Book details
The Frozen River
by Ariel Lawhon
2023 · Doubleday
About the book
In 1789 Maine, Martha Ballard is a midwife and healer tasked with investigating a body found trapped in the Kennebec River. The deceased is an unpopular local man accused of rape, and his death occurs during a winter of extreme isolation and political tension. Martha records every birth, death, and legal transgression in her diary, using these meticulous observations to challenge the local physician’s verdict of accidental drowning. She navigates a rigid colonial legal system to seek justice for a sexual assault victim while protecting her own family from escalating social threats.
Historical fiction enthusiasts read this novel for its detailed rendering of eighteenth-century medicine and early American jurisprudence. It appeals to readers interested in the domestic labor of women and the practical realities of frontier survival. The narrative provides a look at how early judicial systems often marginalized female testimony and how a single record-keeper could disrupt established power structures. Readers finish the book with a clearer understanding of the historical midwife’s role as a forensic observer and community stabilizer.
Details
- Published
- 2023
- Publisher
- Doubleday
- ISBN
- 9780385546874
- Language
- EN