Fascinating book about the author's life as a midwife and district nurse in 1950s east London. Through the stories of the people she meets, she draws a vivid picture of life in east London from the 1890s onwards. I found the stories about the workhouses particularly compelling, putting an historical complexion on current debates about "the undeserving poor" and cultures of worklessness. Genuinely moving, informative and humorous in places. Written with a light touch but encompassing some heavy s...

Excellent. I feel I learned so much through listening to this book! I would warn the reader (especially those listening to audio) that there are some very graphic descriptions in this particular book. I only say that because for the most part I find the tv adaption to be very friendly to younger audiences when watched with an adult to help educate and explain history as well as normal birth. However, there are topics that would be quite inappropriate for a young person to read/hear, particularly...

I am on the third book of this trilogy and regretting that it will soon be over. Doing this on audible and the reader is spectacular. The narratives are sweet, informative and interesting, especially if you like social history and medicine. The characters are well developed and enchanting. I was very pleased to learn that, in fact, these are memoirs and not fiction. I have learned to appreciate the progress we have made as women kind and in the health care of mothers and babies. These nurses and...

I enjoy watching this series on PBS and I also really enjoyed reading this book. It was very interesting and captured 1950's life in the East End of London. Nursing has come a long way but what has not changed is the dedication and the commitment of nurses to their patients. Life in poverty is difficult and the squalid conditions are deplorable yet families survive and thrive in this environment because of the support they receive from each other and others in their very closely knit communities...

This was by far the BEST book I've read this year. Actually it is three books in one because it is a trilogy . I recommend this book to everyone. However, it is not for the feint at heart because gives explicit details of child birthing in the 1950's , abortions and other ailments of the time.

A wonderful book! A really gritty account of life in the poorest part of London, and full of emotion. Definitely a book I will keep. Worth reading alone for the social history aspect. Excellent TV adaptation, and this book fills in the gaps!

Really interesting account of life in the post 2nd world war years in the east end of London. The book is narrated by the author who was a nurse and midwife at the time. It is jam packed with annecdotes and stories of the heroes and villians of the day as well as the midwifery and birth accounts you'd expect. The characters jump out of the pages and you feel like you know them all and care about them. I did not expect to enjoy the book so much as it is not my genre or area of interest, but enjoy...

Based on the true stories from the author's experience as a midwife in London in the 1950s, this book is at times tragic and heartbreaking, but full of hope and very inspiring. Mostly, it made me very grateful for the ease and comfort of my own life. I couldn't put it down.

After finishing this trilogy, you come to realize how all nations were built on the backs of the impoverished and the institutions that bound them in one form or another. The socio-economic conditions of the 1950’s were not just merely the background to Dickensian novels but reflections of the abhorring state of affairs whereby fellow beings were forced to adapt…or perish.Yet, despite the extremity of the circumstances surrounding many of the stories, Jennifer Worth champions the voices of those...

3.5/5 - overallCall the Midwife (#1): 3.5/5Shadows of the Workhouse (#2): 3/5Farewell to the East End (#3): 4/5

I picked this audiobook up at the library after watching the PBS series.These are the dramatic, riveting memoirs of Jennifer Worth's years as a midwife in the 1950s East End of London. Not for the tame, though. Worth is graphic in her tales, some of the stories are heartbreaking, while others are uplifting. The poverty and disease suffered by the people is so sad. It is wonderful to know there were people such as Worth and the nuns to help.

This is a good book, i stopped reading it though because I have been watching the series on netflix and it correlates well to the book and I felt like i had already read it. I would recommend it though, it is a very interesting memoir of a midwife in 1950's England.

assuming this is the 1st of the trilogy (call the midwife). true story of midwife in the east end in the 50s. liked it

I kept coming back to this, started in the middle of lambing so never had chance to really sit down with it until recently. So full of character, heartache and charm. More than a few of the stories broke my heart and many made me smile. A perfect read and a very real catalogue of the 1950’s east end.

A collected edition of three books about midwifery and district nursing in the 1950s: Call The Midwife, In the Shadow of the Workhouse, and Farewell to the East End. Educational and a slice of history, but Worth's ability to convey emotion elevates her stories to another level. The reader really feels for the people she talks about, she's excellent at capturing the moment and empathy, and in the stranger than fiction tales she delivers the human and the real. As someone who came to this after se...

This book is actually three books in one - telling tales about life in the East End of London from the point of view of a trainee midwife in the 1950's. They are true stories and they are all absolutely captivating. The genuine warmth of the author shines through on every page. I was riveted. The events in the book took part just 60 years ago and yet so much has changed since then - especially for women. I recommend this book for women of all ages. You will learn lots and feel proud to be part o...

I read call the midwife which was great but bought this book thinking it was different as it didn't state that there were three story's so now I'm reading shadows of a workhouse and just as the first book is great worth goes into great detail about life in the fifths and I was gutted when call the midwife had finished.she's a great writer

Quite engrossing both for its coverage of medical history but also the social history of the time. Not for the squeamish. The portrayals of everyday life in the East End of London from the late 19th C up to mid 20th C make riveting reading - I had a lot of late nights as I couldn't put it down.

Frankly, I wasn't so sure about this book beforehand. I'm not especially interested in 1950's London life, nor do I have a distinct affiliation with nursing or midwifery. Somewhat relunctantly I started reading, thinking I'd just give it a go, and I'm very glad that I did.It wasn't even that I was always excited to pick Tales from a Midwife up again, but whenever I did, Jennifer Worth found a way to my heart. I don't often feel strong emotions while reading, let alone cry, but this book made me

this is, without doubt, one of the best books that I have ever read. Jennifer documents the lives and times of the poor people of London's East End in the '50s, which historically is not that long ago.I have found myself absorbed in this book from the 1st page to the last, and I am so pleased that I waited to read the Trilogy as I wouldn't have been able to wait in between books.Jennifer's memoir says more for the Social Science of that time and place than many sociology textbooks have attempted...