The frozen river

A man has been found frozen in ice. Martha Ballard, the local midwife, has been called in to examine the body and determine the cause of death. She comes to one conclusion, but the physician of the town comes to another. Martha knows the truth and she does not stop, even when it could damage her

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reputation and her well built life as she knows it.

I loved everything about this book. Martha is a character that is tough as nails and smart as a whip! And this time period…oh my word. What women went through to just be heard, not even believed, just heard!

The research that went into the tale is amazing. I loved learning about the court system in that time period. I had no idea about some if the processes and the way things worked back then.

I have said this before and I will say this again…I LOVE A BOOK WHICH HAS ME RESEARCHING. I could not wait to look up Martha Ballard and to learn more about her life!

Need a book which is intense and will keep you up long into the night…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Inspired by the life of a midwife, Martha Ballard, who really lived, post-Revolutionary War. In this novel, she investigates and solves the mystery of a dead man found in the frozen Kennebec River. She feels his death is a murder from a hanging and from a beating beforehand, whereas the town [not

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so efficient] doctor feels otherwise. She also defends her friend, the minister's wife, from the scorn of the townspeople because of an alleged rape. I learned a lot about the duties of a midwife and about childbirth in those days. Enjoyable. Also, the author's note at the end is not to be missed.

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This novel blends history and mystery in a small New England town during a long winter. Martha Ballard is a midwife, whose duties make her privy to many of the town's secrets. When a man accused of rape turns up dead in the river, Martha is asked to examine the body, a task which leads her to dig

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even deeper into the secrets which permeate the place she calls home. This novel makes for a gripping read, perfect for a winter weekend.

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Marvelous book. and marvelous intel from the author afterwards as to her thoughts and interpretations of a historic figure.

5 star plus a couple more if I could add them! My first book of the year and it will be a popular one. Really hard to find in hardcover and holds at the library are crazy long. GMA picked it as their December read and where I really liked it, I hope it holds up to the hype. Oprahs club used to send

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books to the top of the best sellers list just because so many people bought it for that reason. Anyway, the story was great historical fiction but based on the real life of a true pioneer woman and midwife in Maine in the late 1700's. Mix in a murder mystery and it is a great read.

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Martha Ballard is a midwife in the late 18th century who's called to testify in a rape case. I couldn't put this one down. Martha might be one of my favorite characters I read in recent years and knowing she's based on a real woman makes me love her even more. She's strong, smart, and opinionated

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without ever sacrificing her love for her children and husband. She fights for those with no voice and doesn't let her personal beliefs get in the way of serving those in need. Just an excellent novel across the board. I couldn't wait to see what happened next and I cheered in one gruesome scene.

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Based on the true story of a midwife in Maine in the 18th century, this is once again excellent historical fiction by Ariel Lawhon. The large Ballard family, headed by the father, Ephraim, and his wife, Martha has joys and sorrows that they celebrate and mourn together. Martha gave birth to nine

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children, of whom six remained after a devastating bout of smallpox.

Martha is a midwife by training and much respected in her small community. In the aftermath of the rape, she stands solidly behind the victim, despite one of the judges being accused of the crime. This was a time when women were publicly shamed, fined and/or incarcerated for acts of moral turpitude while men were held to a different standard. There is a death that figures prominently from the beginning of the novel.

This is an engrossing read, especially after reading the author's notes at the end.

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First sentence: 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

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hold of all that passes by.

Premise/plot: Martha Ballard, a midwife, witnesses much in her community. She often ends up testifying in court sharing her observations and notes. IN The Frozen River, she is struggling with the injustice of it all. A local woman has been gang-assaulted while her husband was away; she's identified the men involved. Martha visited her days later and can testify to her physical and emotional state. But despite both being willing to testify in court--despite the horrendous nature of the crimes--justice seems unlikely within the system at least. One of the perpetrators is the dead man found in the frozen river. The second, well, he holds a position of power.

The novel chronicles about a year of time, I believe. Much happens within the community.

My thoughts: The novel is loosely based on a historical figure. This is not the first book about Martha Ballard, a real midwife in early America. The author details how much she changed, rearranged, condensed, and reimagined for her novel.

This one was LONG. It is definitely more of a journey than a destination, in my opinion. In other words, IF you start the novel and are drawn into the story by the characters, keep reading you'll likely enjoy the book as a whole. I personally would have preferred fewer flashbacks. Flashing back to Martha's past did nothing for me. None of the flashbacks seemed to move the present story forward.

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This is a historical fiction novel based on real-life midwife, Martha Ballard, set in Maine 1789. When a body is found frozen in the river, Martha believes he was murdered. However, the new doctor in town disagrees. Preceding this death, the dead man, along with another, were accused of raping a

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local woman. However, in the patriarchal society, the women weren't believed, and the men usually got off scot-free. Martha is frustrated by this, and although her husband supports her, she is endangered by the men who want her silenced.
I loved this story. I found it fascinating that Martha never lost a mother while delivering babies, and how her life was affected by rape. The author changed some events, but the spotlight on this amazing woman is interesting.

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The Frozen River, based on a true story about midwife Martha Ballard, is an exceptional example of historical fiction at its finest! Martha a strong confident woman was a true advocate for women in a time when women were not considered equal.

Ariel Lawhon with her brilliant prose and vivid

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descriptions kept me engrossed from the very first page, and had me sitting on the edge of my seat in this wonderful complex historical thriller mystery. This intriguing sensational story is educational, thought provoking and arouses emotion throughout.

Highly recommended this book about Martha Ballad, an exceptional woman, fighting for justice.

I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Doubleday through NetGalley. I was not obligated to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

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Based on an historical figure, The Frozen River is a fictional account of one winter in the life of real-life midwife Martha Ballard.

Set in 1789 Maine, Martha, whose primary medical responsibility is to deliver babies, is called upon to examine a corpse pulled from the frozen Kennebeck River.

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Martha declares the death a murder. The deceased has been accused of having participated in a rape that resulted in a pregnancy. The judge hearing both bases (rape and murder) was an accomplice to the rapist. (That’s going to make for a good story in any century!)

Portrayal of 18th century life and justice is captivating, especially viz a viz the treatment of women and their lack of respect/standing in the courtroom. The story moves quickly, and Lawhon’s prose is superb.

I greatly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who is an aficionado of historical fiction.

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Enjoyed this very much...very good writing, make sure to read the author's note at the end to get more information about her research and how she toned down some of the details of the events that took place. ( I couldn't imagine that it was worse...but it was)

Ariel Lawhon's The Frozen River came to my attention shortly before its release, but it wasn't until I watched the author's event at The Poisoned Pen that I knew that I had to read it. I am so glad that I did.

The Frozen River is based on the life of Martha Ballard, a midwife in Maine who delivered

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over 1,000 babies without ever losing a mother. Ballard is the great-aunt of Clara Barton and the great-great-grandmother of Mary Hobart, one of the first female physicians in the U.S. She is a woman who would've vanished from history if not for her diary. In Lawhon's story, Martha's voice is so real, so sure, so compelling, that I immediately fell under her spell.

The Frozen River is incredibly rich in historical detail: the sexist laws, the aftereffects of the French and Indian War, and the ebb and flow of life during a winter in colonial Maine. I felt as though I were right beside Martha each and every day. Occasional chapters fill in her backstory. A silver fox Martha named Tempest makes several appearances, and the relationship between Martha and her husband Ephraim is a thing of beauty. Coleman's General Store is the place where Martha barters for books and the latest gossip, and I love how she would gift newlyweds with one of her quilts: "Everyone must sleep, and to do so beneath a warm quilt, tenderly made, is the first thing that helps a house become a home."

The Frozen River is wonderfully evocative of its time and place. It's a compelling mystery. It's based on the life of a remarkable woman. Read it.

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Outlier alert: Several friends who enthusiastically nudged me to read “The Frozen River” will frown to see that it landed on my “DNF” list. Any novel that attempts to introduce about 20 characters in the first 150 pages is doomed to lose me. That’s not necessarily the author’s fault.

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After all, a late mayor of Buffalo once publicly branded me as being “of average intelligence.” I felt I needed an organizational chart to remind me how the eclectic assortment of people fit into the plot. I made it through about half of the book largely because it’s well-written and sheds an intriguing light on life in the northeast during the late 1700s (hence, the 2-star rating). But the storyline simply didn’t grab me, and the effort required to keep all the characters straight simply wasn’t worth it.

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The Kennebec is the frozen river in this book. It freezes up at the beginning and thaws by the end (much like the story itself). A murder mystery is at the center of this historical novel, which begins with a body discovered frozen in that river. Notwithstanding the allure of a juicy murder

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mystery, the most intriguing elements in this novel involve what it must have been like to live in 18th century Maine. Hollowell is a close-knit village situated along the Kennebec and its resident midwife, based on the real-life Martha Ballard, left a trove of quotidian facts about this time and place in her diaries. Lawhon expertly fictionalizes them. Not unlike today, women were treated as second class citizens. Despite obvious expertise, Martha is disrespected by the town’s credentialed doctor, ignored by a rudimentary justice system, and legally subjugated to her husband, Ephraim. Yet midwives were ideally placed in these communities to learn all the gossip and everyone’s secrets. Martha was no exception. For instance, in Martha’s time, quite a few children were conceived out of wedlock. Such births are common elements in Lawhon’s narrative.

Lawhon gives us a nuanced heroine in Martha Ballad. Not only is she a competent and caring medical professional, but also a middle-aged mother of nine children with six surviving. She enjoys a stable marriage of 35 years to Ephraim, who runs a successful sawmill. Martha gets involved in the murder mystery when she is called to examine the body of Joshua Burgess and concludes that he did not die of natural causes. Her conclusion is disputed, however, by the new village physician, a vain man with little to no experience with childbirth. Martha feels compelled to investigate further because of this dispute. She quickly sees multiple links between this murder and the rape of the wife of the village parson. Complications galore ensue, including accusations against her mute son, and a scoundrel judge who holds the lease to her family’s property.

Lawhon’s twisty plot has enough suspense, skullduggery, and sexiness to keep most readers amused. However, the most compelling scenes come at deliveries and in courtrooms (in this case it is frequently the town tavern). Lawhon successfully uses Martha’s voice in her dairies to evoke a close personal narrative. For me, Lawhon’s only shortcoming comes with a few unrealistic male characters. Ephraim, Martha’s husband was a bit too good to be true; North, the village judge had few redeeming qualities and was way too ruthless; Dr. Benjamin Page, the Harvard-educated physician who belittles Martha was too much of an ass for my tastes. Lawhon, on the other hand, seems to excel at writing nuanced women characters, including Martha’s daughters, who are on the hunt for marriageable mates; Rebecca Foster, the woman pregnant with her rapists’ child; and especially Doctor, the mysterious indigenous healer.

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There is so much going on in this book. Then, to know it's based on Martha Ballard, a midwife in Maine in the 18th century makes it amazing. I really liked it!

Really, really not getting the rave reviews for this one. Too many characters. Too many little moments that seemed as though they might amount to something that, in the end, just fell apart. Relationships I did not believe were real.. A violent ending the author seemed to justify because the victim

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was a horrendous person. Not horribly written and I did finish it so I'm giving it three stars, but certainly not a remarkable novel.

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This book was just so good. I love the strong woman character and she was just so smart and powerful in a mature way. This book also made me so frustrated with how the men treated women and that they weren't able to do so many things. If a woman was pregnant out of wedlock, it's basically her fault

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and there was a court thing. It was just crazy, because this was based on true events. I LOVED the author's afterward where she talks about where she got the idea and what was real and what wasn't. Really cool. And that she was in a doctor's office and happened to see something about Martha in a magazine or something. And if the doctor wasn't late, and she didn't see that, then there wouldn't have been a book. Anyway, the book was amazing. SPOILER: And at the end, where she cut off the judge's dick when he tried to rape her...soooo good. The book made you hate the judge SO MUCH and his character was such an asshole that when she did that, and got away with it...just winning. Really good book and makes me want to check out other books by this author!

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