
A BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime. The new novel from Orange Prize listed author Patricia Ferguson is a deeply moving tale about two sisters & the young black orphan who changes their lives
- for anyone who loves Call the Midwife or Andrea Levy. violet Dimond" the " Holy Terror" has delivered many of the town children
- & often their children
- in her capacity as handywoman. But violet's calling is dying out as with medicine's advances the good old ways are no longer good enough. Grace violet's adopted daughter is a symbol of change herself. In the place where she has grown up & everyone knows her she is accepted though most of the locals never before saw a girl with skin that colour. For violet & Grace the coming war will bring more upheaval into their lives: can they endure it or will they like so many be swept aside by history's tide? A moving tale of prejudice struggle love tragedy bravery & the changing lives of women in the twentieth century " The Midwife's Daughter" grips the reader all the way to its heartstopping conclusion. Praise for Patricia Ferguson: " Strong affecting vividly depicted... It is a pure pleasure to read". (Lionel Shriver " Telegraph" (on Peripheral Vision by Patricia Ferguson)). " One of the most brilliant novelists around...funny gripping wonderfully shrewd". (" Independent"). Patricia Ferguson trained in nursing & midwifery & her first book " Family Myths & Legends" won the Betty Trask David Higham & Somerset Maugham awards. Her most recent books " It So Happens" & " Peripheral Vision" were both longlisted for the Orange Prize. She lives in Bristol."