The Frozen River

The Frozen River is an example of historical fiction at its finest. I love books that not only educate me but evoke emotion and are thought provoking. This book did all three perfectly. The Frozen River was inspired by Martha Ballard (February 9, 1735 – June 9, 1812), a midwife who delivered hundreds of babies and kept diaries about her personal life as well as her experiences as a midwife. Her diaries have proven to be educational and provided insight into the lives of women during her time/life. I loved how the author blended fact and fiction to bring this book to life. I loved this gripping, and hard to put down historical mystery that had me turning the pages and wanting to know whodunit.

Maine, 1789 After successfully delivering a baby, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body of a man who has been found in the frozen Kennebec River. She makes her observations and determines that the man has been murdered. Martha’s husband taught her to read and write and she maintains a diary where she keeps track of births, deaths, when she has provided healing and aspects of her personal life. She notes what she has observed when examining the dead man’s body. The dead man just happens to be one of the men who has been accused of raping a woman several months earlier. When a trial date for the rape is set, Martha will be called as a witness, and her diary will be shown as evidence.

Over the course of the winter, Martha will deliver many babies and come up against, Dr. Benjamin Page, a Harvard educated doctor, who not only disagrees with her pertaining to how the man found in the river died, but also disagrees with her when it comes to childbirth. Man did he agitate me as he did Martha in the story. There was a lot of booing and hissing from me during his scenes.

I was completely and blissfully hooked from the very first page! I admired Martha’s courage, her gumption, her intellect, her straightforward approach, her advocating for women and her healing knowledge. She lived in a time where many women could not read or write. As a midwife she could testify in court for certain things but for the rape trial could only testify if her husband was present.

This book also highlighted how women were treated during this time. Women could be tried for having a child out of wedlock due to fornicating, but the men involved walked around with their reputation intact. After all, it’s her fault he got under her skirts. Grrr. I couldn’t help but feel for the women of this book.

I was invested in the mystery as to how the man got into the river just as much as I was invested in Martha’s life. I was happy she had a loving marriage with a man who respected not only her but her skills and always had her back. There were many characters in this book, each is distinct and played a part. As with most books, there were characters I loved, those I liked and there were characters that I loathed.

I loved the vivid descriptions, the chilling atmosphere, and the tension in this wonderful book. I could tell that the author did a tremendous amount of research prior to writing The Frozen River. I was glued to the pages of this beautifully written book. I love how Martha was assertive, outspoken, confident and a champion for women in a time when women were not considered equal.

The author’s note at the end is also a must-read section of the book.

Gripping, thought provoking, atmospheric, tense and beautifully written.

Highly Recommend.

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Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.