The exact date Ariel Lawhon wrote The Frozen River is not publicly established. The novel was published on December 5, 2023, and its story takes place in 1789 Maine.
Those dates answer two different questions: when the story happens and when readers could buy the book. This article separates the known publication facts from the writing timeline, explains the novel’s historical basis, and offers ways to check which book a search is referring to.
when was the book frozen river written?
If you mean Ariel Lawhon’s historical novel The Frozen River, there is no reliably documented public date for when she began or finished writing it. Its publication date is known: Doubleday published the book on December 5, 2023.
That distinction matters. A publication date is the day a finished book is released to readers; it does not tell you the day the author started the manuscript, completed a draft, or sent it to an editor. Unless an author or publisher shares those stages, assigning the novel a specific writing year would be guesswork.
The book’s story is set much earlier, in 1789. It follows Martha Ballard, a midwife in Hallowell, Maine, as she investigates a death during a harsh winter. The year in the plot is a historical setting, not the year the novel was written.
Writing date, publication date, and story date
People often use “written” to mean several different things. For this novel, separating the dates makes the answer clearer:
| Date or period | What it refers to | What is known |
|---|---|---|
| 1789 | The story’s setting | The novel follows events in Hallowell, Maine, during this historical period. |
| Before December 2023 | Composition and editing | The manuscript had to be written and prepared before publication, but no confirmed start or finish date is established here. |
| December 5, 2023 | Publication | Doubleday released The Frozen River to readers. |
So, if you need a short answer for a book report, say that the novel was published in 2023 and is set in 1789. Do not describe 1789 as the writing date. If the assignment specifically asks when Lawhon wrote it, explain that a precise composition date is not publicly confirmed.
What is The Frozen River about?
The Frozen River is a historical mystery by American novelist Ariel Lawhon. Its central character, Martha Ballard, is based on a real eighteenth-century midwife who lived and worked in Maine. In the novel, a body is found in the frozen Kennebec River, and Martha becomes involved in questions about what happened and who should be held responsible.
Martha’s work gives her a distinctive view of the community. As a midwife, she visits households, attends births, and records events in her diary. The novel uses that position to connect private lives with public power, including the way law and reputation can affect women and families.
The book is historical fiction, not a verbatim account of a solved historical crime. It draws on a real woman and a real historical record, then shapes its characters and events into a dramatic narrative. That difference is important if you are using the novel for school or researching the history behind it.
How the novel connects to the real Martha Ballard
Martha Ballard was a midwife in the area that is now Augusta, Maine, during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. She kept a detailed diary that recorded her work, household responsibilities, community visits, and other events. Her records provide an unusually close view of daily life in a period when many people left few written accounts.
Historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich studied Ballard’s diary in A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785–1812. Ulrich’s work brought wider attention to Ballard’s record and to the labor and knowledge of women in early American communities. Readers who want historical context can use that book alongside Lawhon’s novel, while keeping in mind that one is historical scholarship and the other is fiction.
A diary is valuable evidence, but it is not the same as a complete biography or a modern court file. It reflects what its writer chose to record, the terms available to her, and the events she could know about. A novelist can build scenes and motives around that record, but readers should not assume every scene in the novel appears in the diary.
Why a precise writing date may be hard to find
Publishers routinely provide a release date because retailers, libraries, reviewers, and readers need it. They do not always publish the manuscript’s start date, the date of the first draft, or the day an author finished revisions. Those details may appear in an interview, author’s note, or personal account, but they are not guaranteed to be part of a book’s official listing.
Writing also rarely happens as one uninterrupted event. A novel may involve early research, an outline, several drafts, feedback, fact-checking, copyediting, and proof corrections. The manuscript can change substantially between the first draft and the final published edition. Asking when a book was written may therefore have more than one reasonable answer.
For The Frozen River, the safe answer is to give the documented publication date and state that a specific writing date is not confirmed. This is more accurate than inferring that Lawhon wrote the book in 2023 simply because it appeared that year. Publication follows a production process, and books are often completed well before release.
How to check which Frozen River book you mean
The phrase “Frozen River” can point to more than one book or work. To confirm that a source is discussing Lawhon’s novel, check the author name, full title, publisher, or ISBN. The title page and copyright page in a print or digital copy are especially useful for identifying an edition.
- Check the author. Ariel Lawhon is the author of the historical novel discussed here.
- Look for the full title and subtitle, if listed. Retail and library records may include additional descriptive wording, but the author and title should match.
- Confirm the publisher and release information. Doubleday published the novel on December 5, 2023.
- Use the copyright page for edition details. It can identify the copyright year, publisher, and edition. A copyright year is not necessarily the date the author began writing.
This check prevents a common mix-up: a reader may see “1789” in a description and mistake it for the publication or writing date. It refers to the story’s historical setting.
What to write in a report or reading response
If you are answering a basic question about the book’s date, a precise sentence can cover the important information without overstating what is known:
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon was published on December 5, 2023, and is set in 1789; a specific date when Lawhon wrote the manuscript has not been publicly confirmed.
If the assignment asks for the setting, give 1789 and mention Hallowell, Maine. If it asks for the publication year, give 2023. If it asks when the author wrote the book, distinguish that question from both dates and avoid inventing a year.
For a more detailed response, identify the novel as historical fiction and mention its connection to Martha Ballard’s diary. You can add that the diary and Ulrich’s historical study offer background on the real midwife, while Lawhon’s novel uses creative storytelling. That distinction makes the answer useful without treating fiction as a documentary record.
Common date mix-ups to avoid
Confusing the setting with the writing year
The year 1789 tells you when the novel’s events take place. It does not indicate when the author wrote the book. Historical novels commonly place present-day readers in a much earlier period.
Treating copyright as a manuscript completion date
A copyright date identifies the year associated with a particular published edition. It does not show when the first draft was completed. A manuscript may have been written, revised, and edited before that year.
Assuming the release year is the year the author wrote it
The 2023 release date is not proof that the manuscript was written in 2023. Publication involves editing, design, printing or digital preparation, and distribution. Without a confirmed statement from the author or publisher, the manuscript’s exact timeline should be left open.
Presenting the novel as a factual account
Lawhon’s book uses historical people and context, but it is a novel. Its plot and scenes should not be cited as direct evidence of what happened in 1789. For historical claims, consult a history source or the original diary record as presented by a reliable scholarly edition.
Quick facts about the book
- Author: Ariel Lawhon.
- Genre: Historical fiction and mystery.
- Publication date: December 5, 2023.
- Publisher: Doubleday.
- Story setting: Hallowell, Maine, in 1789.
- Historical figure at the center: Martha Ballard, a real midwife whose diary documents her life and work.
- Exact manuscript writing dates: No reliably documented public start or completion date is established here.
These facts are useful for cataloging, class assignments, and reading notes. The most important distinction is simple: 1789 is the setting, 2023 is the publication year, and the precise writing period has not been confirmed publicly.
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon was published on December 5, 2023, and its story is set in 1789 Maine. A specific date when the manuscript was written or completed is not publicly confirmed.
For a report, distinguish the book’s setting from its publication date, and do not present either as the writing date. Check the title page or publisher listing if you need to verify a particular edition.