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  • Call the Midwife

  • A True Story of the East End in the 1950s
  • By: Jennifer Worth
  • Narrated by: Stephanie Cole
  • Length: 4 hrs and 36 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (76 ratings)

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Call the Midwife cover art

Call the Midwife

By: Jennifer Worth
Narrated by: Stephanie Cole
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Publisher's Summary

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.

©2007 Jennifer Worth (P)2008 Orion Publishing Group

What listeners say about Call the Midwife

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Excellent

Beautiful story and wonderful narration. The book the first TV series Call the Midwife was based on.

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2 people found this helpful

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beautiful

i absolutely loved this story, Jennifer Worth is a fantastic author whose insights into the East End are amazing and make you feel as if you are their with her.

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1 person found this helpful

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Amazing!!!!

I loved the TV series but this even better than the drama. Can't wait to start the next book.

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I wish I could have met Jennifer Worth!

Mrs Worth's stories of midwifery in the East End of London in the late 1950s are fascinating! If you enjoyed watching the TV series, Call the Midwife, you'll enjoy listening to this. Just note that it is written as a non-fiction memoir, not a television drama.

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Call the midwife

This is an utterly enthralling account of a nunnery in the East End slums of London , which trained and provided a midwifery service, to the women of that region.
They arrived on bicycle to administer to women in labour. The insights thus gained into life at that period are recorded here.

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Very enjoyable

Loved it. A really interesting insight into that era and what life would have been like.
Warning..Does not hide terminology around female anatomy if you get easily offended.

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Better than the show!

I feel so much closer to the characters I fell in love with from the show. Beautifully narrated honest, strong, raw and kind.
So getcha selff a cuppa tea luv and listen to a good yarn.
Dats da way.
😘

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Loved it!

I loved reading this story. It opened my eyes to what life was like. I'm glad I gave birth when I did!

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True Nightingales

I think this is the quickest I have finished a book. Easy to follow. Easy to understand. But not at all boring.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Simple stories told with heart.

What a wonderful insight into women and family life in the 1950's. Stories ranged from sad & tragic to happy and full of joy and all told with a whimsy that kept the stories real in the readers mind.

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