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Shadows of the Workhouse
- Call the Midwife, Book 2
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Series: Call the Midwife, Book 2
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Social Sciences
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Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End
- Book 3
- Written by: Jennifer Worth
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When 22-year-old Jennifer Worth, from a comfortable middle-class upbringing, went to work as a midwife in the poorest section of postwar London, she not only delivered hundreds of babies and touched many lives, she also became the neighborhood's most vivid chronicler. Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End is the last book in Worth's memoir trilogy, which the Times Literary Supplement described as "powerful stories with sweet charm and controlled outrage" in the face of dire circumstances.
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a heartbreaking memoir!
- By Anonymous User on 2020-05-05
Written by: Jennifer Worth
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Call the Midwife
- A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times
- Written by: Jennifer Worth
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
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.
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Excellent
- By E.Runnalls on 2019-11-16
Written by: Jennifer Worth
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Farewell to the East End
- Written by: Jennifer Worth
- Narrated by: Saskia Butler
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Written by Jennifer Worth, Farewell to the East End is one of the trilogy of memoirs upon which the popular BBC series Call the Midwife is based. London's East End in the 1950s was a vibrant place-a close-knit community of families where children made playgrounds on bombsites and a lively social scene emerged.
Written by: Jennifer Worth
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Born Survivors
- Three Young Mothers and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage, Defiance, and Hope
- Written by: Wendy Holden
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Eastern Europe, 1944: Three women believe they are pregnant, but are torn from their husbands before they can be certain. Rachel is sent to Auschwitz, unaware that her husband has been shot. Priska and her husband travel there together, but are immediately separated. Also at Auschwitz, Anka hopes in vain to be reunited with her husband. With the rest of their families gassed, these young wives are determined to hold on to all they have left-their lives, and those of their unborn babies.
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Narrator was Excellent
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-05-17
Written by: Wendy Holden
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The Baker's Secret
- A Novel
- Written by: Stephen P. Kiernan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On June 5, 1944, as dawn rises over a small town on the Normandy coast of France, Emmanuelle is making the bread that has sustained her fellow villagers in the dark days since the Germans invaded her country. Only 22, Emma learned to bake at the side of a master, Ezra Kuchen, the village baker since before she was born. Apprenticed to Ezra at 13, Emma watched with shame and anger as her kind mentor was forced to wear the six-pointed yellow star on his clothing.
Written by: Stephen P. Kiernan
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The Midwife of Hope River
- A Novel of an American Midwife
- Written by: Patricia Harman
- Narrated by: Anne Wittman
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Midwife Patience Murphy has a gift: a talent for escorting mothers through the challenges of bringing children into the world. Working in the hardscrabble conditions of Appalachia during the Depression, Patience takes the jobs that no one else wants, helping those most in need - and least likely to pay. She knows a successful midwifery practice must be built on a foundation of openness and trust - but the secrets Patience is keeping are far too intimate and fragile for her to ever let anyone in.
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loved this book!
- By Jessica on 2021-05-25
Written by: Patricia Harman
-
Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End
- Book 3
- Written by: Jennifer Worth
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 22-year-old Jennifer Worth, from a comfortable middle-class upbringing, went to work as a midwife in the poorest section of postwar London, she not only delivered hundreds of babies and touched many lives, she also became the neighborhood's most vivid chronicler. Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End is the last book in Worth's memoir trilogy, which the Times Literary Supplement described as "powerful stories with sweet charm and controlled outrage" in the face of dire circumstances.
-
-
a heartbreaking memoir!
- By Anonymous User on 2020-05-05
Written by: Jennifer Worth
-
Call the Midwife
- A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times
- Written by: Jennifer Worth
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Excellent
- By E.Runnalls on 2019-11-16
Written by: Jennifer Worth
-
Farewell to the East End
- Written by: Jennifer Worth
- Narrated by: Saskia Butler
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written by Jennifer Worth, Farewell to the East End is one of the trilogy of memoirs upon which the popular BBC series Call the Midwife is based. London's East End in the 1950s was a vibrant place-a close-knit community of families where children made playgrounds on bombsites and a lively social scene emerged.
Written by: Jennifer Worth
-
Born Survivors
- Three Young Mothers and Their Extraordinary Story of Courage, Defiance, and Hope
- Written by: Wendy Holden
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eastern Europe, 1944: Three women believe they are pregnant, but are torn from their husbands before they can be certain. Rachel is sent to Auschwitz, unaware that her husband has been shot. Priska and her husband travel there together, but are immediately separated. Also at Auschwitz, Anka hopes in vain to be reunited with her husband. With the rest of their families gassed, these young wives are determined to hold on to all they have left-their lives, and those of their unborn babies.
-
-
Narrator was Excellent
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-05-17
Written by: Wendy Holden
-
The Baker's Secret
- A Novel
- Written by: Stephen P. Kiernan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On June 5, 1944, as dawn rises over a small town on the Normandy coast of France, Emmanuelle is making the bread that has sustained her fellow villagers in the dark days since the Germans invaded her country. Only 22, Emma learned to bake at the side of a master, Ezra Kuchen, the village baker since before she was born. Apprenticed to Ezra at 13, Emma watched with shame and anger as her kind mentor was forced to wear the six-pointed yellow star on his clothing.
Written by: Stephen P. Kiernan
-
The Midwife of Hope River
- A Novel of an American Midwife
- Written by: Patricia Harman
- Narrated by: Anne Wittman
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Midwife Patience Murphy has a gift: a talent for escorting mothers through the challenges of bringing children into the world. Working in the hardscrabble conditions of Appalachia during the Depression, Patience takes the jobs that no one else wants, helping those most in need - and least likely to pay. She knows a successful midwifery practice must be built on a foundation of openness and trust - but the secrets Patience is keeping are far too intimate and fragile for her to ever let anyone in.
-
-
loved this book!
- By Jessica on 2021-05-25
Written by: Patricia Harman
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.
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What listeners say about Shadows of the Workhouse
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- The Math Devil
- 2019-04-22
Different Style from Book 1, but Still Great
I really enjoyed Call the Midwife, Book 1, so I purchased this second book. Where the first book was very much about the author's life as a midwife, this second book is more about the people she encounters with entire chapters devoted to specific people or families.
As I started the audiobook, I was briefly disappointed since I was expecting more of a continuation of the first book, but I very soon changed my mind as I listened to these compelling stories of the people Jenny Lee encountered. Some of these stories were touched on in the first book, and you get just enough of a reminder about them to make that connection without feeling like you're hearing the same story again.
I went on to listen to Book 3, and it is also a winner. The same narrator reads all three books, and her voice and style are very enjoyable.
4 people found this helpful
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- K. Bellinger
- 2020-04-15
Hard to hear the harsh and graphic reality of how and what people had to do to survive.
I was shocked by some of what I heard. It was good that those section were interspersed with less graphic accounts. It helped that it was read by a kind female voice. The violence and cruelty will stay with me for a long time.
3 people found this helpful
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- Tammie Schmautz
- 2020-05-17
Excellent!
This is the second book I've listened to in this series. The narrator sounds just like Jenny from the show just as many of the other characters do. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who's interested in the history of England. Even if you don't watch Call the Midwife which is based on these books, I would still recommend it.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2020-04-19
a good sequel
it is a very good book although I do find that the first book was better this was an excellent book would definitely listen to again really pulls on your heartstrings
1 person found this helpful
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- Linda
- 2021-07-17
Good Book
I really enjoyed this second book by Jennifer Worth although some stories were repeated from the first book. The stories were developed well and Nicola Barber did an excellent job with the various characters. I recommend this book to anyone.
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- GANC Line
- 2017-06-01
Back stories, but no birth stories
I have enjoyed Jennifer Worth's books and the "Call the Midwife" TV adaptation. One thing I say jokingly about the TV show is that at some point in each episode, a woman will be screaming in pain as she has a baby. This book has none of that. There are three main stories in this book. First she tells some tragic accounts of people she encountered at Nonatas House who had been orphaned and raised in workhouses. Second, there's the story of Sister Monica Joan and her arrest and trial for shoplifting. The third story concerns an elderly Boer War veteran whom Jenny befriended. The underlying themes are about poverty and isolation and how enlightened people regard the people affected by them.
12 people found this helpful
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- HODGEPODGESPV
- 2015-07-14
If you like the PBS series
you will this as well as it sort of fills out the series! So enjoy!
8 people found this helpful
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- Jan
- 2014-02-20
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.
23 people found this helpful
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- I buy too much!
- 2016-06-30
Unfair comparison vs. Book 1 (?)
Loved EVERYTHING about Book 1... probably among my top 5 ever. Nicola Barber raises reading to a true performance art. This one has fewer and deeper stories and therefore seemed to move more slowly for me. Have I already proclaimed my love for the voice (s) of Nicola Barber? This book is a "4". (Book 1 was a "5++"!) Nicola's reading raises the e-book version a full point.
2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2016-05-14
A bittersweet look at the Nurses and Nuns who helped the poorest of London after WW II with medical knowledge, compassion and lo
Great book that gives more detail than the PBS show. If you enjoyed the series, you'll love the audible books. Very gritty at times but overall a tribute to true "healers" who follow their calling to help those most in need. Mostly with medical help, but with a strong dose of psychology when needed. A wonderful group of women.
2 people found this helpful
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- Caitlin
- 2019-09-10
Definitely a departure from the first book.
I wish I had read the other reviews more closely. There is no midwifery in this book but bleak illustration of work house life. I didn’t like the way stories were put together - if this had been a book, I’d have put it down in the first section. It’s beautifully narration is the same as first book. These are important stories to be told but hard to hear.
1 person found this helpful
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- invisible_anne
- 2019-04-08
Dickensonian Historic Account
Gripping backstory to the popular television series. Sometimes appalling, sometimes humorous, always warmly human. Wonderfully and tenderly narrated.
1 person found this helpful
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- Cairo 4
- 2018-11-08
Much darker than the 1st and 3rd installments
I started this and a few chapters in, I couldn't continue. The stories are too painful and full of abuse and graphic child abuse. I had to shut it off.
1 person found this helpful
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- Mr. Dwayne B.
- 2018-05-30
An easy book to listen to
I really liked the show and so I began listening to the books. There is a bit of repeating of the first book but certainly plenty enough that's new to be able to enjoy it. I'm very fascinated by the poverty and workhouse systems which England endured in its past so I appreciate real life stories of people who experienced this. I definitely cryed at some parts of the book, so keep your tissues handy.
1 person found this helpful
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- Sharey
- 2018-02-20
Fantastic
Best books and television series ever! I am just sad there are only 3 books to enjoy. Narration is excellent as well!
1 person found this helpful