The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon Book Summary

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes over and buries an iceman, Martha Ballard is called to examine the body and determine the cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary records all the births and deaths, murders, and mayhem that happen in this tight-knit community. A few months earlier, Martha had documented the details of an alleged rape by two of the town's most respected gentlemen, one of whom was found dead on the ice.

But when a local doctor undermines her conclusion and declares the death an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking crime herself. Throughout the winter, as the trial approaches and rumors and prejudices grow, Martha persists in her search for the truth. Soon, her diary finds her at the center of a scandal that affects those close to her, forcing Martha to decide where her loyalties lie. Ariel Lawhon's intelligent, complex, and subversive new novel introduces an unsuspected heroine who refuses to accept anything but the truth in an age when women are better seen and heard than seen and heard.

The Frozen River is a moving, gripping, and tender story of an extraordinary woman who left an unparalleled legacy, but is still almost forgotten today. The moving story of one woman's search for justice... ... Lawhon combines modern prose with the immediacy of the source material to create an accessible and intricate narrative. This historical achievement speaks powerfully to the centuries-old inequalities that persist today.

The Frozen River is so vivid, intricate, and layered that felt as if had opened a door and stepped into post-revolutionary America, walking with Lawhon's compelling characters into an age and place ravaged by hardship, disease, and misogyny, but also by intense love. love and scorching natural beauty. This novel was unlike anything had read before and was utterly fascinating.