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 

Dark Tides

Dark Tides is the second book in the Fairmile series by Philippa Gregory. Commencing in June 1670, twenty-one years after events in  Tidelands, the first book in the series, this novel continues the story of Alinor, her daughter Alys and grandchildren Sarah and Johnnie who now live in London. Alinor and Alys operate a small warehouse on a wharf in a poorer area on the Thames and just manage to make a small profit. 

Their lives change when Livia arrives from Venice claiming to be the widow of Alys' brother Rob. She begs for their assistance and promises to repay them generously if they assist her to bring Venetian antiquities into England to sell. But is Livia really who she says she is? 

Alinor is convinced that her son is still alive and she asks Sarah to travel to Venice to find Rob and to verify Livia's stories.

Meanwhile Alinor's brother, Ned, has left England to make a new life in New England in America. Ned's story runs parallel with the events in London and Venice as he struggles to decide where his allegiences lie when it is obvious that unrest is brewing between the English settlers and the American Indians who Ned has befriended.

A bibliography, if readers want to further investigate some of the events mentioned in the novel, is provided at the end of the book.

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