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Shadows Of The Workhouse: The Drama Of Life In Postwar London (Paperback)

by Jennifer Worth (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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Shadows Of The Workhouse: The Drama Of Life In Postwar London + Call The Midwife: A True Story Of The East End In The 1950s + Farewell To The East End: The Last Days of the East End Midwives
Price For All Three: £11.92

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Product details

  • Paperback: 312 pages
  • Publisher: Phoenix; Paperback edition (22 Jan 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0753825856
  • ISBN-13: 978-0753825853
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 795 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #5 in  Books > History > Cultural History > London
    #5 in  Books > Biography > Historical > Social & Urban History
    #9 in  Books > Biography > Historical > 1901 Onwards

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Product Description

Review

"There's sadness, suffering, humour, strength and survival in this fascinating book" (SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE )

"a heartfelt, moving, witty book that vividly depicts this lost world with all its vicissitudes and its many joys" (GOOD BOOK GUIDE )


Product Description

In this follow up to CALL THE MIDWIFE, Jennifer Worth, a midwife working in the docklands area of East London in the 1950s tells more stories about the people she encountered. There's Jane, who cleaned and generally helped out at Nonnatus House - she was taken to the workhouse as a baby and was allegedly the illegitimate daughter of an aristocrat. Peggy and Frank's parents both died within 6 months of each other and the children were left destitute. At the time, there was no other option for them but the workhouse. The Reverend Thornton-Appleby-Thorton, a missionary in Africa, visits the Nonnatus nuns and Sister Julienne acts as matchmaker. And Sister Monica Joan, the eccentric ninety-year-old nun, is accused of shoplifting some small items from the local market. She is let off with a warning, but then Jennifer finds stolen jewels from Hatton Garden in the nun's room. These stories give a fascinating insight into the lives of the poor in 1950s London, of the shadow of the workhouse that always hung over their lives but also of the resilience and spirit that enabled ordinary people to overcome their difficulties.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Shadows Of The Workhouse: The Drama Of Life In Postwar London
82% buy the item featured on this page:
Shadows Of The Workhouse: The Drama Of Life In Postwar London 4.2 out of 5 stars (18)
£3.91
Call The Midwife: A True Story Of The East End In The 1950s
9% buy
Call The Midwife: A True Story Of The East End In The 1950s 4.7 out of 5 stars (70)
£4.17
Farewell To The East End: The Last Days of the East End Midwives
5% buy
Farewell To The East End: The Last Days of the East End Midwives 3.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£3.84
Shadows Of The Workhouse: The Drama Of Life In Postwar London
2% buy
Shadows Of The Workhouse: The Drama Of Life In Postwar London 4.5 out of 5 stars (13)
£9.07
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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
5 star:
 (11)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as I thought it would be, 22 Feb 2009
By L. Mellor (Brighton, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
After reading Call the Midwife and aboslutely LOVING it, I couldn't wait to get hold of this book. THe book is split into three segments, each telling three different stories. I was really interested in the workhouse aspect, and found the first segment enthralling and couldn't stop reading. However, the following two segments didn't relaly ahve much to do with workhouses and, whilst they were interesting in their own ways, they weren't as gripping as the first segment and in a way felt like they had been shoved in to make up the pages. I was left feeling disappointed after finishing this book, as it wasn't as good as I thought it would be.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Can't put it down, 30 Jan 2009
By S. Moore "sideshowsusie" (Wales, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Couldn't wait for the arrival of this paperback after reading Call the Midwife. Got it yesterday and it's living up to all expectations. I forced myself to shut off the light way after midnight but can't wait to get back into it. Three chapters in and it's compelling albeit brutal. Jennifer Worth is such a good storyteller and as a fellow midwife I recommend this book as essential reading - even if you're not a lover of social history. Thanks Jennifer.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Moving Book, 15 Mar 2009
Once again Jennifer Worth has achieved an amazing feat in vividly bringing alive the London of the 1950s, and how the lives of so many individuals was still wrapped up in the shadows of the workhouse which had been abolished some thirty years before.

Unlike her first book, we do not meet so many different characters this time or have so many stories. Instead, the book is divided into three parts. The first deals with a middle aged woman called Jane and a grown up brother and sister whose friendship was forged under the crushing and brutal atmosphere of the workhouse over forty years before. The second is a more light hearted section, almost comedy relief, with the trial of an elderly nun for theft. The final section I found most moving, and it brought tears to my eyes. It tells the moving story of her friendship with an elderly man, and reminds us all that just being there to listen to someone can transform their lives in more ways than we can hope for.

In reading this book, you cannot fail to admire Jennifer Worth - that at such a young age, she must have been in her mid twenties at the times these events are recorded, she had so much compassion for the destitute, the elderly and lonely. This book also makes me admire the elderly man she befriends - who never sees his situation as belak and is grateful for the NHS and social housing, even though that housing is whiolly inadequate.

Jennifer Worth is a very talented writer, and in writing these memoirs she celebrates the life of the ordinary person and their suffering. So far I have found both her books very moving and cannot wait for the final volume.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars nostalgia
Like the other two books i didnt want to put it down. One minute you were crying the next having a good laugh . Read more
Published 7 days ago by Mrs. M. S. Daniel

5.0 out of 5 stars workhouse
Shadows of the workhouse was not what i expected. It is a very moving book about a midwife and her encounters with people from the east end of london. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Mrs. Elaine Marsh

5.0 out of 5 stars Shadows of the Workhouses
Having read Call the Midwife and read the intro to Shadows of the Workhouses, I was a bit dubious about reading this one as I thought it may be too sad/upsetting. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. Karen A. Tobin

2.0 out of 5 stars A weak sequel
Jennifer Worth's follow up to the brilliant Call the Midwife follows, in essence, three stories of east enders she came into contact with in her time as a midwife in Poplar, East... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Femmielala

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down
I read Shadows of the Workhouse and Call the Midwife in the wrong order, but nevertheless they are excellent books and it is easy to piece the stories together. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mrs. J. M. Ovens

5.0 out of 5 stars Shadow Of The Workhouse - brilliant!
Having found that one of my ancestors ended up in the workhouse, I found it quite revealing. I loved the way it was written and can't wait to receive the third book in this... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ginny Quinton

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written account of lives of the less fortunate in 1950's/60's Britain
Even better than 'Fetch the Midwife' in my opinion. This book details the hardships and setbacks ordinary people endured during the years of the late 1800's when poverty was... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mrs. D. Downs

4.0 out of 5 stars A shadow of "Call the Midwife"
I started this book almost immediately after finishing "Call the Midwife", which is one of the best books I have ever read. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mrs. S. Biddulph

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating stories told simply and evocatively
Some reviewers miss the point by criticising Jennifer Worth's supposed lack of focus on the workhouse. Read more
Published 6 months ago by A. J. Cox

1.0 out of 5 stars Tedious waste of time
The social history elements were interesting and a reminder of how the poor really suffered and how men bullied women. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jeff

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