Call the Midwife

A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times

By: Jennifer Worth

Narrated by: Nicola Barber

Length: 12 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Solo Narration - Female, 2013

At the age of 22, Jennifer Worth left her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwife in postwar London’s East End slums. The colorful characters she met while delivering babies all over London - from the plucky, warm-hearted nuns with whom she lived to the woman with 24 children who couldn't speak English to the prostitutes and dockers of the city’s seedier side - illuminate a fascinating time in history. Beautifully written and utterly moving, Call the Midwife will touch the hearts of anyone who is, and everyone who has, a mother.

©2002 Jennifer Worth (P)2012 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"A charming tale of deliveries and deliverance." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Fascinating Listening

I loved the telly series. I enjoyed listening to the book. Reader was excellent.

Really is a great book

I love the story, the narrations, the people, its just a really good book of that day and age. The women, the men, the babies! You get every emotion in this book. I do wish the book covered more of the actually author. I know its not about her but about her job growing up as a midwife. But I would love to learned more about her personally. Like how and when she met her husband and if she ever did have kids and what that was like. Being a midwife giving birth that is. Over all, i will listen to this one again. A gentle lovely read!

Fascinating insight into Cockney English

What started as an interesting, and very well narrated, story of the history and role of midwives evolved into a captivating insight into the life and culture of England's desperately poor in the mid 20th century. Despite a tendency to play for the "heartwarming", it was a fascinating look at recent history that was so different than what I'd expected

I was drawn into Jenny's tale immidiately

the writing made the stories so vivid the people came to life. the chapter on the prostitute Mary and on prostitution was too real I could barely listen to it. the story of the workhouse was horrific how can a modern society treat its own trodden down people in such an inhuman manner.? from beginning to end I was drawn into the lives of the peooke Jenny met and cared for as a midwife. great history!

So enjoyable!

The vignettes are captivating and the narration is wonderful- highly recommend this, especially if you enjoy historical fiction and great female characters.

great book

love this book. so many interesting history facts and such a sweet story. definitely recommend

My favorite audio book so far!

Would you consider the audio edition of Call the Midwife to be better than the print version?

I don't know, I only experienced that audio.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Chummy, because I love her spirit and how she wins people over.

Have you listened to any of Nicola Barber’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have never listened to Nicola Barber before, but I LOVED her voice! I lived in England for a while and I love a British accent and hers is so lovey that it was like listening to music. I loved how she reads the Cockney accent, she really brings the characters to life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I loved listening and was very sad when it ended.

Any additional comments?

After this book I downloaded the rest of the series and they are all wonderful books, I highly recommend them.

Call the Midwife

Wonderful book to listen and read! A must read book! I enjoyed the narrator and story lines Characters are well developed and thoughtfully presented.

A Fantastic Read

This was such a great memoir and I found myself chuckling or misty-eyed more times than I could count. I also have a profound gratitude for having my own children a couple of decades later where I did not have to face the hardships that these women endured. The narration was brilliant and I was in awe of the narrator's ability to change age and tone and accent particularly in the chapter dealing with the young Irish girl Mary. A wonderful book and highly recommended!

Stunning

One-of-a-kind story, although partially fictionalized, with artful narration that brings the story an emotional depth that few other narrators could hope to match. It''s a history lesson, a bit of medical schooling, a social commentary, and even a bit of a journey into the religious. What comes through most abundantly, however, are the people, the very real people, of the East End about whom I knew nothing and probably discounted in my mind. This author and narrator give them a depth of character that no other pair could. Easily the finest audiobook I've heard.