Jennifer Worth

Originally published: Twickenham: Merton, 2005.

Shadows of the Workhouse

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.

Call the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse

Astor Reinhardt

Sterling Newman

Lola

In the follow up to her bestselling Call the Midwide, Jennifer Worth tells the true stories of the people she met. There's Peggy and Frank, who were separated in the workhouse when their parents died. Until Frank's strength and determination enabled him to make a home for his sister. Jane was a bright, lively child, whose spirit was broken by cruelty, until she found kindness and love later in life. Then there is the matchmaking nun, Sister Julienne, and Sister Monica Joan, who ends up in the High Court...

Shadows of the Workhouse

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