Shadows of the Workhouse
The Drama of Life in Postwar London
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4.4 • 116 Ratings
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- £5.49
Publisher Description
A fascinating slice of East End life, from the No.1 bestsellilng author of CALL THE MIDWIFE, soon to be a major BBC TV series.
In this follow up to CALL THE MIDWIFE, Jennifer Worth, a midwife working in the docklands area of East London in the 1950s tells more stories about the people she encountered.
There's Jane, who cleaned and generally helped out at Nonnatus House - she was taken to the workhouse as a baby and was allegedly the illegitimate daughter of an aristocrat. Peggy and Frank's parents both died within 6 months of each other and the children were left destitute. At the time, there was no other option for them but the workhouse.
The Reverend Thornton-Appleby-Thorton, a missionary in Africa, visits the Nonnatus nuns and Sister Julienne acts as matchmaker. And Sister Monica Joan, the eccentric ninety-year-old nun, is accused of shoplifting some small items from the local market. She is let off with a warning, but then Jennifer finds stolen jewels from Hatton Garden in the nun's room. These stories give a fascinating insight into the resilience and spirit that enabled ordinary people to overcome their difficulties.
Customer Reviews
A great read
Not as good as call the midwife but still enjoyed it
Heart wrenching
My second adventure into these books about life at the bottom of the food chain here in England. Everyone has a story to tell, Jennifer tells some incredible stories of our country folk with compassion and love. It is not sentimental. It is how it was, and still is. I was deeply moved. So much so that I researched my local workhouse and went to see it. It is a heritage site funded by the lottery and hard working volunteers. It was fascinating.
Thank you Jennifer for giving these people their voices and telling their stories. On to the next one..
Shadows of the workhouse!
Fantastic was hard to out down as with her other books! Well worth a read!