Imagen del autor

Ariel Lawhon

Autor de I Was Anastasia

8 Obras 2,663 Miembros 177 Reseñas 2 Preferidas

Sobre El Autor

Incluye los nombres: ARIEL LAWHON, Ariel Lowhon

Obras de Ariel Lawhon

I Was Anastasia (2018) 768 copias
Code Name Hélène (2020) 586 copias
The Frozen River (2023) 387 copias
Flight of Dreams (2016) 385 copias
When We Had Wings (2022) 100 copias

Etiquetado

Conocimiento común

Nombre legal
Lawhon, Ariel Allison
Otros nombres
Allison, Ariel
Fecha de nacimiento
20th Century
Género
female
Nacionalidad
USA
Lugares de residencia
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Ocupaciones
author

Miembros

Reseñas

Excellent story of Martha Ballard who worked as a midwife in the 1700's in the town of Hallowell alongside the Kennebec River. The author's story was her version of what occurred during a 6 month period of time based on Martha's daily log, which she kept for 26 yrs. Although the dialogue was not written as of that period, the events were very realistic. There was a murder, rape, children born out of wedlock and loving families.
Kirkus: hen a man accused of rape turns up dead, an Early American town seeks justice amid rumors and controversy.

Lawhon’s fifth work of historical fiction is inspired by the true story and diaries of midwife Martha Ballard of Hallowell, Maine, a character she brings to life brilliantly here. As Martha tells her patient in an opening chapter set in 1789, “You need not fear….In all my years attending women in childbirth, I have never lost a mother.” This track record grows in numerous compelling scenes of labor and delivery, particularly one in which Martha has to clean up after the mistakes of a pompous doctor educated at Harvard, one of her nemeses in a town that roils with gossip and disrespect for women’s abilities. Supposedly, the only time a midwife can testify in court is regarding paternity when a woman gives birth out of wedlock—but Martha also takes the witness stand in the rape case against a dead man named Joshua Burgess and his living friend Col. Joseph North, whose role as judge in local court proceedings has made the victim, Rebecca Foster, reluctant to make her complaint public. Further complications are numerous: North has control over the Ballard family's lease on their property; Rebecca is carrying the child of one of her rapists; Martha’s son was seen fighting with Joshua Burgess on the day of his death. Lawhon weaves all this into a richly satisfying drama that moves suspensefully between childbed, courtroom, and the banks of the Kennebec River. The undimmed romance between 40-something Martha and her husband, Ephraim, adds a racy flair to the proceedings. Knowing how rare the quality of their relationship is sharpens the intensity of Martha’s gaze as she watches the romantic lives of her grown children unfold. As she did with Nancy Wake in Code Name Hélène (2020), Lawhon creates a stirring portrait of a real-life heroine and, as in all her books, includes an endnote with detailed background.

A vivid, exciting page-turner from one of our most interesting authors of historical fiction.
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Denunciada
bentstoker | 26 reseñas más. | Mar 24, 2024 |
There is so much going on in this book. Then, to know it's based on Martha Ballard, a midwife in Maine in the 18th century makes it amazing. I really liked it!
 
Denunciada
Dianekeenoy | 26 reseñas más. | Mar 21, 2024 |
The Kennebec is the frozen river in this book. It freezes up at the beginning and thaws by the end (much like the story itself). A murder mystery is at the center of this historical novel, which begins with a body discovered frozen in that river. Notwithstanding the allure of a juicy murder mystery, the most intriguing elements in this novel involve what it must have been like to live in 18th century Maine. Hollowell is a close-knit village situated along the Kennebec and its resident midwife, based on the real-life Martha Ballard, left a trove of quotidian facts about this time and place in her diaries. Lawhon expertly fictionalizes them. Not unlike today, women were treated as second class citizens. Despite obvious expertise, Martha is disrespected by the town’s credentialed doctor, ignored by a rudimentary justice system, and legally subjugated to her husband, Ephraim. Yet midwives were ideally placed in these communities to learn all the gossip and everyone’s secrets. Martha was no exception. For instance, in Martha’s time, quite a few children were conceived out of wedlock. Such births are common elements in Lawhon’s narrative.

Lawhon gives us a nuanced heroine in Martha Ballad. Not only is she a competent and caring medical professional, but also a middle-aged mother of nine children with six surviving. She enjoys a stable marriage of 35 years to Ephraim, who runs a successful sawmill. Martha gets involved in the murder mystery when she is called to examine the body of Joshua Burgess and concludes that he did not die of natural causes. Her conclusion is disputed, however, by the new village physician, a vain man with little to no experience with childbirth. Martha feels compelled to investigate further because of this dispute. She quickly sees multiple links between this murder and the rape of the wife of the village parson. Complications galore ensue, including accusations against her mute son, and a scoundrel judge who holds the lease to her family’s property.

Lawhon’s twisty plot has enough suspense, skullduggery, and sexiness to keep most readers amused. However, the most compelling scenes come at deliveries and in courtrooms (in this case it is frequently the town tavern). Lawhon successfully uses Martha’s voice in her dairies to evoke a close personal narrative. For me, Lawhon’s only shortcoming comes with a few unrealistic male characters. Ephraim, Martha’s husband was a bit too good to be true; North, the village judge had few redeeming qualities and was way too ruthless; Dr. Benjamin Page, the Harvard-educated physician who belittles Martha was too much of an ass for my tastes. Lawhon, on the other hand, seems to excel at writing nuanced women characters, including Martha’s daughters, who are on the hunt for marriageable mates; Rebecca Foster, the woman pregnant with her rapists’ child; and especially Doctor, the mysterious indigenous healer.
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Denunciada
ozzer | 26 reseñas más. | Mar 18, 2024 |
Outlier alert: Several friends who enthusiastically nudged me to read “The Frozen River” will frown to see that it landed on my “DNF” list. Any novel that attempts to introduce about 20 characters in the first 150 pages is doomed to lose me. That’s not necessarily the author’s fault. After all, a late mayor of Buffalo once publicly branded me as being “of average intelligence.” I felt I needed an organizational chart to remind me how the eclectic assortment of people fit into the plot. I made it through about half of the book largely because it’s well-written and sheds an intriguing light on life in the northeast during the late 1700s (hence, the 2-star rating). But the storyline simply didn’t grab me, and the effort required to keep all the characters straight simply wasn’t worth it.… (más)
 
Denunciada
brianinbuffalo | 26 reseñas más. | Mar 11, 2024 |

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Estadísticas

Obras
8
Miembros
2,663
Popularidad
#9,635
Valoración
4.0
Reseñas
177
ISBNs
69
Idiomas
2
Favorito
2

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