The Friends of the Rosendale Library invites you to read and discuss
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Sunday, April 27, 2025
2:00 pm-3:30pm
Rosendale Library
Free
Print copies of this book are available to borrow through the Mid-Hudson Library system, as well as ebook and audiobook versions. Ask at the circulation desk for assistance if needed. Contact info@rosendalelibrary.org
In Maine in 1789, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine a body entombed in the frozen river and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own. Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon’s newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.