The Midwife's Tale is the adventure of a midwife serving a town that changed, both for the better and for the worse, but life is what you make of it.
Martha Cade had pedigree as a midwife. Her mother and her gran were both midwives in the small town of Trinity, Pennsylvania. She's a widow with two children, one's a lawyer off in New York, and she's hoping to groom her daughter Victoria to take over. She was devastated when Victoria ran off to join a performing theater troupe while she was off attending to a birth. She went after her daughter, and spent months on the road, always just missing the troupe, until the troupe went off to Europe and no idea where did her daughter go. She returned to Trinity empty-handed, and was quickly summoned to another birth, and learned that several things have changed. A new doctor is in town, and this one wanted to practice full-time, which means taking business away from Martha's midwifery. And a new minister has started an "academy" for orphans and such nearby. As Martha resumed her life in Trinity, hoping for a letter or ANY news from her daughter, she had to prepare for the changes to come... A town scandal, a string of thefts, people falsely accused of theft, whispers of a romance, saving a young boy, and more...
This is in essence, an adventure tale, as things keep happening in town, and "Widow Cade" will continue to deal with things as they come, and perhaps, God will send her daughter back to her, but she will have to make the best of the life she has in the meanwhile. The details are rich, the emotions real and not melodramatic (read: angst-y) and the struggles are realistic without being overbearing. For a glimpse of life (if somewhat stylized) of that era, read this book. it's not strictly a romance, so don't read it if you expect Cade to fall in love and stuff, but there are some warm affections.
Oh, and I'm counting this as "Historical Western" even though it mostly happened in the East. :)
Category: Historical
Primary Plot: A Midwife had to deal with changes in the town she hadn't seen for months, both for better and for worse
Tropes: fish out of water, doctor (midwife) / patient, scars, single parent, widow,
Overall Rating: 4/5
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