Farewell to the East End

352 Pages·2009·11.721 MB·English

by  Jennifer Worth

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE BESTSELLING
CALL THE MIDWIFE
Farewell t&tl&
st Fh»c(
JENNIFER WORTH
The East End of London in the 1950s was a
vibrant place, with a close community, where
families often hved within streets of each
other; where children had fun outside making
playgrounds of the bombsites, and where
social clubs and pubs formed the centre of
a lively social scene. However in the difficult
living conditions of post-war London, life
could often be a struggle.
It was into this community that Jennifer
Worth came as a young midwife, working
with the nuns of Nonnatus House. Following
on from the acclaimed Call the Midwife and
Shadows of the Workhouse, this book brings
Jennifer’s story full circle. She tells of the
devastating effects of tuberculosis on one
family; of the dangerous practice of back-
street abortions; the strange life of a ship’s
woman; of mothers driven to extremes by
poverty or social pressure. There is also plenty
of warmth and good humour — such as the
tale of Megan’mave, identical twins who share
the same browbeaten husband. We discover
what happens to the gauche debutante Chummy
who wanted to become a missionary. Will
Sister Monica Joan continue her mischievous
ways? Will the cook Mrs B and boiler-man
Fred ever declare a truce?
As the 1960s dawned, with vast re-housing
schemes and the demolition of the tenements,
the docklands began to change beyond all
recognition. Farewell to the East End charts
these years as the lives of those at Nonnatus
House take on a new direction.
£12.99
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FAREWELL
TO THE
EAST END
JENNIFER WORTH
Clinical Editor
Terri Coates MSc. rn. rm. adm. Dip Ed
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
LONDON
First published in Great Britain in 2009 by Orion Books,
an imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Orion House, 5 Upper Saint Martin’s Lane
London, WC2H 9EA
An Hachette UK Company
13579 10 8642
Copyright © Jennifer Worth 2009
The moral right of Jennifer Worth to be identified as the author
of this work has been asserted in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
prior permission of both the copyright owner and the
above publisher of this book.
This is a work of non-fiction, and the events it recounts are true.
However, the names and certain identifying characteristics
of some of the people who appear in its pages have been
changed. The views expressed in this book are the author’s.
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library.
isbn 978 o 297 84465 5
Typeset by Input Data Services Ltd, Bridgwater, Somerset
Printed in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives pic
The Orion Publishing Group’s policy is to use papers
that are natural, renewable and recyclable products and
made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging
and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to
the environmental regulations of the country of origin.
www.orionbooks.co.uk
Dedicated to Cynthia
for a lifetime of friendship
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My thanks and gratitude to:
Terri Coates, the midwife who inspired me to write these
books, Dr Michael Boyes, Douglas May, Jenny Whitefield, Joan
Hands, Helen Whitehorn, Phihp and Suzannah, Ena Robinson,
Mary Riches, Janet Salter, Maureen Dring, Peggy Sayer, Mike
Birch, Sally Neville, the Marie Stopes Society.
Special thanks to Patricia Schooling of Merton Books for first
bringing my writing to an audience.
All names have been changed. ‘The Sisters of St Raymund
Nonnatus’ is a pseudonym.
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