Hearts and Bones

by Margaret Lawrence

Book Overview

Independent Hannah Trevor is a midwife in the small Maine town of Rufford several years after the end of the Revolutionary War. In the dead of a particularly brutal winter, an horrific act--the rape and murder of a young wife--draws Hannah into the constabulary's investigation and threatens to destroy everything she holds dear. Now an honorable man has been accused of the crime--Hannah's former lover, the father of her illegitimate daughter.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380788799
• ISBN13: 9780380788798
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

much more than an historical mystery

Set in post-revolutionary war America, this novel powerfully illustrates the daily struggle to survive in the unforgiving environment of the 18th century. The aftershocks of war still are being felt by the characters of this novel.Conflicting loyalties and a full range of human qualities, from unscrupulous and amoral to courageous and generous, are finely drawn by the author using the politically and economically uncertain times as the backdrop for relationships and interactions. Hannah Trevor is a magnetic character. Through her we are given a glimpse of post-colonial household labors and herbal/midwifery practices. Her desire for artistic expression,even in this forbidding environment, is evidenced by her work on the quilt whose pattern name is also the title of the novel. Yes, there is a mystery and many haunting historical references, but it is the rich atmosphere created by Ms. Lawrence that carries the novel, and allows the reader to have an empathic experience with the characters.

Transcends the mystery genre

This is simply one of the best debut novels I've ever read. Set in the years following the American Revolution, HEARTS AND BONES will make you rethink how you view both the war and its painful aftermath. The quality of the writing is so extraordinary that I read this book from cover to cover in one sitting. Lawrence's subsequent novels are also first-rate, but increasingly bleak and grim. The universe her characters inhabit is a hopeless and futile one; one I'm not sure I want to continue to revisit. But this first novel is a superb piece of writing. Don't miss it.

first class historical fiction

I so much admire this book. Beautifully written, evocative, stunning in its ability to draw character with simple details. One of the rare historicals that feels authentic in its bones. The author must have drawn on Ulrich's historical analysis of a Maine midwife, a wonderful study, but in this fictional treatment it really comes to life.

I was doubtful, now I'm hooked

A novel about a midwife-detective in post-Revolutionary Maine? The idea bordered on laughable -- after all, how many more offbeat protagonists can the mystery genre withstand? But I plunged ahead because I'd read a review that made Margaret Lawrence's "Hearts and Bones" sound intriguing. And it is. This is so much more than a detective story. For me, in fact, the mystery took a back seat to the historical tale Lawrence tells. What a fascinating, dark and gritty look at a time that is so often romanticized! This is a wonderful book. Now if we can only get the publisher to dispense with the romance genre covers!

I couldn't put this down--the both times I read it!

From this tale, I learned that just 'cause the Patriots won the Revlutionary War, doesn't mean they always acted saintly. Lawrence poignantly conveys how survivors from the War were still fighting foes, real and imagined. Her dialogue and period details seemed authentic, and her characters true. When I re-read the novel, I was amazed by how skillful the narrative was plotted. Hearts and Bones is an amazing blend of mystery and historical fiction, with a touch of romance.