The Frozen River

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon is a work of historical fiction set in Maine, USA. It is based on the life of Martha Ballard, a midwife in the settlement of Hallowell. The story occurs from November 1789 to April 1790, covering a long, cold winter when the river is frozen solid. At the end of each section there is a flashback to events that occurred earlier in Martha's life. The story is primarily told from Martha's viewpoint.

The story begins when a group of men try to navigate the river on a raft before the river finally freezes over. When one of the men falls into the river he discovers a body frozen in the ice. The men manage to get their companion out of the water and safely to shore but then questions arise as to who the man in the frozen river is and how and why he came to be there.

As one of the local midwives in the region Martha is called upon not just to assist women who are pregnant and to deliver their babies safely, but she also assists with other medical emergencies as required. Much of the book concerns the role and treatment of women in a male driven community. One challenge faced is the arrival of a young Harvard trained doctor who is reluctant to accept the knowledge collected by women over time. The courts also provide harsher sentences for women than for men and Martha spends much of her time trying to assist local women in a variety of ways.

When the body is removed from the river, Martha is the first to examine it and comes to the conclusion that the victim was hanged before he entered the river. The new doctor also investigates the body and concludes that the man died from injuries after he entered the river. Several court cases follow and Martha is also involved in defending the honour of a woman who accuses two men of raping her. Martha keeps a day-book recording events in the community and this provides important evidence used in the trials. 

 The Frozen River is the Monash University Alumni Book Club book for January-February 2026. 

 Reviews:

The Frozen River - Portobello Book Blog

The Frozen River - Marmalade and Mustardseed 

Information about Martha Ballard:

Martha Ballard 'Delivered' - marthaballard.com 

Who was Martha Ballard - DoHistory 

Martha Ballard - Historic Hallowell

Other novels about midwives:

Lisa Lee. Lady Tan's Circle of Women

Lauren Chater. Gulliver's Wife

Philippa Gregory. Tidelands 

Lady Tan's Circle of Women

China in the fifteenth century. Eight year old Yunxian Tan lives with her parents where she is taught how to be a lady by her mother, Respectful Lady. This is the age of foot-binding for girls from a young age if they are to marry into a family that will bring respect and add value to their family.

Yunxian's grandparents are doctors. Male doctors are not allowed to physically examine women but question them from behind an opaque screen. Female doctors, like her grandmother, have no such restrictions except when blood is involved. They can assist at a birth but only a midwife can deliver a child or have anything to do with blood. Yunxian begins to learn about medicine from her grandmother.

When observing a birth Yunxian meets Meiling, the daughter of the midwife, and the girls become friends although they are from different backgrounds and obstacles to their remaining friends are often put in their way. At the age of eight, Yunxian is betrothed to the son of a merchant family. At fifteen she will be married, will move to a new home and will be expected to produce a male heir for her husband's family.

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See is a story of female friendship and trust in a world dominated by men. The women have to rely upon each other for support in this class structured environment. Meiling and Yunxian begin to realise that over the years they have formed and relied on a circle of women who help each other.

The section by the author at the end of the book explains that the novel is based on the life of Yunxian Tan who was a female doctor in China in the fifteenth century and published a book about some of her cases. After locating a copy of a translation of the book and researching about life for women in fifteenth century China, this novel of historical fiction was written.

Useful information about some of the issues in the book and general background can be found on the author's website at LisaSee.com

Lady Tan's Circle of Women is the book read by the Monash Alumni Book Club in October.

Gulliver's wife

We all know the story of Gulliver's Travels but in this novel Lauren Chater creates the untold story of Lemuel Gulliver's wife, Mary, who remains at home caring for their two children, Bess and  Johnny, while her husband sails away to explore new lands. But this is basically the story of Mary and Bess and I soon became immersed in their world.

Wapping in the early 1700s could be a dangerous place for women and children, especially those living without the protection of a man. In order to support the family, as well as pay her husband's debts, Mary trained as a midwife and developed a successful practice supporting the many working class families near her home. Then Gulliver, who had been reported lost at sea three years earlier, returned home and Mary encountered new challenges in order to protect her family and their way of life. Not only expecting life in his house to return to how it had been before he departed, Gulliver is obviously unwell and his recounting of strange stories to anyone who will listen threatens the professional reputation that Mary has built up in his absence. Mary is also wary of a new acquaintance who has returned to England with Gulliver.

Having just celebrated the International Women's Day (March 8) it was interesting reading about 1700s England which was definitely a time of male domination in most aspects of life. In this book the author tells her story interweaving a variety of social themes within an atmosphere of danger - society's attitude to women working to survive and protect family members, conflicts arising when male surgeons threatened the dominance of the women's profession of midwifery plus the relationship between Mary and her daughter who idolises her father and wants to go to sea, an impossible notion. I thoroughly enjoyed escaping into Mary's world for a short time.

Thank you to Better Reading and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read a preview copy of this book, due for publication early April. #BRPreview

Tidelands

Philippa Gregory has been writing books, particularly historical fiction, since 1987. She is perhaps best known for her series of books on the women associated with the Plantangents and the Tudors. As co-author of Women of the Cousins' War  she described in the introduction how she undertakes the research for the stories that she writes, when information is available, but also it is often necessary to imagine what life would be like living in the historic period described based on the known facts.

Tidelines is the first novel in a new series - The Fairmile series. It is set in the year 1648 and tells the story of Alinor and her family who live in a small fishing village an hour or twos walk from Chichester. Alinor's husband has disappeared so she is left to bring up her two children working as a midwife and a herbalist plus any other work that she can find. This is a time of prejudice and fear of witchcraft making life particularly difficult for a young woman trying to make an honest living without the support of a man.

This is the time of the English Civil War (1642-1651) and the parallel story in this novel concerns James, a priest and loyal supporter of King Charles I, who is on a mission from the King's wife living in France to assist the King to escape from his captors in England. Alinor's brother, Ned was a soldier in the army fighting the supporters of the king. Consequently the reader is aware of the tensions the Civil War has created in different parts of the country and the constant state of fear in which people live.

Tidelines is a detailed and sometimes dark novel conveying a picture of life in a small village during these troubled times. It will be interesting to read the second novel in this series when it is published.

Philippa Gregory takes a new direction in four book deal - The Bookseller 21 April 2017

Philippa Gregory on the challenges and thrills of launching her new series - Explore Entertainment 19 August 2019

Philippa Gregory biography