Elizabeth Whitely's destiny is to be a midwife. For generations, the women in her family have brought life into the world.

But after a shocking discovery about what happens to unwanted babies, Elizabeth vows to abandon her vocation.

Instead she tries to reinvent herself as a 'wife' and 'mother' to widower Alvin Denniker - the man she has loved since childhood - and his daughter, Lauren. But this will not be the final calling for Elizabeth, who has much further to travel to reach her true destiny.

This novel is set in a mountain community of West Virginia at the start of the last century. Laskas writes in the first person and gives Elizabeth a simple, folksy voice in the tradition of oral story-telling.

An eight-generation West Virginian herself, Laskas credits her family for help with her debut novel. No doubt these stories help lend The Midwife's Tale its authenticity and make it so engrossing.

The evocation of the Whitely women's lives is so rich, you can't help but share in their exhaustion and jubilation at a birthing.

As a piece of social history on the role of midwives in rural communities 100 years ago, it is insightful and interesting. And as a story about one woman's determination and spirit in an age when women were expected to wed and bed and breed, it is a rewarding read.

Updated: 08:50 Wednesday, March 24, 2004