Sophia C. reviewed on 2/1/2013 + 289 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 4

Originally published as simply The Midwife, the first volume of Jennifer Worths memoirs as a midwife in Londons East End in the 1950s was renamed Call the Midwife to coincide with the television series (on PBS in the United States.) Both the book and television forms were very enjoyable for me, in different ways. Whereas the television series was more visually appealing with stories modified to have story arcs that fit into an hour-long episode, the book offers a richer look at the community as a whole. In the book, the other student nurses were not as prominent. There was more medicine, and 1950s London seemed to resemble Dickens London more than I can imagine for 60 years ago. The appendix offers a section on the Cockney dialect and medical terms. Please note there is one heartbreaking and graphic section on prostitution. Anyone interested in nostalgia should take a look at both this book and the television series; Im looking forward to more installments of both!

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