The Frozen River by Ariel Lawton

Last week I read "The Frozen River" by Ariel Lawhon. According to the sticker on the cover, this is a Good Morning America Book Club Pick. I, however, discovered it by accident at my Library on its new books shelf. As I was checking out, the librarian said that one of the readers had told her that this is a good book.

The novel is written as narrated in first person by Martha Ballard, a midwife in the late 1700s. Martha Ballard was a real character in Hallowell, Maine, who delivered over 1000 babies and never lost a mother. She kept a daily journal for 27 years about her days, weather, work, and significant events in her life that happened around her. Ballard was very much a feminist, educated by her husband and she also taught other women in the town. Besides being a midwife, Martha was the local doctor in this small town in Maine of about 1000 people. Lawhon stumbled upon an article about Martha Ballard and then researched her. Lawhon was so inspired by the life and the journal kept by Martha Ballard that she decided to write a story around the events chronicled in the journal. The Author's notes at the end of the book state that about 75% of the events mentioned in the novel must have been true since they were reported in the journal. So, this novel should classify as historical fiction.

One of the entries in the journal was (is) about the accusation by Rebecca Foster that two men, Joseph North and Joshua Burgess raped her when her husband was away. North was also the judge in town with eyes on acquiring all the surrounding properties by hook or by crook. Nine days after the alleged rape Rebecca called upon Martha to tend to her injuries suffered during the assault. Rebecca's account of the assault and her injuries were consistent, so much so that Martha believes in Rebecca and stands by her throughout subsequent months as a witness. Rebecca lodges a formal accusation and the novel is about what follows. 

Within a few days, Burgess's body is discovered in the freezing river. As the local doctor, Ballard examines the body, declares that Burgess was first beaten, then hanged and subsequently thrown in the river. North got a Harvard-educated doctor from Boston to move to the town, who declared that there was no hanging and the body-injuries were sustained in the river from rocks and ice. The novel is about what ensues as hearings and trials have to be conducted according to the arcane and male-favored justice system that existed at the end of the eighteenth century. The narrative is quite gripping and you will want to know how it ends.

In those days, women were supposed to be seen and not heard. Most women were not given any education unless their parents provided it themselves. If a woman bore a child out of wedlock, she was accused of "fornication" and fined, while the father, if known, had to provide for the child. Accusation of rape had to be proved by testimony of witnesses, as if such assaults would ever be conducted in presence of others. If convicted, the convicted rapist's sentence was death by hanging. Needless to say that very few women brought such an accusation and if they did, very few men were convicted. You will learn a lot about how life was in the seventeen-hundreds. Whether you want it or not, you will also read a lot about midwifing. The novel contains quite a few descriptions of easy and difficult deliveries that Ballard conducted. It is a gripping story and a good read.