Beneath the Ice: A Midwife’s Defiance in a World of Buried Truths-Podcast

Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River plunges readers into the stark, snowbound world of 1790s Maine, where midwife Martha Ballard—a woman as unyielding as the frozen Kennebec River—uncovers a murder entwined with a silenced rape accusation. Inspired by Ballard’s real 18th-century diary, this gripping mystery weaves history and suspense into a tale of resilience and justice. Praised for its meticulous research and unflinching portrayal of post-revolutionary America, the novel exposes the brutal realities faced by women in a society eager to mute their voices. With a protagonist hailed as “a feminist icon before her time” and a marriage that defies era stereotypes, The Frozen River is both a heart-pounding whodunit and a poignant tribute to unsung heroines. Winner of the BookBrowse Fiction Award and a Good Morning America Book Club pick, this story thaws forgotten history with fire.