Maine, 1789: a real midwife, a body in the ice, and a rape case against the town's own judge.
A wonderful heroine, gripping birth scenes and a warm marriage at its heart, but it's long, the middle repeats itself and the mystery is thinner than the cover suggests. Four out of five.
Every guide comes as a video and a full written article. Pick the one you need: the review is spoiler-free, the ending explained is not.
Is The Frozen River worth reading? An honest, spoiler-free review of Ariel Lawhon's historical mystery about Martha Ballard, a real midwife in 1789 Maine: the murder in the ice, the rape trial, what works, what drags, content notes and my score.
How true is The Frozen River? Martha Ballard's real diary, the Rebecca Foster rape case, Judge North's trial, the long winter, and what Ariel Lawhon invented, checked against her author's note and the history.
The Frozen River ending explained, with full spoilers: North's trial, Rebecca's baby, what happens in the mill, who really killed Joshua Burgess, and what the silver fox and the three stones mean. Content warning: sexual violence is discussed.
Loved The Frozen River? Here are six historical novels to read next, from Hamnet to Burial Rites, plus the real history of Martha Ballard, and how to choose between them.
Is The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon worth reading? A one-minute, spoiler-free review: the setup, the catch, and my score.
The Frozen River (2023) by Ariel Lawhon follows Martha Ballard, a real midwife in Hallowell, Maine, through the long winter of 1789, when a man accused of rape is found frozen in the Kennebec River and the other accused man, the town’s judge, decides what happened to him.
Below you’ll find a spoiler-free review, the ending explained, what’s true and what Lawhon invented, and six historical novels to read next.
It's the winter of seventeen eighty nine in Hallowell, Maine, and the Kennebec River has frozen a month early. Martha Ballard is a fifty four year old midwife, and she's delivered hundreds of babies in this town.
One morning, a man is found frozen into the ice. He's Joshua Burgess, one of two men accused of raping the pastor's wife, Rebecca Foster. The other accused man is the town's judge, Joseph North.
It's the winter of seventeen eighty nine in Hallowell, Maine, and the Kennebec River has frozen a month early. Martha Ballard is a fifty four year old midwife, and she's delivered hundreds of babies in this town.
A wonderful heroine, gripping birth scenes and a warm marriage at its heart, but it's long, the middle repeats itself and the mystery is thinner than the cover suggests. Four out of five. Read it if: you love historical fiction with a strong heroine; you liked where the crawdads sing, the nightingale or hamnet; you want a book club pick that starts arguments. Skip it if: you want a fast whodunit; sexual violence is a hard line for you. Review: The Frozen River →
Our ending explained covers the final chapters in full, with spoilers. The Frozen River ending explained, with full spoilers: North's trial, Rebecca's baby, what happens in the mill, who really killed Joshua Burgess, and what the silver fox and the three stones mean. Content warning: sexual violence is discussed. Ending explained: The Frozen River →
A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, The Birth House by Ami McKay, Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. Books like it: The Frozen River →
Partly. Martha Ballard was a real midwife whose diary survives, and the rape case against Judge North was real. The murder mystery and the ending are invented.
Martha Ballard, a 54-year-old midwife in Hallowell, Maine, and her husband Ephraim, a surveyor who runs a mill. Around them are Rebecca Foster, the pastor's wife who accuses Joshua Burgess and Judge Joseph North of rape, a young Harvard-trained doctor, and the Ballard children, including Cyrus and Jonathan.
In Hallowell, Maine, over the winter of 1789, when the Kennebec River freezes a month early. The real long winter was 1785; Lawhon moved it to line up with the Foster case.
Try these: Martha trusts experience and the new doctor trusts laudanum, so whose knowledge should count? How does a court run by the accused man shape Rebecca's choices? And does knowing Martha Ballard was real change how you read her?
Yes. It was a Good Morning America book club pick, and the rape trial and the ending give groups plenty to argue about. Note that sexual violence is central to the plot.
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon is historical fiction, with a murder mystery at its centre.
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