the last century. From the tragic history of dithering Jane, to the larger than life Sister Monica Joan, "the naughtiest old lady" the author had ever met, this is a collection of fascinating lives.

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From the Back Cover:

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 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.

About the Author:

Jennifer Worth trained as a nurse at the Royal Berk-shire Hospital in Reading, and was later ward sister at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in London, then the Marie Curie Hospital, also in London. Music had always been her passion, and in 1973 she left nursing in order to study music intensively, teaching piano and singing for about twenty-five years. Jennifer died in May 2011 after a short illness, leaving her husband, Philip; two daughters; and three grandchildren. Her books have all been bestsellers in England.

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