From New York Times bestselling author, Ariel Lawhon, comes The Frozen River, a beautifully written tribute to Martha Ballard, a real 18th-century midwife who lived in Maine and documented daily life between 1785 and 1812 in a 10,000-entry diary, which later inspired historian Laural Thatcher Ulrich’s Pulitzer-winning A Midwife’s Tale. 

A gripping, fictional, historical mystery, set against the frozen stillness of 1789 Maine, The Frozen River, follows midwife Martha Ballard, who is summoned to examine the body of a man entombed in ice in the Kennebec River and to determine the cause of his death -- and amid breathless twists, Lawhon takes her readers on a chilling journey of murder, a rape accusation, and a web of haunting secrets that shakes the small, puritan community of Hallowell. 

Textured, atmospheric, and multilayered, The Frozen River opens a door into post-revolutionary America in a time and place riven by hardship, disease, and misogyny, and focuses on Ballard, who tries to balance her duty as a midwife and healer against the relentless expectations of a town mired in societal rigidity that often undervalues and tries to silence women’s voices.

In this compelling tale, Lawhon evokes strong emotions from her readers as she explores themes of oppression and the perseverance of the human spirit -- and pays homage to the enduring resilience of Martha Ballard, a compassionate, unsung heroine who becomes the key figure in unraveling truths, challenging societal norms, and seeking justice on behalf of those no one else would protect at a time when women were best considered seen and not heard. 

Stirring, a book with emotional impact, The Frozen River, a densely imagined portrait of Martha Ballard, an extraordinary, heroic women nearly forgotten by history, will enhance readers passionate about women’s history and the trials they faced during this historical era.

NOTE:

Martha Ballard (1785-1812) was 50 years old when she began keeping daily records in a hand-bound diary of her work as a midwife, herbalist, pharmacist, mortician and of her domestic life in Hallowell on the Kennebec River, District of Maine. The log of Ballard’s daily events, consisting of 1400 pages, written with a quill pen and homemade ink by candlelight, over a period of 27 years, holds detailed accounts of the 816 babies she delivered and the illnesses she treated as she traveled by horse or canoe around the Massachusetts frontier in what is today the state of Maine. 

Ballard’s legacy endures through her diary, which remains a vital resource for historians and a testament to the strength, self-reliance, and courage of women in the everyday life on the colonial frontier.