Inspired by the diaries of real life 18th century midwife Martha Ballard The Frozen River is a fictionalized account of Ballard’s involvement in the case of a man accused of rape found dead in the frozen river of post-Revolutionary Maine.
In 1789, 54-year-old midwife Martha Ballard is called to examine a body recovered from the freezing river running through town. The obvious assumption is death by drowning, though upon Martha’s examination she determines he was beaten then hanged before entering the river. When called before the court to testify to her findings Martha encounters pushback from those in authority seeking to discredit her. This case is further complicated by the body’s relevance to a concurrent rape case in which Martha is also entangled.
I don’t read a ton of historical fiction, but felt called to The Frozen River by a combination of trusted reviews, the post-Revolutionary setting, and feature of a historical midwife. So much can be understood about society by entering the sphere of women. I ended up rapt by this story and Martha Ballard.
This was my final read of 2023 and hybrid I read it in single day {thanks to Libro.fm for the gifted audio!} both print and audio format are excellent.
That Bookish Life 