“The body floats downstream. But it is late November, and the Kennebec River is starting to freeze, large chunks of ice swirling and tumbling through the water, collecting in mounds while clear, cold fingers of ice stretch out from either bank, reaching into the current, grabbing hold of all that passes by. Already weighted down by soaked clothing and heavy leather boots, the dead man bobs in the ebbing current, unseeing eyes staring at the waning crescent moon.”
That’s the opening passage to Ariel Lawhon’s historical novel The Frozen River. The novel is inspired by real events that were noted in the diary of Martha Ballard, a midwife who lived in Hallowell, Maine, in the late 1700’s, early 1800’s. Martha, as a healer, was often called to determine cause of death, and that’s how she comes to examine the body of Joshua Burgess who has been accused, along with a local judge, of raping the minister’s wife.
The novel takes place over six months from the time the river froze until it melted. During that time, Martha attends many births, stands as a witness to the bruises on the rape victim’s body, watches her adult children court, and solves the mystery of who murdered Burgess.
This novel faithfully portrays life in a New England community in a newly born nation whose court system has been newly formed. As the jacket says, this book “is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.”
If you’re looking for an engrossing story based on the real life of a colonial midwife, then you must read The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.
