The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon tells the story of Martha Ballard, a midwife who lived in the eighteenth century. The story opens in November of 1789 when a body is found in the frozen Kennebec river in rural Maine. As the local midwife and licensed medical practitioner, Martha Ballard is summoned directly from a birthing to examine the body. She quickly determines that the man died from a hanging before he was frozen and that there was no rope in the ice. Identifying him as Joshua Burgess, she is not surprised about the hanging considering he is facing rape charges but still confused about who might have bothered to kill him. However, the new doctor in town tells the court that it was an accidental death and leaves Martha rather mad about the situation. Though she complains to the judge she knows it will not be worth it considering the judge is friends with the doctor and a fellow defendant in the rape case. Now Martha is forced to carefully navigate town politics and gossip as she works on supporting the lady pushing the rape charges and doing her best to keep her family from being caught in the midst of everything.
This is a rather interesting work of historical fiction because it is based on actual events and people even if it is fiction. I am not sure exactly where the line is but being able to toe the line between history and fiction while still staying faithful to people’s personality is not easy. This book did just a great job of that as the previous book I read by Lawhon. That being said, I did greatly enjoy getting to see a glimpse of the trials and tribulations a person like Martha Ballard would have faced. She sure did a pretty good job of maneuvering around any obstacles that appeared in her path that’s for sure. I know parts of this were extrapolated from what is known but reading it, this didn’t necessarily feel like that. The amount of detail is actually pretty decent considering everything. You can definitely see the author must have done immense amounts of research into the life and history of Martha Ballard as well as the general time frame and events in question. I was impressed by the dedication of the author but also just as impressed by the dedication of Martha Ballard in her pursuit of justice despite the odds. It was a fast read also and seemed to have a good flow to it. The only thing I would have changed was to include a bit more backstory for Martha but honestly, the story didn’t actually need it and I can always do my own research to find out more if I really want to. It was a good book though and an enjoyable read so I am happy giving it four out of five stars.
This is a work of historical fiction but is based on real people and events so it would probably appeal to readers who enjoy either historical fiction or non-fiction, especially to those who enjoy reading about revolutionary era America. It does contain some potentially unsettling themes and conversations considering it centers around a rape case and a murder case so the reader does need to keep that in mind before diving right in. There are also numerous references to other adult content but nothing overly explicit. The violence is also rather minimal except for a couple of scenes. Nothing that would be overly concerning but perhaps something to be aware of nonetheless. It would make me leery of recommending it to younger readers, probably no one younger than about fourteen or fifteen should be considering this one. Still a good read and well worth the consideration though. If you do decide to try it out, consider sharing your thoughts in the comments.