Books for Lunch

Ariel Lawhon is a critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction. Her novels include: “The Frozen River,” “Code Name Hélène,” “I was Anastasia,” and several more. Her books have been translated into numerous languages and have been Good Morning America Book Club, Library Reads, and Book of the Month Club selections. She lives in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and four sons.

Lawhon discussed her method for writing historical fiction during an interview with NPR’s Scott Simon in 2023 while on tour for her latest book, “The Frozen River.”

“It’s a challenge,” Lawhon said. “I have always tried to stick very closely to the facts of history. And then I would find my story in the cracks, the conversations that are not recorded, the betrayals we don’t know about. In this case, and really for the first time, I took a few more liberties for the sake of the story itself. Everything was in service to the overall story … in the author’s note, I come clean about the changes that I made and why.”

Lawson’s gripping historical mystery novel is inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who investigates a shocking murder that unhinges her small community.

Set in Maine, 1789, Ballard is asked to examine a body entombed in ice in the Kennebec River and determine its cause of death. Being the local midwife and healer, Ballard keeps records of every birth, death, and town debacle in her diary. In that diary, she also documented the details of an alleged assault that occurred four months earlier. Now, one of the men accused of that heinous attack has been found dead in the ice.

In her newest offering, Lawhon brings to life a brave and compassionate unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice on behalf of those no one else would protect.

“The Frozen River” is a thrilling, tense, and tender story of a remarkable woman who had the courage to take a stand, and in the process wrote herself into American history.