#19 The Frozen River

“This is what it means to age, I think. The days are long, but the years are short.”

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Literary Fiction.

There are still a few months left to the year, but for both of us, The Frozen River is THE book to beat for Book of the Year. We couldn’t wait to talk about it with each other, and with you, too!

Travel back in time to winter in Maine in the 1780s. Martha Ballard (a real midwife who left journals behind chronicling her ordinary/extraordinary life) is called to examine a dead body pulled from the Kennebec River. Not only is it one of the men who allegedly raped her friend months ago, but Martha’s medical determination that he has been murdered triggers a trial that threatens to not only rip apart her close-knit community but bring danger to her and her family. 

This novel has all our favourite hallmarks of a read you can sink your teeth into - great characters, plot, relationships, descriptions, historical detail, and human emotion that transcends place and time. 

We loved The Frozen River and we think you will, too!

Pack your midwife bag and journal, hop on your trusty (or not) steed, and get ready to traverse The Frozen River with us.

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Julie’s Rating: 5/5 stars

I remember coming across The Frozen River at a bookstore and being immediately enraptured by that evocative cover. But the real delight of this literary historical mystery is what lies within.

This is a compelling, richly-layered story that is impeccably-researched and so beautifully written. Plot, characterization, exquisite language, and a strong capable female lead are my top reasons for easily giving a five-star rating to The Frozen River. This story will stay with me for a long time.

The telltale sign of an excellent historical fiction? - it was as if I were living the story. I felt such kinship with Martha, an intelligent, principled, mature woman with grown children. How many books do you read where the hero is a 54-year-old mother? Martha as a healer and midwife, gave me strong Claire Randall Fraser (Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon) vibes. Her love for her teenage and adult children made an impact on me and reinforced my connection with her as a character. But it was her relationship with her husband, Ephraim that had me jotting down #CoupleGoals in ALL CAPS in my reading journal.

From that opening line, “The body floats downstream.” to the very last paragraph, I was absorbed in this world that Ariel Lawhon created.

Katie’s Rating: 5/5

I could not put this book down! And as I flipped rapidly through the closing pages, I was completely unable to not gasp out loud, cheer Martha on, say things like, “oh no, you didn’t!”...I mean, we’re talking a full, immersive experience that I just couldn’t keep quietly to myself in my head.

I loved everything about The Frozen River. Martha’s marriage with Ephraim was so beautifully and richly rendered. It reminded me of the aforementioned Outlander’s Jamie and Claire or maybe even Coach and Tami Taylor from Friday Night Lights. Nuanced, mature, passionate, and built on years of deep friendship and respect.

I also loved that there is a great villain, memorable secondary characters, and an emphasis on women’s stories and lives mattering.

Many things were different about the 1780s compared to today, thank goodness, but unfortunately even as women and victims of sexual violence have somewhat more rights in court, this book was a reminder to me of how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go.

Note that this book does explore topics of rape, sexual assault, miscarriage, the death of children, and labour. I read this book 7 months pregnant and while Julie had cautioned that maybe I should wait until I was a year or so postpartum, I actually found the overall theme of the resiliency and power of women - especially in childbirth, and in mothering roles - to be so empowering. But do go into this book with that in mind!

“Memory is a wicked thing that warps and twists. But paper and ink receive the truth without emotion, and they read it back without partiality. That, I believe, is why so few women are taught to read and write. God only knows what they would do with the power of pen and ink at their disposal.”

~ Ariel Lawhon, The Frozen River

Daily Journaling

We can’t think of a better pairing for The Frozen River than the suggestion to keep a journal, both for personal development and for the historical record, to show women’s lives matter and are rich and meaningful, even the quotidian details. Just think of all the stories that have been lost, as history has been written primarily by men!

A Companion Read

Both of us were reminded of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series (particularly the first few books that were oh, so good!). We highly recommend you see for yourself the connections between these two female characters.

A Companion Watch

Looking for a similar transportive and immersive murder mystery on the small screen? Although we’ve yet to watch this BBC series set (and filmed) in the Shetland Isles ourselves, we have it under good authority that Shetland will fit the bill.

The Perfect Reading Experience Setup

Let us set the scene for you with this Mood Board. Think COZY! You want to be getting everything ready for your reading experience with The Frozen River. Julie read the novel during the depths of a Canadian winter, and the setting enhanced her reading experience tremendously. If you’ve read The Frozen River already, you know that Martha quite enjoyed her pint of beer after a long labour and delivery. It’s not for that reason alone that we list it as a vital pairing.

“The joy of having sons is that they worship their mothers. Until one day, suddenly, they don’t. I am not like you, he realizes. We are different. Then, that boy—once small and sweet—begins the long, hard process of separation, until at last he rips the seam. But the holes where mother and son were once knit together remain.”

~ Ariel Lawson, The Frozen River

Extra Credit

Author Ariel Lawhon speaks to NPR in this interview.

Podcast alert: Historical Happy Hour interviews Ariel Lawhon.

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Let us know what you think - about the book, your literary couple goals, and the settings that transport you most in books. We’d love to hear!

Whenever possible we feature books from our own personal collections, or books that we purchase at independent local bookstores, or borrow from our public library.