First published 2013
Jennifer Worth continues her memoir of working as a midwife in London's East End during the 1950s. This sequel to her bestselling first book expands beyond her nursing experiences to chronicle the lives of people who survived Britain's workhouse system. Worth meets former residents whose stories reveal the harsh realities of these Dickensian institutions that persisted into the mid-twentieth century. She tells of orphaned siblings Peggy and Frank, separated by the workhouse until Frank escapes and returns for his sister. She describes Jane, whose cheerful nature was crushed by a cruel workhouse master before she found love at Nonnatus House. She records the story of Mr. Collett, a Boer War veteran who lost his family in two world wars and died alone in the workhouse. Through Worth's compassionate lens, these tales of extreme poverty and institutional cruelty reveal the remarkable resilience of ordinary people. Her subjects demonstrate how humor, courage, and determination helped them survive unimaginable hardship and build new lives in postwar London's most impoverished neighborhoods.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, non-fiction, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, resilience
Setting: East End, London
Period: 1950s
304 pages · Kindle Edition · Ecco