The Verdict
Today’s book is The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon. It came out in twenty twenty three, it was a Good Morning America book club pick, and it has sold almost two million copies.
My verdict: read it, especially if you love historical fiction with a strong heroine. The voice is wonderful, the birth scenes are gripping, and the ending will start arguments. But it’s long, the middle repeats itself, and the mystery is thinner than the cover suggests. I give it four out of five, and no spoilers here.
What It’s About
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.
The Mystery
Martha examines the body and says he was beaten and hanged before he ever went into the river. A young Harvard trained doctor says he drowned. And the judge, of course, rules it an accident.
So Martha is pulled into two fights at once: finding out who killed Burgess, and getting Rebecca’s case heard by a court run by the man she accused. Her diary is the only record of Rebecca’s injuries.
A Real Woman
Here’s the best part: Martha Ballard was real. She kept a diary for twenty seven years, and almost every entry ends the same way: I have been at home.
Lawhon says about seventy five percent of the novel follows the historical record. Rebecca’s accusation, the judge and the trial are all real. The murder is not. I’ve made a whole video on what’s true.
What Works
First, Martha’s voice. She’s sharp, funny and a little profane, and she throws Shakespearean insults at men who deserve them.
Second, the birth scenes. Every delivery is different and tense, and the battle between Martha’s experience and the new doctor’s laudanum is the most satisfying thread in the book.
Third, the marriage. Martha and her husband, Ephraim, have been married thirty five years, and it’s one of the warmest love stories I’ve read in a long time.
What Doesn’t Work
Now the honest part. First, it’s long, more than four hundred pages, and the case goes through three hearings that cover a lot of the same ground.
Second, the murder mystery barely moves for most of the book, then wraps up very quickly near the end.
Third, Ephraim is almost too perfect, and some of the dialogue sounds very modern for seventeen eighty nine.
Content Notes
A heads up: rape is central to the plot, and one courtroom testimony is graphic. There are also stillbirths, the deaths of children, period racism, and a violent scene near the end.
The Scorecard
My scores. Heroine, five out of five. Historical detail, four and a half. Romance, four and a half. Mystery, three. Pacing, three. That averages to four.
Who It’s For
Read it if you loved Where the Crawdads Sing, The Nightingale, or Hamnet, or if you like strong women standing up to powerful men.
Skip it if you want a fast whodunit, or if sexual violence is a hard line for you.
Where To Go Next
I’ve also made an ending explained, a true story video about the real Martha Ballard, and a list of books like it. They’re linked below. Tell me in the comments: did you know Martha Ballard was real?
