Book Review: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Midwife Martha Ballard has been plying her commerce for many years now in 1789 Maine, and has the singular distinction of not but dropping a mom underneath her care. However her calling isn’t simply one in all ensuring that the ladies who rent her survive the perils of being pregnant and childbirth. As one of many few literate girls in her space, she additionally data essential particulars about every delivery within the journals her devoted husband Ephraim purchases for her:

I sustain with the journals as a result of I get pleasure from it, but additionally as a result of it’s my job. One of many duties of my occupation. As a midwife and healer, I’m witness to the small print of my neighbors’ non-public lives, together with their fears and secrets and techniques, and—when acceptable—I document them for safekeeping. Reminiscence is a depraved factor that warps and twists. However paper and ink obtain the reality with out emotion, and so they learn it again with out partiality. That, I consider, is why so few girls are taught to learn and write. God solely is aware of what they’d do with the ability of pen and ink at their disposal.

The legislation requires her to testify to, amongst different issues, the paternity of new child youngsters as confessed by unwed moms within the throes of labor. However Martha additionally data a lot graver incidents, together with the testimony of Rebecca Foster, a pastor’s spouse who was brutally crushed and raped whereas her husband was out of city. Rebecca has no hesitation in naming her assailants. Nobody is actually shocked that one in all them is Joshua Burgess, who has a fame across the city of Hallowell for urgent his attentions on unwilling girls. 

However the identify of her different attacker comes as a shock. Joseph North is just not solely a colonel however a decide and land agent, and vigorously disputes Rebecca’s declare. When Martha publicly helps Rebecca’s account, she earns his ire as effectively. Utilizing his energy as an essential determine on the town, North begins to subtly strain not solely the Fosters however the Ballards too. In maybe probably the most egregious abuse of his place as agent of the corporate that owns huge swathes of Hallowell, he instructions Ephraim to go away city in the course of winter with a purpose to redo a survey on a distant parcel of land. Martha figures that North is simply punishing them, however Ephraim has a extra shrewd evaluation of the decide’s motives:

“North needs me to be a whole bunch of miles away when it comes time so that you can testify.”

 

“Why?”

 

“As a result of the legislation of coverture prevents a lady from testifying in court docket with out her husband current.”

 

“No,” I shake my head. “I give testimony in court docket many occasions a 12 months with out you being current.”

 

“Solely as a result of your occupation permits you to take action concerning a lady’s declaration of paternity throughout childbirth. These parameters don’t lengthen to a state of affairs like this.”

 

“But when I’m not in a position to testify subsequent month—”

 

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

Earlier than the case can come to trial, nonetheless, Burgess is discovered useless within the frozen Kennebec River. As one of many few educated medical professionals within the space, Martha known as in to look at his physique. There’s little doubt in her thoughts that he was crushed and hanged to dying earlier than being thrown within the frigid waters, however the newly arrived Physician Benjamin Web page is fast to contradict her. The Harvard-trained skilled—as he’s fast to tell everybody—believes he is aware of way more about drugs than a mere midwife, and asserts that Burgess should have fallen into the river and drowned, and that his accidents have been all sustained autopsy. Martha suspects that this verdict advantages solely North, who simply so occurs to be pals with Dr. Web page.

As Martha stays steadfast in asserting her perception in Rebecca’s story, she’ll need to proceed to battle as effectively to defend the ladies of her city from highly effective forces who would fortunately sacrifice the lives of others with a purpose to defend their very own reputations. Ariel Lawhon does an incredible job not solely of bringing the historic interval to life, but additionally of drawing parallels between Martha’s struggles and the persevering with battle of victims to be believed right here within the twenty first century. Primarily based on the lifetime of an actual historic determine, The Frozen River takes solely small liberties in fictionalizing the midwife’s life, plausibly turning her right into a sleuth who should clear up a homicide thriller with repercussions for her personal persevering with peace of thoughts. Gripping and sometimes harrowing, that is historic fiction that reminds readers of how a lot we owe the pioneers of the previous for the liberties we now have as we speak, and the way we should battle by no means to let these hard-earned rights be taken away.

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