Book Review: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Midwife Martha Ballard has been plying her trade for decades now in 1789 Maine, and has the singular distinction of not yet losing a mother under her care. But her calling isn’t just one of making sure that the women who hire her survive the perils of pregnancy and childbirth. As one of the few literate women in her area, she also records important details about each birth in the journals her devoted husband Ephraim purchases for her:

I keep up with the journals because I enjoy it, but also because it is my job. One of the duties of my profession. As a midwife and healer, I am witness to the details of my neighbors’ private lives, along with their fears and secrets, and—when appropriate—I record them for safekeeping. Memory is a wicked thing that warps and twists. But paper and ink receive the truth without emotion, and they read it back without partiality. That, I believe, is why so few women are taught to read and write. God only knows what they would do with the power of pen and ink at their disposal.

The law requires her to testify to, among other things, the paternity of newborn children as confessed by unwed mothers in the throes of labor. But Martha also records much graver incidents, including the testimony of Rebecca Foster, a pastor’s wife who was brutally beaten and raped while her husband was out of town. Rebecca has no hesitation in naming her assailants. No one is really surprised that one of them is Joshua Burgess, who has a reputation around the town of Hallowell for pressing his attentions on unwilling women. 

But the name of her other attacker comes as a shock. Joseph North is not only a colonel but a judge and land agent, and vigorously disputes Rebecca’s claim. When Martha publicly supports Rebecca’s account, she earns his ire as well. Using his power as an important figure in town, North begins to subtly pressure not only the Fosters but the Ballards too. In perhaps the most egregious abuse of his position as agent of the company that owns vast swathes of Hallowell, he commands Ephraim to leave town in the middle of winter in order to redo a survey on a remote parcel of land. Martha figures that North is just punishing them, but Ephraim has a more shrewd assessment of the judge’s motives:

“North wants me to be hundreds of miles away when it comes time for you to testify.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because the law of coverture prevents a woman from testifying in court without her husband present.”

 

“No,” I shake my head. “I give testimony in court many times a year without you being present.”

 

“Only because your profession allows you to do so regarding a woman’s declaration of paternity during childbirth. Those parameters do not extend to a situation like this.”

 

“But if I’m not able to testify next month—”

 

“Rebecca Foster will lose her only witness, and her allegations will be dismissed,” he says.

Before the case can come to trial, however, Burgess is found dead in the frozen Kennebec River. As one of the few trained medical professionals in the area, Martha is called in to examine his body. There’s no doubt in her mind that he was beaten and hanged to death before being thrown in the frigid waters, but the newly arrived Doctor Benjamin Page is quick to contradict her. The Harvard-trained professional—as he’s quick to inform everyone—believes he knows far more about medicine than a mere midwife, and asserts that Burgess must have fallen into the river and drowned, and that his injuries were all sustained post-mortem. Martha suspects that this verdict benefits only North, who just so happens to be friends with Dr. Page.

As Martha remains steadfast in asserting her belief in Rebecca’s tale, she’ll have to continue to fight as well to defend the women of her town from powerful forces who would happily sacrifice the lives of others in order to protect their own reputations. Ariel Lawhon does an amazing job not only of bringing the historical period to life, but also of drawing parallels between Martha’s struggles and the continuing fight of victims to be believed here in the 21st century. Based on the life of a real historical figure, The Frozen River takes only small liberties in fictionalizing the midwife’s life, plausibly turning her into a sleuth who must solve a murder mystery with repercussions for her own continuing peace of mind. Gripping and occasionally harrowing, this is historical fiction that reminds readers of how much we owe the pioneers of the past for the liberties we have today, and how we must fight never to let those hard-earned rights be taken away.