Jennifer WorthAnmeldelser

Good, quick read. I've watched the series, so most of the stories were already familiar, just filled in with more detail. Pretty frank discussion of childbirth, etc. so heads up to anyone who is squeamish about ladyparts.

Jennifer Worth reflects back on her time, 50 years prior to writing, working as a nurse and midwife in the East End of London in the 1950s. In mostly episodic chapters (a few stories carry over a little longer), she describes the poverty and challenges but rich life to be found among the people she served.

Though the stories can be a bit uneven, Worth bring an immediacy to the time and place, particularly the docks in Poplar, where many families lived in condemned housing and the community was still deeply impacted by the second World War and the evil of the workhouses. It was, perhaps, a little unfair to the book that I'd watched the show based on it first and recently, because I couldn't help but compare and contrast in my head. Many of her stories stay the same or are only slightly more dramatized, though the order she writes them in is not followed, nor is it necessarily chronological in the book, either. Worth sometimes jumps around from one type of birth to another, and puts three times when a mother was concerned the baby might be Black when her husband was not in a row. And while Worth generally treats people with respect, attitude of the time about various ethnic backgrounds do come through in her writing. Some characters, such as Mary, Sister Evangelina, and Sister Monica Joan, get a lot of attention, while fellow midwife Trixie is barely mentioned and Cynthia only a little more so. Still, midwifery in general interests me, and Worth writes about the experience in loving and sometimes dramatic detail, as well as contrasting current and past practices in medicine, making for a fascinating memoir.

This kind of feels like the behind-the-scenes for a film. And it's a lot better than the sequel. Although any book that's been adapted into something like a film or TV series probably feels like a behind-the-scenes because they tend to fill in gaps and make things in the shortened adaptation version make sense, this is especially true in the case of "Call the Midwife" and I think the book suffers a bit for it. In my opinion, unless you've watched the TV series beforehand, you're getting a lesser experience. I think the book has some great additions when it develops side-characters who don't even get named in the series get stories, and characters you know get more development. But the writing is a bit clunky, and some characters are completely absent but for a name drop or, at worst, in the case of Chummy, ridicule by the author. I get it, the author wasn't a saint. But it's still disappointing to see that she felt the need to include what is at best a number of insults in regard to Chummy. Chummy isn't perfect either, but really? Really? The other nurses, outside of some vocal quirks and lines of dialogue, are largely absent. Maybe the show isn't the most originally written thing in the world, but it at least fleshed out the world around the protagonist outside Sister Monica Joan. And I could do without the internalized sexism. For all that the author clearly has an interest in analyzing the world around her and how it connects, and a deep sympathy for the marginalized and vulnerable, a large number of whom are women, and given that she realizes that she has some growing up and learning to do over the course of this journey, she has some deep-seated internalized sexism she never seems to deal with. And it's annoying at best.

I'm also really curious where she got all of her information. Some of it she explains, but some seem to come out of nowhere. I'm assuming she took meticulous notes and spent days or more with some of these people.

Overall, it's a nice addition if you like the show, and far more enjoyable than the sequel.

I liked this a little more than the previous books primarily because there are some great stories about Chummy in here.

I originally watched the TV series and read this afterward out of curiosity, and I feel very conflicted about the results. On the one hand, I enjoyed the episode where Sister Evangelina and Trixie board that ship and deliver the baby to the "ship's woman". It's funny and fun and I think it's one of Trixie's best episodes. I also think it has a better conclusion.

On the other hand, I feel robbed of an amazing Chummy episode. The story in the book is incredibly inspiring and just... well... it's great. I'm sad I never got to see that on-screen.

This book also contains the conclusions for the characters in the series, which was interesting and a bit depressing to read. Of course most (if not all) of the characters are dead; I understand how time works. On the hand, it was interesting to finally see where everyone ended up.

I still am not a big fan of these books. I think they provide an excellent look at the history of certain fields of medicine, various important things about different types of inequality, and the struggles of women for equal rights. I think they drag, are a bit dated, but are at least a nice companion to the TV series if you're a fan. Might find it hard to rewatch the show afterward, though, given all that was changed.

Kept my interest though topics I had no former interest in. Very enjoyable, easy read. More to follow ...

This is actually a re-read. Read this book first last year but had to rush it as there were quite a lot of reserves on it at the library.It is being turned into a drama series by the BBC so I wanted to refamiliarise myself with the characters. This is a very interesting book about midwifery in the 1950's and set in the East End of London. Some aspects of it are quite harrowing, particularly the chapters on Mary the Irish girl who gets drawn into prostituition. I really adored the Nuns in the book there were quite some characters. The East End characters are also very interesting. Makes me very glad that I had my children in the 1990's as some of the births seemed a bit scary.

3.5 stars. This was recommended to me by a friend who watches the TV show. It's more of a collection of short stories, and I found it a bit uneven. The author does a good job of pulling the reader into the setting (1950s East London). One story in particular is quite graphic, portraying scenes of a young girl being duped into a life of prostitution. I found that I appreciated some of the stories more than others. The last chapter, in which the author wraps up some of the lessons she's learned is particularly good.

Unlike the first Call the Midwife book, this one had just 3 main storylines. They were not directly related to midwifery, either (other than that the writer experienced them during the time she was a midwife). It was slower-paced than the first book, too. There were still some fascinating insights into East London life in the 1950s.

Loved the first two because they really enhanced PBS series. The third one was just okay for me as it offered more clinical info than I wanted.

This thoughtfully written memoir forms the basis for the fictionalized television series of the same name. Worth's experiences in one of London's poorest neighborhoods in the 1950s is full of laughter and tears as she describes her experiences.

This is the third of a trilogy of memoirs about life in London's East End in the 50's. The parts I liked the most were the anecdotes that directly related to the author, Jennifer Worth, and her time working as a midwife. The first book was the best in this respect.

This third book started and ended with the more personal anecdotes, but kind of meandered around with other people's stories in the middle. When she told a story that she had gotten second or third hand, she told it with intimate details as if she had been there. While it says something for her descriptive powers and imagination, these chapters felt out of place in a collection of memoirs.

One of my favorite things about this installment was that she let us know how everyone's lives turned out-Chummy and David, Cynthia, Trixie, and the beloved nuns at the convent. It was nice to read about where their lives went and how many of them stayed in touch with each other.

The chapter called The Captain's Daughter was a little too open-minded with its approach to the situation Chummy walked into. She was clearly the star of the piece, and it was when she started her relationship with David, so the story needed to be in there. But I felt offended by how the daughter was repeatedly described as "cheerful" and the men were characterized at being so concerned for her. I can't imagine someone whose father made her a prostitute for every man on his ship, including himself, when she was 14 and had just lost her mother as being cheerful about it. Delusional maybe, after years of it, but not happy. And as for the men who used her like a toy-I would bet their concern went as far as the concern they might have for a pet dog. I don't know what anyone could have done for the captain's daughter, especially since they left before Chummy could get back to check on the baby, but I would have liked the tone of this chapter to have more anger and sadness on the woman's behalf.

All three books are worth reading-Jennifer Worth was a great storyteller. I don't know if she had a photographic memory or simply kept a detailed diary, but she really brought the time and the people to life in these books.

Didn't enjoy it as much as Call the Midwife; there weren't any anecdotes about midwifery in this one. It's clear, though, that Jennifer Worth had a gift for listening to and remembering the stories of the people in her life, and she did a fine job of retelling them. As you can guess by the title, the subject matter was on the depressing side. The stories were gripping, but I'm hoping she gets back to tales of being in a midwife in the next book.

Fantastic. The subject matter and time period of this memoir are both fascinating, and there's a lot of heart in the writing. I'll definitely be reading the other two in Worth's autobiographical trilogy.

For fans of the show, it follows the book very closely. If you love the show, you'll love the book it's based on.

Worth recounts her time as a newly fledged midwife working with the midwifes and sisters at Nonnatus House in London. Their service area was near the docks and poor living areas where overcrowded housing abounded. Worth's recollections and musings are wonderfully vivid and heartwarming and I highly enjoyed this book - even if it did take me into some sad and almost gruesome situations at times. I highly recommend it - if you enjoy the show the book is much the same - fans of history and human centered storytelling will enjoy this one.

This is categorized as non-fiction/memoir. But I would have enjoyed it more if it had been told in a more true-to-memory fashion, without all the manufactured dialog that makes it feel so "ready for TV serialization".

I also would have liked just a little more backstory on the writer, the doomed relationship she occasionally alludes to, and how she got into nursing and midwifery. Not a ton of backstory, just a little. For the most part I appreciate her letting her own character recede into the background so often.

There is honesty in her multi-chapter remembrances of befriending an innocent Irish girl led into prostitution - she admits her interest bordered on voyeuristic. And the stealing of said girl's child to be put up for adoption in a good Catholic home was dealt with in a refreshingly open-eyed manner. The writer is righteously and rightfully indignant, but accepts that the real evil is that there is no other course available.

Somehow the story of the non-English-speaking Spanish lady who prematurely gave birth to her 25th child (yeah, right...) made me feel ticked off. A one-pound baby and she raises it to at least six pounds (we only assume he lived a full life - her story ends when he is six pounds) simply by swaddling him close to her and feeding him colostrum and milk drop by drop. Hell, why do we have NICU's, after all? What a waste, when it's so easy! I don't know why this story out of all the stories in the book annoyed me the most, but I just wanted to smack that woman when she refused to let go of her one-pound baby. I knew he would survive, given the type of book this is and how the story was set up, but I wished the poor infant ill, through no fault of his own.

Memorias de la joven enfermera Jenny Lee como comadrona en prácticas en los años cincuenta en el Convento Nonnatus, situado en uno de los distritos más pobres de Londres.
A mediados del siglo pasado, la vida en el East End de Londres era tan dura que una chica de veintidós años necesitaba agallas y humor para soportarla y comprender qué se escondía detrás del rostro maquillado de una prostituta o la chulería de un ladrón.
Cuando la joven enfermera Jenny Lee llega a la Casa Nonnatus, no sabe que es un convento; allí ha sido enviada para completar su formación como enfermera y especializarse en la profesión de comadrona. Bajo la mirada experimentada y humana de las religiosas que gobiernan el convento, Jenny y sus tres colegas Cynthia, Trixie y Chummy traerán al mundo cientos de niños con gran entrega y humildad.
Su trabajo se desarrolla en un barrio y una ciudad marcada por las cicatrices de la guerra: edificios bombardeados, basura, parásitos y pestilencia. En estas condiciones, las comadronas harán su trabajo, ayudando a muchas mujeres, todas pobres, como Conchita Warren, una española madre de 25 niños, que se lleva estupendamente con su marido inglés aunque no puedan hablar, pues el uno no entiende el idioma del otro y viceversa... Poco a poco la vida de Jenny se verá repleta de sentido, humanidad y empatía por los demás.

Charming memoir set in a pivotal time in history -for London, for National Health, for post-WWII. Light and lively.½

Excellent read with too many gory details but I am glad I read it. Oh, my, what people go through.

Last book in the trilogy that the show "Call the Midwife" is based upon. Enjoyed this as much as the others. Sorry to see the books come to an end. Highly recommend to anyone who wants to read more on the history and people of the East End of London in the 1950's.

Second book in the series of books that the tv show "Call the Midwife" is based upon. Where in the first book each chapter told the story of a different delivery, this book focused more on the people in the east end of London. There were three parts, the first about Frank, his sister Peggy and their friend Jane, all who had spent their childhood in a workhouse. The second part was about Sister Monica Joan and her trial for theft. The last part was about Joe Collett, an elderly gentleman that Jenny befriends. The book was very enlightening when it came to describing the workhouses and the circumstances of their creation and life inside them.
I have also learned a lot about the Cockney speech and even though I still can't say that I understand it, some of it, such as Cockney Rhyming Slang, is actually starting to make sense!

I enjoyed the tv series so thought I wanted to read the books.
Wasn't disappointed. Many of the stories and characters from the tv series are here. You get to learn a bit more though. Recommend for anyone wanting to know more about midwifery and Britain in the 1950's and 1960's. Very informative.

I learned a lot about the period. Couldn't help comparing the lives of these people with those of my relatives in West Norwood and South Wales.

This book, CALL THE MIDWIFE, is every bit as good as the award-winning TV series which has been running on BBC for ten years now. I've been watching it almost from the beginning, and it never fails to deliver equal measures of tears and laughter. Well, ditto Jennifer Worth's book. She is a wonderful writer, and I hope to find time to read the other two books in her trilogy, documenting the adventures and accomplishments of the nuns and midwives of Nonnatus House in the slums of post-war London. Very highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER

Another instalment in the Midwife series. This time focused on the appalling conditions of the workhouses and the poor that lived there. I found this book to be much sadder given the stories of the people who have no choices in life. Profound real life account of how people lived in horrible conditions.

Enjoyable book of real life stories of a midwife in the 1950's in London. While many of her stories were often sad there were several of hope and love. I can't even imagine how these women coped in such dire circumstances and surroundings. Definite heroes of their time.