Jennifer
Worth came from a sheltered background when she became a midwife in the
Docklands in the 1950s. The conditions in which many women gave birth just half
a century ago were horrifying, not only because of their grimly impoverished
surroundings, but also because of what they were expected to endure. But while
Jennifer witnessed brutality and tragedy, she also met with amazing kindness
and understanding, tempered by a great deal of Cockney humour. She also earned
the confidences of some whose lives were truly stranger, more poignant and more
terrifying than could ever be recounted in fiction. Attached to an order of
nuns who had been working in the slums since the 1870s, Jennifer tells the
story not only of the women she treated, but also of the community of nuns
(including one who was accused of stealing jewels from Hatton Garden) and the
camaraderie of the midwives with whom she trained. Funny, disturbing and
incredibly moving, Jennifer's stories bring to life the colourful world of the
East End in the 1950s.
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