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Call The Midwife: A True Story Of The East End In The 1950S
 
 

Call The Midwife: A True Story Of The East End In The 1950S [Kindle Edition]

Jennifer Worth
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (574 customer reviews)

Print List Price: £7.99
Kindle Price: £3.66 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: £4.33 (54%)
* Unlike print books, digital books are subject to VAT.



Product Description

Review

Worth's books are full of fascinating social history: about living conditions in east London, the scale of poverty and violence, the realities of postwar medicine and the workhouse (NEW STATESMAN )

Book Description

A fascinating slice of social history - Jennifer Worth's tales of being a midwife in 1950s London, now a major BBC TV series.

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 621 KB
  • Print Length: 353 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0143123254
  • Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (14 May 2009)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B002UP1SX6
  • Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (574 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #765 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
258 of 269 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Call the Midwife - a salutory experience 27 Feb 2003
Format:Paperback
'Call the Midwife' is a most extraordinary book and should be required reading of all students of midwifery, nursing, sociology and modern history. It tells of the experiences of a young trainee midwife in the East End of London in the 1950's and is a graphic portrayal of the quite appalling conditions that the East Enders endured. Some of the stories told by the author are so distressing that I have lost sleep over them and I find myself longing to know what ultimately became of Mary, the young Irish girl imprisoned for stealing a baby (her own baby having been removed from her when the nuns caring for her were unable to place her in a job that would allow her to keep her child). What happened to Mary's daughter? By my reckoning she should be a woman in her 50's now - was she ever told that she was adopted, that she had been removed from her adoring mother without Mary's consent? I have had nightmares too about the two little boys sheltering behind a chair to escape the violence of their mother's partner; what became of them, did they go on to inflict the same brutality on their own children? As a graduate of Modern History (and student midwife), I thought I knew a good deal about recent British history. How very wrong I was. This book gave me much pause for thought: the heroism of the nursing order of nuns that Jennifer Worth worked with; the courage of Jennifer Worth and her colleagues in delivering babies in the most appalling conditions; the survival instinct of the East End women - it was a complete eye-opener. Oh, that those who pursue financial gains through our litigious culture could read this book - huge families living without the basics of sanitation or even roofs (tarpaulins providing their shelter), Conchita and her 25 pregnancies. I await Jennifer Worth's promised follow-up with great anticipation - my only observation being that she needs to let us know what became of her 'heroes' and 'heroines' - did Conchita live to a ripe old age, did Mary ever escape the clutches of prostitution once released from prison? Come on Jennfer, please tell us. And congratulations on an incredible book - this student midwife looks in awe upon your skills, your courage, your ability to deliver a baby in the most desperate circumstances. And I salute the women of the 1950s East End.
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52 of 54 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Atmospheric and utterly absorbing 25 Jan 2012
By Jordan
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I purchased this book after watching the first two episodes in the BBC adaptation of Call the Midwife and I have to say that I found the book even better than the TV series. The author writes with a great depth of knowledge and warmth about a world of poverty and deprivation into which she stepped in the 1950's. The descriptions of London's east end are descriptive and at times shocking to the modern reader. This is a fascinating memoir with some great characters. Loved it!
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83 of 87 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating history of birth and East End 4 Sep 2002
By H
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the only book of its knid I have even heard of, let alone read. It's a true account of birth and babies in the East End of London in the 50s. Poverty and squalor were common, and there was very little ante or post-natal care. Midwives supervised home births by arriving on bikes, somethimes throught thick smog. I loved this book, which reads like fiction but is true. Anyone who has ever had anything to do with a baby being born - particularly mothers - or anyone who fancies an interesting slant on history should read this. She writes in a chatty, informal style and I could not put it down.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it
This was bought as a present and I wasn't wildly excited about reading it. But I picked it up one day and found the book absolutely wonderful. Read more
Published 11 hours ago by L. Sims Robinson
5.0 out of 5 stars Humorous and harrowing social revelation
Having enjoyed the TV series, I borrowed the book from a friend and found that I could not put it down. Read more
Published 4 days ago by J. Chipchase
4.0 out of 5 stars excellent
I have really enjoyed this book. and would most definitely recommend to everyone i enjoyed the programme series on tv but the book was better.
Published 5 days ago by Dawn
5.0 out of 5 stars Call the Midwife
Jennifer Worth iwas not only a brilliant nurse but she
knew how to write well about her subject
Excellent read. What a pity she died before becoming a megastar
Published 6 days ago by floydfan
5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down
A truly wonderful book exploring life, death and God. A glimpse into a world where people join together in hardship and love, through the most painful, surprising yet beautiful... Read more
Published 6 days ago by Alice Ridley
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
I bought the book for the wife, it kept her quite for hours, need I say more, joking apart I cant wait till she has read it so I can have a read
Published 6 days ago by telboy
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good adaptation.
Watched the TV series, which I totally loved, so I had to read the book it is based on. Brilliant. Extremely close to the TV series, very good adaptation, have not altered story... Read more
Published 6 days ago by errin
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Love taking a look back at the past. Easy reading as it's each chapter is almost a story in it's self.
Published 8 days ago by K. Cowie
5.0 out of 5 stars Jindzy
Call the Midwife has to be one of the best series I have seen. Now that ths book is out it helps to relive and see everything as it was. I absolutely love it!!
Published 8 days ago by Jindzy
4.0 out of 5 stars memories
life in the late fifties when I was growing up happy days peaceful and quiet no hustle time for everyone and everything.
Published 9 days ago by WODSTOK68
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