Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

 

The year is 1789 in colonial Maine, and a brutal winter freezes over the Kennebec River, trapping the body of a dead man in the ice. When he is discovered, the small town of Hallowell scrambles to solve the mystery. A midwife and healer is called in to examine the body, and when she suspects foul play given the evidence she observes, some respected townspeople challenge her conclusions. With twists and turns, this thrilling historical novel is based on the real diary of Martha Ballard and surrounding historical records.

For our discussion, Cathy shared some extra information from other biographies written about Martha Ballard. We learned that although there is a record of Rebecca Foster's rape trial, there seems to be no documented murder trial related to the man in the ice and no records concerning interactions with Paul Revere. In terms of the culture of the time, people were always going to other people's homes, more than we see in current times. Martha earned her own income as a midwife, and she and her husband seemed to keep their money separate. Records indicate that her husband even went to debtor's prison for a time.

Aside from dry records of births, deaths, trials, and the weather, the author admits that given the paucity of information, she took liberties when personifying Ballard's character. As readers, we wondered if Ballard was a bit modernized given her independence, bold actions, and strong feminist-like views. Martha's husband also seemed a bit romanticized with his deep understanding and unwavering support of his wife. But these traits made him likable in contrast to the villains of the story, so we'll take it.

We compared Ballard's work as a medical professional with the responsibilities of the doctors and midwives in Lady Tan's Circle of Women, a fictionalized account of a real female physician living in 15th century China. Basically, we concluded that women handle the bulk of the dirty work. 

We continued our discussion by sharing happenings in our own lives. And of course, we celebrated that we were all able to join this time around. Until next time when we are soundly in the fall season!