Shadows of the Workhouse

Call the Midwife, Book 2

By: Jennifer Worth

Narrated by: Nicola Barber

Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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.

©2005 Jennifer Worth (P)2014 HighBridge Company

Love this series!

Made the hour commute home from work seem too short. Wish there were more books.

Great Narration of Four Fascinating Stories

Great insight via narratives of the poor in 20th Century England. From workhouse poor to cannon fodder soldiers, I enjoyed every minute of learning and humanity in this book.

Even richer than the wonderful PBS series

Background stories on many of the characters you think you know from the PBS series. Adds so much depth.

Beautifully read. Heading into #3 now.

Excellent Book

I highly recommend this book. It is beautifully written and read. Compassionate and educational. Runs the gamut of emotions

Riveting

Far surpassed the TV series that came from these books. The author captures your heart and pulls it into each life that touched hers.

amazing history.... grateful for my life

amazing story... grateful for my life and I honor the wonderful work of the nurses and nuns done during all those years.
so sorry for what people went through because of injustice and bad goverments.... and still not learning from the past :(

Nice followup to "Call The Midwife"

"Call The Midwife" was my favorite book of last year. Although the next two books both stand alone, I would strongly suggest reading it first. Shadows of the Workhouse focuses less on the work of the midwives, rather on the experiences of older neighbors, nuns and patients who either lived in or were strongly effected by the workhouse (poorhouses). You get a vivid insight to the system that damaged families and left many who were still alive in the 1950's scarred by their experiences. I really enjoyed this book: it is tender, humorous, heartbreaking and makes history real. I do genealogy and have found several family members who lived and died in the poorhouses, so it was very personal to me. There remains a James Herriot feel to the books which consists of multiple short stories flowing together around the theme. Sister Monica Joan continues to steal the show with her antics, the book is worth the credit to see her arrested and in court for stealing jewelry. I didn't realize this is now a popular series in Britain by the BBC, you can view it on Netflix.

More than a Midwife . . . a Healer of Souls

Shadows of the Workhouse continues the story of Jennifer Worth and her work as a midwife and a nurse . . . in post WWII London at the Convent of St. Raymond Nonnatus where she lived and worked with other nurses and nuns who serves the community . . . some of the nuns, nurses and many of her patients had lived in the workhouses as children . . . and their stories are harrowing . . . mangled and tortured bodies of little children, sometimes killed by the beatings of their head masters at the workhouse, were still not as horrendous as the mental and spiritual damage done to these little ones . . . one of the best stories that Nurse Jennifer tells in the one of the old soldier, Joseph Collett, who counts himself lucky, although he has outlived his entire family, and his legs are covered with terrible infection, that Jennifer has come to treat . . . the stories will bless you, the good that came from the work of the nuns and nurses at the convent will renew your faith in mankind, and you'll never look quite the same at those who are "different" than you again . . . Bravo! A great listen!

Fascinating read

Loved the gentle way in which the characters were treated, in spite of their obvious flaws. I got a painless history education without even realizing what was happening.

Had to listen to it twice it is so Good!

If you could sum up Shadows of the Workhouse in three words, what would they be?

Awesome, Great, True to life.

What did you like best about this story?

Great story lines.

Which character – as performed by Nicola Barber – was your favorite?

The soldier.

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Listened to all 3 books twice. Brought back some childhood memories as I was born 30 miles north of London in 1958.
This book along with the other two cover subject matter that may not sit well with some reader's, but this should not stop anyone for reading these books.
I can see myself listening to this book again and again!