A review by elisakissa
Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth

2.0

I enjoyed this a lot less than the first book. The first book is strongly built on Worth's own experiences as a nurse and a midwife, and because it is autobiographical I could forgive some of the misgivings in the writing. It is clear that not everything that was written here could possibly be true to life. A lot of the things that happen especially in the first part of the book are things that I sincerely doubt would've been told to the author at the time, and some conversations she never could've heard or even gotten second hand accounts of. For this reason this book reads more like fiction and I dislike her writing style as such.
In the third part of the book Worth goes back to describing her own experience and her friendship with a lonely old man. His story is tragic and beautiful, and here Worth gets back on track with her storytelling. The second star goes for the third part alone.