My Notorious Life by Madame X - Tapa dura

A glorious, grotty version of Call the Midwife set in the backstreets of nineteenth-century New York and starring a rambunctious heroine called Axie Muldoon, My Notorious Life is an angry, colourful page-turner ... Vividly weaving together stories about life, birth, death, love and family, Kate Manning conveys the terrible choices faced by the pregnant women who sought out Axie. Fiery, indomitable Axie herself is a wonderful, memorable character struggling to reunite her family and do her best for the women who need her (Metro)

Not just a splendidly page-turning story of an angry orphan clawing her way up in the world, but a gripping docu-drama about women's business (in several senses) in nineteenth-century America. My Notorious Life gives midwifery its full dues: the glories and the miseries, the feminism and the money, the literally bloody ethical dilemmas. Unflinchingly memorable (Emma Donoghue, author of Room)

Manning's sophisticated, intelligent novel is brought to life by the vivid voice in which her central character tells her own story (Sunday Times)

Both riveting and morally intriguing (Stylist)

A gripping tale told in a fiery, compelling voice (Elle Magazine)

This captivating novel draws you into one woman's desperate struggle to make her mark in a man's world (Psychologies)

An evocative, riveting read (Good Housekeeping)

My Notorious Life is wonderful fun. The wit and verve of its unsinkable heroine make this novel a delight to read, even in its most harrowing passages. Beyond that, it's a book that matters-now more than ever. Faithfully true to the time of its setting, it is also extremely relevant to ours (Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls' Rising)

The lively, compelling, irreverent voice of Axie springs off the page and keeps the book readable to the end (The List)

Evocative ... An epic tale, much like Barbara Taylor Bradford tome, where fortune truly favours the brave girl. A remarkable page turner (Yorkshire Post)