1830. After a violent storm, a woman is found alone, naked, near death on the Northumberland moors. She has no memory of who she is or how she got there. But she can remember how to help a woman in labour, how to expertly dress a wound and can speak fluent French. With the odds against her – a penniless single woman – she starts to build her life from scratch, using her skills to help other woman around her. She finds a happy place in the world. Until tragedy strikes, and she must run for her life.

In London, Dr Borthwick lives a solitary life working as an accoucheur together with his midwife, Mrs Bates, dealing with mothers and babies in both the elegant homes of high society, and alongside a young widow, Eleanor Johnson, volunteering in the slums of the Devil’s Acre. His professional reputation is spotless and he keeps his private life just as clean, isolating himself from any new acquaintances. He is harbouring a dark secret from his past, one that threatens to spill over everything.

A haunting and moving debut, The Midwife by Tricia Cresswell is perfect for fans of The Familiars and The Binding.

Review:

Multilayered, absorbing, and mysterious!

The Midwife is a raw, expressive, compelling tale set in England during the early 1800s when women were forbidden to practice medicine, childbirth still resulted in high mortality rates, and midwifery was grossly underappreciated and frowned upon by the majority of physicians.

The prose is evocative and rich. The characters are intelligent, troubled, and secretive. And the plot is a suspenseful, engrossing tale about life, loss, duty, friendship, family, determination, courage, self-identity, and the evolution and procedures of early obstetrics and gynaecology.

The Midwife is an atmospheric, alluring, beautifully written novel by Cresswell that grabs you from the very first page and does a remarkable job of blending historical facts with captivating fiction that’s both intriguing and exceptionally immersive.

This novel is available now.

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