Overall, what did you think of The Frozen River? (no spoilers, please!)
I enjoyed the writing, the storyline, the setting, and the time/era.
Had anyone heard of Martha Ballard? I had not.
And how about how they hold court in the Tavern?
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I liked the book, especially the main character Martha Ballard. To know that the book was passed on a real woman, made it even better. She was a strong woman of conviction who stood up for what was right. The book was well written and kept me interested from the very beginning. It’s always good to read books based on history to see how far we’ve advanced. I totally recommend this book.
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I wish I had read the author’s end notes first as I would have learned that Martha was a real person. Loved the book! The character, Martha, displayed intelligence, courage, of course, medical knowledge. She was a leader and role model in an era when this would be difficult for women.
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I loved this book. I had watched a podcast with the author and was intrigued by her story. Martha Ballard was a great midwife and stood up for the rights of women who were done wrong by men. The fact the she was a real person so added to the story.
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Have you read that one, @Elizabeth?
Not yet - I found out about it from one of the book club members.
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I liked the book. Autor was descriptive of daily living in a rural town in1790. I had read the biography of Mildred Ballard. One smart women.
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I enjoyed the book. It was a reread for me and I liked it even more the second time. Martha was a very strong willed woman, which was amazing, especially for the late 1700’s. She was an excellent midwife. She knew what she was doing and she cared for the women and considered most of them friends. The book was a good mystery with Martha being an excellent detective! I first read the book in January 2024 and consider it my favorite book of that year.
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Would you have liked to be a woman in that era?
Me - not at all unless we had an advocate like Martha. 
Were they NOT allowed to read or did they just not learn?
I loved the info about housekeeping and how it was suggested that couples should not move in with each other until the house was ready.
I really enjoyed this book of Martha Ballard, who was a midwife with a strong moral compass. She seemed to me to be ahead of her time. For late 18th century, she was a gifted midwife. There is a main theme thread throughout of gender oppression and familial loyalty.
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I really enjoy historical fiction. It’s fascinating to me to get a glimpse of life so long ago. Martha Ballard was a highly accomplished woman of her time The timing of these events was very pertinent to the story itself. All of this occurred shortly following the birth of our nation and the justice system would have still been being established. That in itself would have had great influence on the prosecution of crimes.
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Speaking of diaries, I LOVED how she made her diary/journal entries with a statement about the weather to start.
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I really enjoyed it! This is the second book I’ve read by Ariel Lawhon and one of the parallels that I noticed between The Frozen River and Code Name Helene is the strong, supportive and loving marriages of the protagonists (Martha Ballard and Nancy Wake, respectively).
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I loved the relationship between Martha and her husband. That was a standout for me.
How about the small town prejudices? And you were jailed for debt? Does that still occur today about being jailed for debt?
Agree on all the points you made.
Hi Kim:
I read The Frozen River last year and devoured it. One of my favorites. Enjoy
Me too! My 100 year old mother left behind 50 years of diaries, which always started with a “weather report,” and sometimes the number of blooms on the dogwood.
I could feel the cold in my bones while I was reading - so grateful for modern heat.
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Ohhh…I love your comment. How fun and what fun about the blooms. 
Oh yes on feeling the cold. Brrrr.
Thanks for sharing this.