Product Description

This final book in Jennifer Worth's memories of her time as a midwife in London's East end brings her story full circle. As always there are heartbreaking stories such as the family devastated by tuberculosis and a ship's woman who 'serviced' the entire crew, as well as plenty of humour and warmth, such as the tale of two women who shared the same husband! Other stories cover backstreet abortions, the changing life of the docklands, infanticide, as well as the lives of the inhabitants of Nonnatus House. We discover what happens with the gauche debutant Chummy and her equally gauche policeman; will Sister Monica Joan continue her life of crime?; will Sister Evangelina ever crack a smile? And what of Jennifer herself? The book not only details the final years of the tenements but also of Jennifer's journey as she moves on from the close community of nuns, and her life takes a new path.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #518 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-15
• Released on: 2009-10-15
• Original language: German
• Binding: Paperback
• 344 pages

Review
'A sad farewell but a memorable and satisfying send-off' (DAILY EXPRESS )

'One would struggle to find a better descrption of a long-gone era and its heartening, forgotten values' (SUNDAY BUSINESS POST )

About the Author
Jennifer Worth was a nurse, midwife, ward sister and night sister from 1953 until 1973, working mainly in London. Her first passion was - and still is - music, and she is a Fellow of the London College of Music. She taught piano and singing for about twenty-five years and still sings in choirs all over England and Europe. She has been married for forty-five years and has two daughters and three grandchildren.

Customer Reviews

C Andrews
I cannot recommend this book (and the other two books in the mini series - call the midwife and shadows of the workhouse) highly enough. Very interesting content about a now vanished world, lively characters, fluent and engaging written style and with so much social history thrown in that it is more useful than a textbook would be. Twinning the detailed explanations on previous midwifery practice with the cultural background of the dockers lives is a wonderful combination that is fresh and revealing. Very sad to get to the end of the book as it certainly closes off any chance of a follow up. I am now busy passing my copies of all three books around my friends so they can read them too! Wonderful!!

Farewell to the East End
Excellent book completes the trilogy of the East End Midwives sad that this is the last one but then again it has been known for authors to change their minds.
The book captures the spirit and times of the East End of London of the 1950's. If you are an East Ender and lived there then like I did the book will have even more meaning for the reader.

A fascinating history of the 20th century
As much as the previous two books from Jennifer Worth I thoroughly enjoyed "Farewell to the East End". Jennifer Worth captivates exactly the mood of the time and paints accurate and endearing portraits of the plucky, long-suffering characters she met during her work as a nurse and midwife. She paints her characters with affection and empathy.

She's a born story-teller, and I found it hard to put all the three books down. I'm only sorry that her tale has come to an end with this third book.

Fascinating, and a real eye-opener as to what the poor in the East End of London had to endure. I learnt a lot.