• Call the Midwife

  • A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times
  • By: Jennifer Worth
  • Narrated by: Nicola Barber
  • Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (9,314 ratings)

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Call the Midwife  By  cover art

Call the Midwife

By: Jennifer Worth
Narrated by: Nicola Barber
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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)
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What listeners say about Call the Midwife

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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Womanhood at its Best

As an addict of the BBC show, Call the Midwife, I couldn't resist getting the Kindle and Audible versions of the book. As usual, the book is better than the show, but not by much. Books always give more insight into the thinking of a character, something film cannot capture properly.

Jennifer Worth's memoir takes us to another time and the way people were then. Science, especially nursing and midwifery were new. Much was done by 'old wives tales' in the beginning but as medical science developed, giving birth sometimes took back steps. Ms. Worth shows us the mistakes and the achievements womanhood gained when men took over the most female of jobs.

But these aren't just about the theories. We learn of Jennifer's life as a nurse and midwife as she lived in the convent of nuns. The characters of the TV show are there in full glory. My favorite, Chummy, isn't seen as much as I'd like (neither is Miranda Hart in the show as much as I'd like). But it is comical to watch her learn to be a midwife in her tall, elegant way.

I love how both the show (which seem to stick closely to Worth's story) carefully lead us through patients lives and how pregnancy and motherhood impacted daily life post-WWII. Jennifer Worth's writing is impeccable and yet poetic. It is fun to watch as she grows to become a stronger person and midwife as the book progresses.

Oh, and a note for the lovely narrator: Nicola Barber. Though it took me a minute to get used to her, I was so happy I did. She could do the cockney or the more proper British if needed and kept my interest piqued.

I would hope everyone reads and watches these as there is much to learn here. I can't wait to read the next book.

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Beautiful Story of Humility and Greatness!!!

Loved this book. A look at how far we have advanced in Medicine, but lost our humanity!

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Sweet, funny, wrenching, sad

The book feels like it was originally presented as short stories since there is quite a bit of repetition. The cheerfulness with which all the characters face poverty and hard work is certainly original and refreshing. It doesn’t feel Pollyanna, as much as practical.
Genuine suffering is presented in a straightforward narrative but the bulk of the material is balanced with humor. By the end I was wishing to know more about all the people Jennifer met in her practice. They were people I liked and mostly admired.

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Simply wonderful!

Well-told, masterfully narrated, heartwarming stories of a young nurse midwife and the people she meets in the East end of London in the 1950s.

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I watched the series. loved it so much.

Narrator 's voice is great. I really enjoyed listening. after having watched the series, listening was even better.

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Fabulous stories! Enthralling!

So much kindness! So well written & acted! Fantastic! I love the Netflix series - this gives more color & depth.

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Loved the book!

This book clearly shows the hardships that women and families went through after the war. Being born in 1966 I can't imagine living the way these families did.
I have read a lot of books turned movies / TV and to be quite honest the whole reason I read the book is because I've been watching the series. Reading the book now that I've watched the series for so long, showed me what an amazing job they did in casting the the characters in the story.

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Lovingly written and narrated

Beautiful true stories of real people struggling back from WWII and toward a changing world.

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Fantastic narration

LOVED the narration, it really helps draw you in. Such interesting stories, especially if you like a little bit of history. Loved it!

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Fantastic and gritty in a lovely way;.

Fans of the television program will rejoice in the extra details and character insights revealed.

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