Jennifer Worth

Jennifer Louise Worth RN RM (; 25 September 1935 – 31 May 2011) was a British memoirist, nurse, and midwife. She worked in the poverty-stricken East End of London in the 1950s, where she gained much of her experience that would later shape her writing. Drawing on these experiences, she wrote a best-selling trilogy: Call the Midwife, Shadows of the Workhouse (2005) and Farewell to The East End (2009). After leaving her career in nursing, Worth re-trained as a musician.

A television series, Call the Midwife, based on her books, began broadcasting on BBC One in the UK on 15 January 2012 and on PBS in the US on 30 September 2012.

Biography Jennifer "Jenny" Louise Lee was born in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, on 25 September 1935, to Gordon and Elsie (née Gibbs) Lee. she learned shorthand and typing and became the secretary to the head of Dr Challoner's Grammar School. She then trained as a nurse at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, in Reading, and moved to London to receive training to become a midwife.

She married the artist Philip Worth in 1963, and they had two daughters. In October 2009, she received the Mothers Naturally Award for Outstanding book for her memoir. Shadows of the Workhouse (2005; reissued 2008) and Farewell to the East End (2009) also became best-sellers.

Activism Worth was highly critical of Mike Leigh's 2004 film Vera Drake, for depicting the consequences of illegal abortions unrealistically. She argued that the method shown in the film, far from being fairly quick and painless, was in fact almost invariably fatal for the woman. As a result of the harm done with such illegal procedures, she approved of the legalization of abortion in the UK, saying this was a medical, not moral, issue.

Death Worth died on 31 May 2011, having been diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus earlier in the year. In accordance with her wishes, her ashes were scattered at sea.

Publications

Call the Midwife (First book in the Midwife trilogy) (2002) Shadows of the Workhouse (Second book in the Midwife trilogy) (2005) (Third book in the Midwife trilogy)