The Forgotten Midwife: A Novel
Set in present-day New Jersey and 1950s Ireland, and inspired by real historical events, The Forgotten Midwife is a powerful dual-timeline novel of sisterhood, family secrets, and resilience from the author of the “profound, moving, and memorable” (Fresh Fiction) The Women on Platform Two.
New Jersey, present day. Riley Carmichael is getting married and joining a huge, loving family, yet she can’t ignore the emptiness on her side of the church. For most of her life, it’s been just Riley and her grandmother, Betty, but as late-stage dementia overtakes her grandmother’s mind, Riley knows she’s losing her. During a rare moment of lucidity, Betty gives Riley a tattered, long-hidden birth certificate for an unknown baby born in Ireland in the 1950s. Searching for answers about her family history, Riley travels to Ireland in hopes of finding a sense of heritage.
Tipperary, Ireland, 1954. Margaret Lannigan dreams of a life with her beloved Joseph. But when her older sister dies suddenly, Margaret must fulfill her family’s generations-old commitment to the Catholic Church. Forced to take the veil, she is sent to Ballyvale Home for Fallen Girls, where unmarried expectant mothers endure terrible cruelty. Despite having no training as a midwife, Margaret fights to give these women the care they deserve.
When Margaret encounters Delia O’Rourke, the terrified younger sister of her childhood best friend, she risks everything to protect Delia and her baby from a system designed to make them disappear.
The Forgotten Midwife is a haunting, hopeful novel about women’s strength and resilience, the meaning of family, and the lifesaving power of friendship.
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Community Reviews
Published on Peeking Between the Pages (https://peekingbetweenthepages.com/2026/05/the-forgotten-midwife-by-laura-anthony.html)
Laura Anthony’s first historical fiction novel, The Women on Platform Two, earned five stars from me and she’s done it again. The Forgotten Midwife is another five star read for me. I fell into this novel and felt such a multitude of emotions wash over me with each page. When I reached the end and closed the book I knew I had read something special.
This story is told in dual timelines. In 2025 we have Riley who is getting married and wishing she had more family other than her grandmother who has dementia. On a visit with her grandmother she has some moments of lucidity and gives Riley a birth certificate of a baby born in Ireland. Everything about it screams that this must be her mother’s birth certificate. Realizing she needs to find out who her mother’s family was, Riley and her fiancé travel to Ireland. Riley finds out so much more than she expected and the revelations have the power to change her life forever.
Based on true historical events we go back to 1950’s Ireland and meet Margaret, who because of family obligations, is sent to work in a home for fallen girls. Margaret knows nothing about being a midwife and the conditions and treatment of these girls horrifies her. She is determined to care for these girls with compassion and she sets out to do just that. My heart broke for these girls and the many who were simply lost to this system. They had nobody and were mistreated because they had dared to become pregnant. It’s horrifying to think that homes like this were still in operation in the 1960’s when I was born and even later. Margaret was a truly remarkable woman with a strength and resilience that was inspiring.
I don’t want to say too much as this is truly a novel worth reading. So many women were forced into lives where they had no voice and no hope. The Forgotten Midwife is my favorite book this year and it is one that will stay with me for a very long time. I can’t recommend this one enough and I think we’ll be seeing it on a lot of bookclub lists with so many topics for discussion. It released on May 12 so grab yourself a copy and I’m sure you’ll be transported to another time and place just as I was. Highly recommended.
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
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