The Iceweaver: A Novel [Paperback]

Margaret Lawrence (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2001

In January 1809, John Frayne returns to New Forge, New York, to reclaim his father's confiscated lands and becomes drawn to a beautiful, damaged woman in ragged clothing -- a perplexing, wild creature. A mute madwoman named Jennet, she is soon declared indigent and put up for auction. Frayne, stangely compelled to help her, bids for her future. Together, they struggle through the coarse and killing world that closes in on them both.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This absorbing historical novel is less a mystery than a meditation on love between outcasts. In this instance the chief outcasts are John Frayne, recently returned from explorations in the western territories to reclaim the property in upstate New York stolen when his father was hanged as a Tory sympathizer, and Jennet, a young hearing-impaired wild woman offered for sale as an indentured servant after being captured while burying her mother (Hannah Trevor, familiar to readers of Margaret Lawrence's skillful post-Revolutionary War mystery series) in the frozen lake near the Frayne homestead in 1809. A crippled furniture maker who deserted the Napoleonic army at Austerlitz and an old master craftsman complete the roster of the exiled and damaged. Along with Jennet, they help Frayne rebuild his father's estate, which is strategically situated at the head of the bay near the Canadian border, from which all trade has been embargoed by President Thomas Jefferson. "An army is massing at the Canadian border, and apprentices are eager to volunteer, to march off and attack the British at the head of the lake. Teach the Redcoats a lesson, that is the cry now. Bonaparte is riding roughshod over Europe and Nelson's navy is bleeding; he stops neutral ships to kidnap Yankee seamen and press them into the service of England. The myth of American independence is one King George can no longer afford to indulge."

While the novel begins slowly with Frayne's return 10 years after abandoning his unfaithful wife and 2-year-old son, its power builds as the multiple dimensions of the main characters are explicated. Frayne's wife Hester has paid dearly for her infidelity, blackmailed into marriage to an ally of the scheming shopkeeper who holds the corrupt title to Frayne's land. And Tim, John's young son, is torn between his loyalty to his stepfather and his memories of the man who left so long ago. Uncertain how to approach his wife and son, Frayne attempts to build a new life with Jennet and in the process recapture Tim's affection. The harsh landscape is lovingly evoked, and although the climax smacks of the melodramatic, the sweep of history drives this artfully written book to a somewhat predestined conclusion. --Jane Adams --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Set in post-Revolutionary War New Forge, N.Y., Lawrence's fourth historical drama (Hearts and Bones; Blood Red Roses; The Burning Bride) resumes the story of Jennet, deaf daughter of the author's previous heroine, Hannah Trevor, and adds the saga of John Frayne. The elegant and lyrical tale ingeniously knits together everything from mapmaking lore and American history to accounts of faithless wives and broken souls. In dreamy backstory sequences interspersed with present action, surveyor and mapmaker Frayne, sent away by a wife who desires another man, abandons his young son and heads west. Mistaken for a Hudson Bay Co. spy by traders on the Missouri River, Frayne is brutally tortured and left for dead in the wilderness. When he is rescued by Indians, he marries the beautiful Tacha and lives peacefully until tribal jealousies force him to barter for his life. Separated from Tacha, the heartsore Frayne returns to New Forge to find his ancestral home burned to the ground. Jennet, a victim of rape and about to be sold into slavery, is living in the burned-out house. The two wounded souls are drawn to each other, and are looked after by an expatriate Frenchman, Marius Leclerc. Frayne sets out to find his wife and their child, Tim. The boy is living happily with his mother and her new husband, Jacob Benet, but has been taught to detest the memory of his father. Though slander, treachery and petty jealousies whirl around them, Frayne's friends and relatives reach out to one another, learning the power of old stories and forgiveness. Lawrence's subtle lyricism is evident whether she is writing dialogue or narrative, and she skillfully weaves bits of the ancient tale of Odysseus's homecoming into her story. The novel may be the fourth in a saga, but it reads as a stand-alone piece, equipped with unforgettable characters and powerful poetic imagery. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (July 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380796139
• ISBN-13: 978-0380796137
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,077,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Iceweaver, September 8, 2000

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iceweaver (Hardcover)

This is an absorbing historical novel. Fans of Margaret Lawrence will probably expect another historical mystery set in post revolutionary America, especially as the chief female protagonist in this novel is Jennet Trevor, Hannah Trevor's mute daughter. (Hannah Trevor is the featured heroine of three previous mystery novels). This book however is not a mystery novel. It is a historical novel that deals mainly with how people pick themselves up and deal with the cards that fate has dealt them.

The novel is set in 1809 in the town of New Forge in New York. The War of Independence may be over but there is another conflict at hand. Memories are long, and whether or not one was a patriot during the revolutionary war still means something. As the novel begins, we are introduced both to Jennet Trevor and John Frayne, two tortured souls. Jennet has lost her mother, and because she is mute, she is shunned and feared. She has been living in the forest like a wild forest creature, when she is captured by the local parish authorities. And this is where John Frayne first comes in. He saves Jennet from a gang rape. She is later proclaimed as a madwoman and an indigent. John then buys her as an indentured servant.

John himself is not without a history of pain and suffering. He is the son of the former chief landholder of New Forge who was hanged as a loyalist sympathiser. Ten years ago however he was driven out of New Forge chiefly because of his wife's adultery and cruelty. Now he's returned in order to reclaim the lands that should rightfully be his and his family. However his wife has remarried and his son no longer wishes to know him.

Soon rumours are flying of the supposed Frayne treasure and of a British spy at large. And then it come to light that the current ownership of the Frayne lands could be in dispute. What one has here are the ingredients for a disaster, almost of biblical proportions.

What makes Margaret Lawrence's book memorable is the wonderful way in which she shades each character in grey. John's wife Hester for example. It would be simple to despise her. But under Lawrence's skillful hands we see how confining Hester found married life, and how she perceived childbearing as a loss of self. Also Hester's second husband at first comes across as an uncouth indiviual, but Lawrence also portrays him as a loving father to Frayne's son.

This is an absorbing book and one that should be enjoyed like a good glass of port.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bittersweet historical novel, December 20, 2001

By 

drdebs (CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iceweaver: A Novel (Paperback)

Margaret Lawrence's talent for creating strong, unforgettable characters continues in this historical novel featuring Jennet Trevor, the deaf and mute daughter of Hannah Trevor. Hannah Trevor, the Maine midwife featured in Margaret Lawrence's Hearts and Bones series, only appears at the very beginning of the book, when John Frayne, newly returned to his confiscated New York home after the American revolution, observes Jennet slipping her body into the lake on his property. Frayne, an early 19th century collector and redeemer of the lost and the frightened, slowly draws Jennet back into the land of the living along with other memorable characters, like a crippled French soldier. In the process he invokes fear, loathing, love and lust.

Like many of Lawrence's works, this is a bitter-sweet story, hard-edged and uncompromising in its portrayal of both love and anger. It is also deeply satisfying and it will be hard to put down once you pick it up!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Story!, May 28, 2001

By 

Michael Butts "as i see it" (Martinsburg, WV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Iceweaver (Hardcover)

I've been a fan of Margaret Lawrence from the beginning. I have to admit that I was slow to pick "The Iceweaver" up to read, because Hannah Trevor is not in this story. I also have to admit that I felt cheated that we missed out on the last 23 years of Hannah and Daniel's life. I got over my sulking very quickly. Ms. Lawrence is such a wonderful storyteller that it wasn't until I was reading the other reviews that I realized that there was no murder mystery! This is a very engrossing tale of love and life. The author does a great job in developing all the new characters needed to tell this tale. The crowning achievement of character development is Jennet. Ms. Lawrence does an outstanding job with Jennet. This was another one of my concerns with reading this book. How could a deaf and mute character carry a story? Well in this author's capable hands, it is not a problem. Jennet comes through alive and well. She one of the most interesting characters I have ever read. I always liked Jennet in the other books and even found myself wondering what would become of her after Hannah died. Well, she has grown into a full and wonderful character. Ms. Lawrence gives Jennet a lot of warmth, love, understanding and caring, but with that stubborn and determined personally of Hannah's. The plot of this story is also written very well too. Ms. Lawrence has a great and vast understanding of the life and times of the people in the early 1800's. She delivers this knowledge with a wonderful command of the language, both past and present, so that the reader can fully understand what it was like during these times. I love the author's use of everyday chores to help the reader understand the harshness of life. After reading Margaret Lawrence's four books, I have to wonder that anyone lived long enough to produce the next generation. These books are a wonderful testament to human nature. I not only recommend "The Iceweaver" but all of Ms. Lawrence's books, start with "Hearts and Bones" and read them all.