A modern master of historical fiction — Ariel Lawhon — is back with another novel that bridges past and present and offers a striking portrait of an extraordinary American woman.
“The Frozen River” centers on the real-life 18th-century midwife Martha Ballard, who attended more than 1,000 births over her lifetime in rural Maine. Ballard kept a detailed diary, which was highly unusual for women at the time. It was the topic of a biography titled “The Midwife’s Tale,” which won a Pulitzer Prize for history in 1991. Lawhon takes the character and runs with it, condensing many of the events of Ballard’s life into one dramatic and brutal winter.
As the book opens, we learn that the body of Joshua Burgess has been pulled out of the freezing Kennebec River. Burgess was one of two men accused of raping a local woman, and Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine the cause of death. The story that follows gives readers a glimpse into daily life at the time, as well as colonial health care and the fledgling U.S. justice system.
Ballard’s compassion and tenacity enliven this novel. Some of the most powerful scenes are ones that show her fighting for her patients — and women in general — at a time when most believed they should be seen and not heard. That fierce feminism builds to a shocking and unforgettable ending that would certainly get book clubs talking.
I haven’t read Lawhon’s previous novels, but this one makes me want to explore her backlist a little more. If you read it, don’t skip the fascinating Author’s Note at the end, in which Lawhon explains her initial inspiration and her pandemic writing process.
