the reluctant midwife a hope river novel

Readers familiar with The Midwife of Hope River may remember Dr Blum as an arrogant and cold man. I really enjoyed the way her hard edges softened over the course of the novel. Becky is not a saint, she can be uptight and prideful, she is often frustrated by Blum’s non responsiveness and resents having to work as a midwife when the whole notion of childbirth horrifies her, however it is difficult to fault her drive to better her circumstances. Though initially forced to rely on the generosity of friends and neighbours, she delivers groceries, reluctantly assists the local midwife Patience Murphy, and becomes a part time staff nurse at a nearby Civilian Conservation Corps camp.Ĭharacterisation is a real strength of Harman’s writing.

With a little luck and hard work, Becky finds a way to eke out a living as the Depression ravages the country. The focus is on the challenges of the Great Depression, in rural areas unemployment rose to around 80% leaving hundreds of thousands of people struggling to survive. Harman effortlessly evokes the era in which The Reluctant Midwife is set. It is the 1930’s, times are tough for everyone, and with few options, Becky is forced to figure out a way to support herself and Blum. Penniless, homeless and the sole carer of her inexplicably catatonic ex-employer, Dr Isaac Blum, nurse Becky Myers is in desperate straits by the time she arrives in Hope River, rural West Virgina.

The Reluctant Midwife is a heartwarming and engaging novel by Patricia Harman, set in the same location and era as her fiction debut, The Midwife of Hope River.

The reluctant midwife a hope river novel