Call the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth

Call the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - This is the second volume in the Call the Midwife trilogy, memoirs of a young English midwife working in the London dockyards neighborhood, during the late 1950s. Unlike the first volume, which I did not care much for, this one focuses not on the delivering of babies, but the other half of the midwife's job - district nursing. It tells with compassion and insight, some of the stories of the people whose lives were made a little bit easier by the midwives and sisters of the Nonnatus House. The stories mostly focused on the effect that workhouse had on people's lives during the late 19th century, telling about Jane, who as a child believed herself the daughter of a high ranking member of parliament (and his disgraced servant), and of Peggy and Frank, sister and brother, who survived the workhouse and ending up living together for the rest of their lives, as husband and wife. The last part was Joe's story, a retired soldier, whom Jenny meets while on district nursing rounds, where she must change the dressings daily on his badly ulcerated legs. Jenny becomes friends with him, learning about his past, his time in the Scottish Guards, his family and how he lost each one of them. She brings him hope and dignity, and deeply feels his lose when he dies. And just to provide some levity to an otherwise depressing book, we get to see a little more of Sister Monica Joan, when she is put on trial for shoplifting.
AtY #25: A book set on an island
Book 30 of 2021

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