I found this book to be quite difficult to follow & stay engaged at points. I’m glad I finished it and wasn’t expecting the twists that took place. Some of the stories were interesting!

Set in Victorian Britain this book follows two different timelines of two different characters and their experiences working in medicine at that time. The first is a doctor attempting to provide better care for pregnant women, who are dying at high rates during pregnancy and childbirth. The second story follows a nurse who is more than qualified to be a doctor but is prevented from entering the occupation by her sex. The novel follows these themes of male centred medicine and also the struggle for the right of women to be educated. Their stories do cross in the last third of the novel and it provides a very satisfying ending. It was compelling historical fiction with interesting characters and themes.

The Midwife is an outstanding debut fiction novel that is both well researched and completely gripping. In 1838 a woman is found with total memory loss wandering the Northumberland moorland. Although she can’t remember her name or how she got there, she instinctively remembers midwifery and nursing skills from her previous life.
A duel storyline runs through the first part of the book and also follows Dr Borthwick in London as he works as a male midwife tending to the women in high society along with women living in complete poverty.
I found the issues raised in the book to be incredibly interesting as well as being surprised by the twists in storyline. It also highlights the many inequalities within society at that time. I will be looking out for any future novels by Tricia Cresswell.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this book ! I struggled at first with the dual timeline but so pleased I kept going with the book. The characters were well written and the story was so interesting it made you realise how difficult it must have been in those times. Such a great twist of which I had to go back a few pages to re read to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. . I really enjoyed the book and am constantly thinking about how good the story was and so happy to have been introduced to this new author.
Thanks as always to NetGalley and Pam MacMillan, Mantle for the early read

1838. After a violent storm, a woman is found alone, naked and 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 and 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 women 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 dealing with mothers and babies in the elegant homes of high society together with his midwife, Mrs Bates, and volunteering in the slums of the Devil’s Acre alongside a young widow, Eleanor Johnson. His professional reputation is spotless and he keeps his private life just as clean, isolating himself from any new acquaintances. But he is harbouring a dark secret from his past – one that threatens to spill over everything.

*Many thanks to Tricia Cresswell, Pan Macmillan, and NetGalley for arc inexchange for my honest review.*
A good example of historical fiction that focuses on a specific social problem during the Victorian times, namely, the stuggle of a woman to be accepted as a person with medical qualifictations.
It was not mind-blowing with regard to character development or plot, just an interesting read for me.

In Victorian London a young doctor works as an accoucheur, helping both the society ladies and the poor, but his reputation is sullied by rival. In Northumberland a woman is found on the moors with no memory but an ability to treat injuries and act as a midwife. The two are connected but what secret do they share?
For the majority of the book the stories of Mrs Sharp and Dr Borthwick are kept completely separate, the diligent reader will just notice the slight timeshift between the two tales. When they do collide there is a twist (not one that could not be foreseen) which takes this tale to a slightly different place. However it is still an enjoyable read with lots of period detail

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I do like dual timelines books. It was full of really fascinating characters and it had me hooked from the beginning, Beautifully written with plenty of twists and turns which I love.

Naked and alone, and with no memory of who she is, our mysterious protagonist is taken in by an unfortunate couple who give her the name 'Joanna' but who then keep her in a life of penury. Eager to flee this miserable existence and without knowing where her expert medical knowledge comes from Joanna starts to build a new life for herself. Meanwhile in London, young Doctor Borthwick is making his name as an accoucheur looking after women in all stages of their pregnancy and delivery. In alternate chapters we get to know both of these characters really well as they live out their lives at opposite ends of the social divide.

There's a wonderful authenticity to The Midwife which I enjoyed especially the medical references which are both realistic and well explained. Joanna's life in Northumberland is brought into stark contrast alongside Doctor Borthwick's more affluent London lifestyle with his comfortable house and servants. The juxtaposition of the two is well done with enough intrigue to keep the story flowing and with a nice twist in the tale which adds an interesting dimension.

The Midwife is well written historical fiction and a commendable debut novel.

A gripping and smartly executed double narrative full of surprises, with something serious to say about women’s place in society. Fascinating… A beautiful story that captures your attention and your heart from beginning to end.

What a fantastic debut novel this is. I have been utterly gripped by the intriguing dual storyline, just a few years apart, following the story of the midwife Mrs Sharp in Alnwick, and Dr Borthwick in London.
How Mrs Sharp, previously Joanna, a name given to her by the man who found her half dead on the moors, comes to be a trusted nurse and midwife is intriguing and fascinating. No less so is the professional life of Dr Borthwick who is setting up practice in London as an accoucheur, a male midwife. Both of these people have at heart the desire to improve the dreadful lot of pregnant women whatever their, class in Victorian England. So many women are lost in childbirth, with far more babies not surviving the trauma of birth. The descriptions of treatment meted out to such vulnerable women is harrowing, even in ladies of class, attended by quacks with little genuine knowledge of medicine.
When the two storylines come together, as I knew they must, I was completely taken by surprise. Such clever plotting by the author.
The characterisation of all the central players is so rounded and believable, I felt I knew these people.
The narrative never flags, the writing and language is perfectly judged, and completely authentic for its period. A huge amount of research must have gone in to this wonderful historical novel.
I will look out for this author’s next work, I enjoyed this debut immensely.
My thanks to the author, Netgalley and the publisher for my advance copy of this book.

NB Note to publisher. There is an issue with the formatting on my e-reader advance copy of this work. Throughout the book, from beginning to end, the letters FL and FI together, are missing, whether at the beginning of the word or in the middle eg ‘ inding’ for ‘finding’ and ‘opping’ for ‘ flopping’
This so nearly spoiled my enjoyment of this book, as it is quite disconcerting and disturbs the flow of the narrative, trying to decide what the word should be. This needs to be corrected before publication, so it does not detract from a marvellous book.

In a Nutshell: Great in history, okay in mystery. As a debut novel, this aims high but gets mixed results.

Story:
Northumberland, 1838. After a storm, a woman is found naked near the high moor by a local villager. The woman has no memory of who she is or where she came from. But she somehow knows how to act as a midwife, dress up wounds, and even speaks French. With no signs of her memory returning, she settles in the village, going by Joanna (the name given to her by the fellow who found her), and tries to rebuild her life using the skills she remembers. But will she ever be content when she feels so lost about her past?
London 1841. Dr. Borthwick is making a name as a physician and accoucheur (a male midwife), though he is careful to always visit expectant mothers with his female midwife assistant, Mrs. Bates. His official clientele comes from the upper echelons of society, but he doesn’t shy away from volunteering with the darkest and poorest slums of Devil's Acre. However, one of his competitors is determined to ruin his name with various allegations. With a dark secret in his past, will Dr. Borthwick be able to survive the character assassination?

How the two stories are collected to each other is quite intelligently written, especially for a debut writer. I was able to guess the connection very early into the narrative, probably because I have recently read two books using the same trope. Despite this, I enjoyed how the author managed to keep the two timelines and the two characters distinct while steadily moving towards each other.

The historical medical glimpses provided by the book are extremely well written and enlightening. This part of the content offers a look into pregnancies of that time period both for the high class and the poor. But after a while, the medical scenes become monotonous, though the patient’s familial situation and complications are almost always distinct. (Well, except for the fact that most of them are pregnant.) Where the content triumphs is in the spotlight it shines on the attitudes of the society towards women in medicine, and even towards a male midwife, both of which come out strongly.

There are no convoluted twists in the plot or needless flourishes in the writing to reduce your pace. In spite of this, the book feels very slow because there's nothing much happening for a great part. In many chapters, all you see is pregnancy-related scenes with only the complications changing. The story feels almost episodic at such times.

The book started off excellently for me. I enjoyed the development in both the narratives in the first quarter. However, once things start slowing down and become repetitive, I found my attention floating away from the story, but I still was curious about the resolution. The last quarter is where the book fails miserably.

The book could have done with better developmental editing, especially in the second half. The book is written in 3rd person, then it suddenly shifts into 1st person after about 75%, and then goes back into 3rd person towards the end. The ending is abrupt and honestly, a huge letdown. After all the build-up about Joanne’s memory loss for the whole novel, it was disheartening to see everything explained in just a few paragraphs. The epilogue was an even bigger bummer. And a genuine query: why was she naked when she was found? This isn’t addressed at all. Was it just some sort of clickbait to make readers curious about the character?

A minor issue: There are way too many secondary characters, and things get a bit confusing at times. (Thank God for the Search feature on eReaders; a poor memory needs all the support it can get.)

Overall, I loved the historical aspects of the book. Its reflection on Victorian society, poverty and affluence, health conditions, women's rights and homosexual rights is excellently depicted. Where it falls short of expectations is in not developing and tying up the mystery about Joanna’s identity in a better way. The research of the author is impressive. All that is needed is a bit of finetuning in building up the plot to a satisfactory climax.

It will still be a decent read for historical fiction lovers, especially if you want a detailed look at the medical setup of the 1830s-1840s period.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan, Mantle, and NetGalley for the ARC of “The Midwife”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The book follows parallel stories of two characters.

In Victorian London, Dr Borthwick develops his practice as a successful accoucheur. Catering to both the desperately poor and increasingly wealthy clients.

Unfortunately, Dr Preston, a well established, though less capable accoucheur views Dr Borthwick as a threat. He will use dirty tricks to remove that threat.

In Victorian Alnwick, a woman is found on the moor during a thunderstorm. She has no clothes, no money, no name and no memory.

She is taken in by the Elliott family. Mary Elliott nurses the woman back to health, giving her the name Joanna.
Once recovered, Joanna must work on the farm to repay her debt. Unfortunately, it is run down and the house is a hovel. The living conditions are vile, as is the predatory John Elliott. Joanna is dirty, malnourished, ragged and vulnerable.

When Mary goes into labour, Joanna assists. She has midwifery skills and knowledge but no idea where the knowledge came from.
She begins to act as midwife for the local women but any payment is taken by John Elliott.

She finally finds the courage to leave.
In Alnwick she witnesses a butchery accident. Her swift action saves the butcher and leads her to a better life, working for the local doctor.

She tries desperately to remember her past but each memory is fleeting.

The book follows her story of survival in early Victorian England.

This is gritty, gripping and intriguing.
Tiny little breadcrumbs provide clues, which give you pause for thought, then the plot pulls you on again.
A really wonderful debut!

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All views expressed are my own.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this gripping novel

this was told with two stories running side by side and i have to admit it was a bit confusing as i couldnt see where it was going.. but i knew i enjoyed both stories as the progressed

its always horrendous in todays society to read how women were treated back then as this book is based in the 1800s

the story is of a woman found up on the moors and taken in by a farmer, but she knows things medical and its not long before she starts to help the local doctor and is accepted by the locals, until she has to leave

doctor borthwick is an accoucheur and along with his midwife sees to all who need his help, but he hides a dark secret

both storylines are gripping in themselves...

thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors works

I totally loved this book and couldn’t wait to keep picking it up. When the narration switched to the other timeline I always felt a yearning not to leave that part of the story, but then this would happen again and again in both directions! They were both good characters and it was easy to feel an affinity for them. It also made an interesting read in a historical sense; understanding that era in terms of poverty, medicine and women. Thoroughly recommended.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for this honest review.

A moving novel covering the some interesting topics facing women in the 1800's. Fascinating characters and a dual timeline with an intriguing crossover. Lovely coverage of women's hardships and how they dealt with them.

A fine specimen of historical fiction, measured in tone but passionate in feeling. The life of a woman who has to reinvent, even reincarnate herself to escape the confines of Victorian values.
Cleverly constructed and immensely enjoyable!

Note: Loc 383: should that not read “Dr Borthwick”?

This was a dual timeline book and I found both strands to be interesting and informative. I did find it a little slow in places but overall I enjoyed it.

This was an interesting and enjoyable read with a dual timeline that added an extra depth to the storyline. I liked the writing, the characters were well developed and the story was interesting. I really enjoyed it

Set in two locations - rural Northumberland around Alnwick and London - this tells the stories of midwifery, birth and death from two points of view. A young woman with no memory although she knows what to do to help women giving birth in farming communities and an unusual young man working as an accoucheur helping ladies of status give birth as well as helping the poor and destitute in the horrific slums of London. The stories are set 4 years apart - 1838 Alnwick and 1842 London. The characters are well-developed and the context very well researched. No matter your status in life, giving birth was dangerous. How the two stories linked became obvious fairly quickly but the details were good. My main complaint was the ending - too quick and not satisfactory but paves the way for more stories I guess. Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.