Thanks for introducing me to NLOGs. I had not heard of that before and it makes sense—the quirky heroine like in the recent book we read about the long walk. Quite a few books have such female leads. Even the female leads in the two romance novels were NLOGs.
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My son introduced me to the Manic Pixie Dream Girl Trope which is apparently quite commonly found.
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Thanks @caraid for taking the time to find those passages.
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I actually think that the real Martha Ballard, might have been even more capable than portrayed. From Mary’s link " On December 30 of another year, summoned by a woman in labor, she walked across, almost reaching shore before breaking through to her waist at Sewall’s Eddy. She dragged herself out, mounted a neighbor’s horse, and rode dripping to the delivery."
@Marilyn )I really didn’t find the book unpleasant. I liked Martha, even if she perhaps did think a little too much of herself, it was for good reasons.
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I recall thinking Martha was bit snarky, but with a sense of humor.
I , also, noticed Ariel’s sense of humor in her epilogue.
I actually found her sense of humor a little off-putting. “You’re welcome.”
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Me too! Especially since I think I would have had no trouble keeping track of another Hannah, and would have liked to seen more of Martha’s actual abbreviations in her journal.
Agree! Did not care for this tone either.
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I agree as well, but in Lawhon’s defense, no such tone comes through in the interview. I thought she was sweet – excited to discuss Martha Ballard, and still grateful and surprised about the success of her novel.
Martha was amazing. As I read more about her, and more of her diary entries, the word that keeps coming to mind is “stoical.” She was a survivor, making it through every day just getting it done – uncomplaining and phlegmatic, working capably in the service of others.
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This happened years after the events of the novel, but it’s kind of incredible that Martha happened to play a peripheral role in–and write about–a shocking mass murder well-known to history and horror buffs. On the night of July 8, 1806, her neighbor Captain James Purrington took an axe and straight razor, and made his way through every room in the house, murdering his wife and six of his children before killing himself.
Jonathan Ballard was one of the first men on the scene, and Martha and Ephraim followed soon after. Here is her diary entry:
Martha prepared the bodies for burial and helped with the care of a seventh child who died later of her injuries.
This is the newspaper article from the time (from the Library of Congress site), but truly don’t read it if you are squeamish. It’s surprisingly graphic and still quite disturbing despite the passage of over 200 years: https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.02600800/?st=pdf&pdfPage=1
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The interview of Lawton is a much better view of the author & her thinking process. She looks quite young.
The reflections on the glasses of Lawton are sadly rather distracting. Fascinating conversation to listen to.
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Finished.
Random thoughts at the moment:
Martha Ballard serves as main character but the story is less about her than it is about rape and retribution. Three rapes … two hangings … one castration. Forget vengeance is mine saith the Lord.
Something bothers me: Rebecca’s baby. Drowning that baby would have been murder - Rebecca’s choice and she would have lied to her husband. She would have also made both Doctor and Martha complicit in the lies and the murder of her daughter. I understand and don’t both. Surely she can’t think that Martha would drown the infant. And now the baby is with Sarah. Is Sarah going to keep the infant? Small town would notice. Major loose thread here.
I am pleased to learn of Martha Ballard but I do get uncomfortable when an actual person’s life is fictionalized to this extent. Was Martha raped and complicit in a hanging? Would she be at all comfortable with this book? Could the author have told the same story without using an historical figure? The answer is yes: generic midwife … daily journal … etc.
All that said, I thought the story was well written with excellent foreshadowing. The death of the three daughters … you learn slowly that Martha had nine children but only six living … later you learn the three girls died within a few weeks of each other … then you learn Cyrus lost his ability to talk at age 12 … finally you get what happened. I knew the minute the knife is named Revenge that it would show up to serve that purpose. Might as well name it Chekhov’s knife.
I’m not completely comfortable with its use to castrate North and I’m even less comfortable with Rebecca getting the “remains.” There’s a satisfaction that rapists get punished but a bit of the jumping the shark going on here.
Overall a good book. I’m happy to have read it but I do think trigger warnings are in order re the subject matter. Yes, we’re following a midwife but the story is one of rape and retribution with violence included. Am I wrong?
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Not wrong. And Chekov’s knife made me laugh. Giving Rebecca the remains was absolutely over the top. I can only say that I think Martha felt that physical evidence was the only thing that would give her closure.
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Actually Ephraim took the “remains” to Rebecca which makes it somewhat creepier in my opinion. I’m not saying Ephraim’s creepy; I like him. But the delivery - yeah.
@ignatius, loved your post – agree with all you wrote. As for the above question, the answer is a resounding “No.” This is why in my head I can’t even classify this book as historical fiction. From the Author’s Notes:
If you are familiar with Martha’s life (either through the Ulrich biography or through her diary itself) you will know that she makes no mention of being a sexual assault survivor herself. Was she? According to statistics—which I do not think have changed much in the last few hundred years—there is a 33 percent chance of its being true. Of every decision I made in this book, that was the riskiest. The truth is, I don’t know. But it would help explain the deep devotion she felt for Rebecca Foster.
I have no argument with Lawhon’s math: Sexual assault is all too prevalent. But when writing a book based on the life of a real person, is it right to take such a leap? To add an event that is so traumatic as to be absolutely life-changing? This is more than the way historical fiction adds “color” or lightly fleshes out a backstory. In the novel, the rape by Billy Crane was the demarcation line of Martha’s life. And unless Ariel Lawhon is psychic, it’s all made up. A reader who has not done outside research might come away with all the wrong “history.” That said, the book is categorized as fiction, and Lawhon does not for a minute pretend otherwise.
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The flashback chapter of the diptheria deaths was painful to read. It reminded me of a similar passage in the book Mrs. Mike. It makes me sad to think of how many children died–and how many parents grieved–before vaccines. I looked at the CDC website and the last officially recorded case of diptheria in the U.S. was in 1997. Heaven help us if it rears its ugly head again the way measles has.
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One of the saddest chapters of the Little House books is the first one of By the Shores of Silver Lake. Mary has lost her sight due to scarlet fever. They’ve also suffered crop failures. Life was hard.
I think marrying Ephraim and learning to read was the most life changing event in Martha’s life.
I forgive Ariel’s need to have a life event, rape, happen to Martha, which would help the reader understand Martha’s empathetic and determination to see Justice for Rebecca.
Let’s not forget the other difference from fact to fiction, was Rebecca was raped in the novel by two men, not three as stated in the diary !
My understanding is rape is not a sexual act as much as a violent act for power.
The men punished Rebecca for her friendship with the Native Americans.
Ariel didn’t not depict Rebecca’s assault so much as a sexual event, as a vengeful act of powerfully men.
@ignatius I agree the book was less about midwifery, more about heralding the accomplishments of a forgotten woman. a heroine of sorts, who fought for women’s rights, justice for women at a time of great oppression.
So was this book about rape and retribution? Yes, but for me it was more about women’s oppression and discrimination in all ways in late 1700s
I honestly, believe when Ariel found out her book was chosen for GMA monthly book club, she was as she said in the interview mortified, she didn’t think it would ever find an audience, this book of vigilante Justice for women.
Regarding Rebecca’s baby, I assumed Sarah, would adopt the baby, she herself has been ostracized, so it seemed like the best solution, given the options. This would just add to the many secrets and scandals in the small townl
@ignatius I can’t imagine. Wha it was like for you reading this book after reading all these comments ahead of time. Interesting to think about. I’m glad I didn’t know a thing about this book.
And, yes this could be. Triggering book should have warnings !
I did suspect Sam and Johnathan were involved.
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I mostly avoided the comments till today. Plus I never read the two lists of discussion questions. I went back today after I posted and read through the comments. I did see where you and @Mary13 also mentioned being uncomfortable with the castration.
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Ariel Lawhon notes that much of Martha Ballard’s diary is “very dry.” Someone else (maybe Laurel Ulrich, can’t recall) observes that in the diary, mundane events are sometimes blended with extraordinary ones in a single entry – but in such spare language that the two are almost equated.
I was browsing Martha’s diary on the DoHistory site and found one such entry from February 22, 1788:
Clear & Cold. mrs Lois Harris and mrs Betsy Chever here. mr Savage & his wife Spent Eving with us. my Son Ephraim was Siesd with a fitt at Ten O Clok; had a very Severe one. my famely were all in Bed Except my Self. Cyrus Calld & I went in haste with a Light. we all Expected he was Expireing But were in the use of means, put his feet in warm water, pryd his teeth a part & put down Salt & water. he came to his Sences in about half an hour, and rested Pritty well the rest of ye night. I Sett up till Two O clok.
The online diary is fun to just dip into. Here’s info about the couple who transcribed all 1400 pages: About the Online Diary and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0sptdgTKd0
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