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Hannah Trevor Trilogy #1
Hearts and Bones
Book by Lawrence, Margaret
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
2 people are currently reading
643 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Lawrence
7 books40 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Lorraine Margaret Keilstrup, wrote as Margaret Lawrence, Margaret K. Lawrence and M. K. Lorens. Her last name is pronounced KEEL-strup. She was born in February 23, 1945 and died on January 8, 2012 in Freemont, Nebraska at her home.
Keilstrup graduated valedictorian from Fremont High School and then summa cum laude from Midland Lutheran College, now Midland University, in 1967. Keilstrup was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. She earned a Master of Arts and doctorate degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, writing a doctoral thesis on The Myth of Cain in the Early English Drama in 1974. She taught there for several years and also taught in Fort Hays, Kansas.
She won several writing competitions during these years and then had plays produced at the Omaha Playhouse and on Nebraska-ETV, before giving up teaching and moving to New York City to pursue a career as a writer and playwright. Her plays were produced by the Hudson Guild and the New York Shakespeare Festival and she was a finalist for the Blackburn Prize in drama.
She wrote scripts for CBS-Universal Studios, notably for "The Equalizer" television series. The episode, "Riding the Elephant," received a superb rating on tv.com.
Keilstrup returned to Fremont to care for ailing family members, and lived in her 120 year old ancestral home, which was originally built by her grandfather in a cornfield outside Fremont and which starred a garden that contained her grandmother's roses and poppies first planted from seeds brought from Flanders Field after World War I. The Keilstrup home is the oldest home in Fremont continuously lived in by the same family.
After her return home, she began writing novels, first as M. K. Lorens and then as Margaret Lawrence.
As M. K. Lorens, she wrote five novels starring featuring Winston Marlowe Sherman, mystery-writing Shakespearan professor, beginning with SWEET NARCISSUS (Bantam, 1990) and ending with SORROWHEART (Doubleday, 1993). As Margaret Lawrence, she wrote three novels starring Hannah Trevor, Revolutionary War era midwife, and a number of other historical novels.
For these novels, she was a finalist for The Edgar, Anthony, Agatha, the UK’s Golden Dagger, and other literary awards. Her books were translated in to a number of other languages for nations like Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic and Japan. She also published poems and short stories.
Known to her friends and family for her intelligence, wit and humor, her deep compassion for others, and for her liking for privacy, she was also known for many creative talents, including her fluency in Danish, German, Spanish and French. She played the piano, composed folk songs, and excelled at Danish papercutting, needlework and quilting. Many of her projects were profiled in magazines. She died on January 8, 2012 at her home in Fremont, Nebraska.
Lorraine Margaret Keilstrup, wrote as Margaret Lawrence, Margaret K. Lawrence and M. K. Lorens. Her last name is pronounced KEEL-strup. She was born in February 23, 1945 and died on January 8, 2012 in Freemont, Nebraska at her home.
Keilstrup graduated valedictorian from Fremont High School and then summa cum laude from Midland Lutheran College, now Midland University, in 1967. Keilstrup was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. She earned a Master of Arts and doctorate degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, writing a doctoral thesis on The Myth of Cain in the Early English Drama in 1974. She taught there for several years and also taught in Fort Hays, Kansas.
She won several writing competitions during these years and then had plays produced at the Omaha Playhouse and on Nebraska-ETV, before giving up teaching and moving to New York City to pursue a career as a writer and playwright. Her plays were produced by the Hudson Guild and the New York Shakespeare Festival and she was a finalist for the Blackburn Prize in drama.
She wrote scripts for CBS-Universal Studios, notably for "The Equalizer" television series. The episode, "Riding the Elephant," received a superb rating on tv.com.
Keilstrup returned to Fremont to care for ailing family members, and lived in her 120 year old ancestral home, which was originally built by her grandfather in a cornfield outside Fremont and which starred a garden that contained her grandmother's roses and poppies first planted from seeds brought from Flanders Field after World War I. The Keilstrup home is the oldest home in Fremont continuously lived in by the same family.
After her return home, she began writing novels, first as M. K. Lorens and then as Margaret Lawrence.
As M. K. Lorens, she wrote five novels starring featuring Winston Marlowe Sherman, mystery-writing Shakespearan professor, beginning with SWEET NARCISSUS (Bantam, 1990) and ending with SORROWHEART (Doubleday, 1993). As Margaret Lawrence, she wrote three novels starring Hannah Trevor, Revolutionary War era midwife, and a number of other historical novels.
For these novels, she was a finalist for The Edgar, Anthony, Agatha, the UK’s Golden Dagger, and other literary awards. Her books were translated in to a number of other languages for nations like Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic and Japan. She also published poems and short stories.
Known to her friends and family for her intelligence, wit and humor, her deep compassion for others, and for her liking for privacy, she was also known for many creative talents, including her fluency in Danish, German, Spanish and French. She played the piano, composed folk songs, and excelled at Danish papercutting, needlework and quilting. Many of her projects were profiled in magazines. She died on January 8, 2012 at her home in Fremont, Nebraska.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
December 12, 2014
This series is fantastic, and the first book is arguably the best. A truly chilling (and ultimately heartbreaking) mystery, the masterful and evocative use of an unstable historical period, vivid and well-defined characters, and a strong, smart, compassionate, intriguing heroine. Lawrence is a powerful and immensely skilled writer. Fans of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and the Wilderness series by Sara Donati should love this, as well as fans of gritty and emotionally rich historical novels and/or mysteries.
February 8, 2008
I've had this book on my shelves for many years and finally pulled it down to read on a plane trip. It was quite good, and I would recommend it for mystery readers who also enjoy historical contexts. The protagonist is a midwife in Maine in 1786, right after the American Revolution. The book is very good at showing the dissatisfaction of common people at how our nation was managing--or not managing--after we won the war. It's not a time period that we learn much about, and although I enjoy reading about the American Revolution, this was a new view of its aftermath. Hearts and Bones has three sequels, which I've taken out of the library but not yet read. The title, by the way, refers to a quilt pattern.
October 6, 2017
This is a book I read many years ago, which stayed with me, and I finally revisited it. Lawrence's prose is beautiful, and the story is heartbreaking and moving. It is brutal at times, at an unsettled time in American history (post revolution), which is something I tend to avoid, hence 4 stars instead of 5.
Women are legal non-entities, requiring permission for everything including owning a business. Women like Hannah Trevor, however, use their unique skill to gain some independence -- they are the healers, the midwives, nurses, and herbalists. Reading about women in history makes me very thankful for the time in which I live.
Women are legal non-entities, requiring permission for everything including owning a business. Women like Hannah Trevor, however, use their unique skill to gain some independence -- they are the healers, the midwives, nurses, and herbalists. Reading about women in history makes me very thankful for the time in which I live.
March 5, 2011
A decidedly not cozy mystery, but the setting is amazing. I've been kicking around the portrayal of the post-Revolutionary War society, and how broken it was. Very interesting.
Strong main character and an interesting mystery. With a content caveat, I'd recommend.
Strong main character and an interesting mystery. With a content caveat, I'd recommend.
March 12, 2009
HEARTS AND BONES (Hist. Mys-Hannah Trevor-Maine-1700s)- Ex
Lawrence, Margaret - 1st of series
From Fantastic Fiction: Hannah Trevor, a midwife in a small Maine town, discovers the body of a young wife and mother, along with a note naming Hannah's secret past lover and the father of her illegitimate daughter as the woman's murderers.
Very well written. An excellent portrayal of life in Maine of 1770s and how little power women had over their own lives. Hannah is a great character. I'll read more of these.
Lawrence, Margaret - 1st of series
From Fantastic Fiction: Hannah Trevor, a midwife in a small Maine town, discovers the body of a young wife and mother, along with a note naming Hannah's secret past lover and the father of her illegitimate daughter as the woman's murderers.
Very well written. An excellent portrayal of life in Maine of 1770s and how little power women had over their own lives. Hannah is a great character. I'll read more of these.
March 1, 2013
I've been trying to write an adequate review for a book I love terribly, and I can't. All I can say is that, looking at Hearts & Bones as just a mystery would be an error. Yes, it is that but it is also an amazingly well-written book and Lawrence is a remarkable talent.
September 16, 2011
Being from New England this book resonated with me, as I am always so curious about 18th century America.
February 20, 2014
The GoodReads blurb isn't for this book but (I assume) for a sequel. And the first reader review I looked at gets an important detail of the plot wrong in the first sentence. Oh dear. Unfortunately I don't have the time this morning to spell things out in any detail myself, so . . .
February 1786 in a small Maine settlement. The grip of winter is fierce. Middle-aged midwife and quilter Hannah Trevor, alongside bluff constable William Quaid, discover the body of Anthea "Nan" Emory; the woman has been raped, brutally tormented and finally strangled. Nearby is a letter seemingly written by her accusing three local worthies of having repeatedly raped her over the past few days and warning that her murder will be the finale. One of the worthies named is the man Hannah still secretly, illicitly loves, the married father of her sole surviving child: Daniel Josselyn. And it's to Dan that a very powerful piece of circumstantial evidence points . . .
The origins of this horrific crime lie, Hannah slowly discovers, in an even more horrific one: the rape and massacre of civilians, including children, at a hamlet called Webb's Ford by out-of-control rebel forces some years earlier, toward the end of the War of Independence.
The mystery's well enough worked out and keeps the pages turning, but what's really absorbing is the portrait of life at the time, and the frank depiction of the aftermath of independence as something far, far, far indeed from a paradisal commonwealth. The people who risked their lives and suffered harsh bereavements are finding that it's a case of "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" as their lives are once again under the thumbs of ruthless, powerful men who don't care if the vulnerable live or die so long as their own rapacious greed is satisfied. (Sound familiar, hm?) And those common folk, living constantly on the edge of destitution, are themselves no heroes, even though the court investigating the Webb's Ford massacre has declared its perpetrators so -- while punishing the few who sought to tell the truth of what went on.
I almost gave up on the book during the first twenty or thirty pages because the use of language seemed affected -- a bit quaintly historique. But then I realized what fun (sometimes even subversive fun) Margaret Lawrence was having with it, and I started doing so too. I'm very glad that I did.
February 1786 in a small Maine settlement. The grip of winter is fierce. Middle-aged midwife and quilter Hannah Trevor, alongside bluff constable William Quaid, discover the body of Anthea "Nan" Emory; the woman has been raped, brutally tormented and finally strangled. Nearby is a letter seemingly written by her accusing three local worthies of having repeatedly raped her over the past few days and warning that her murder will be the finale. One of the worthies named is the man Hannah still secretly, illicitly loves, the married father of her sole surviving child: Daniel Josselyn. And it's to Dan that a very powerful piece of circumstantial evidence points . . .
The origins of this horrific crime lie, Hannah slowly discovers, in an even more horrific one: the rape and massacre of civilians, including children, at a hamlet called Webb's Ford by out-of-control rebel forces some years earlier, toward the end of the War of Independence.
The mystery's well enough worked out and keeps the pages turning, but what's really absorbing is the portrait of life at the time, and the frank depiction of the aftermath of independence as something far, far, far indeed from a paradisal commonwealth. The people who risked their lives and suffered harsh bereavements are finding that it's a case of "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" as their lives are once again under the thumbs of ruthless, powerful men who don't care if the vulnerable live or die so long as their own rapacious greed is satisfied. (Sound familiar, hm?) And those common folk, living constantly on the edge of destitution, are themselves no heroes, even though the court investigating the Webb's Ford massacre has declared its perpetrators so -- while punishing the few who sought to tell the truth of what went on.
I almost gave up on the book during the first twenty or thirty pages because the use of language seemed affected -- a bit quaintly historique. But then I realized what fun (sometimes even subversive fun) Margaret Lawrence was having with it, and I started doing so too. I'm very glad that I did.
August 24, 2022
Characters: 9, I felt like I had a good sense of the main character and all the secondary ones, and that they were distinguishable from one another.
Atmosphere: 9, between the horrors of the Revolutionary War and the frigid desolation of Maine wilderness, this book pulled me in and made me feel a part of the story.
Writing: 9, aside from the redundancy of the term 'hearts and bones' used throughout the story, the writing was spot-on. A great balance of description, action, and dialogue; not too flowery but detailed enough to be immersive; great use of limited character perspectives to build tension with the audience.
Plot: 8, the pacing was very good though there was a point where I had to flip back to the first part of the book because I was getting confused about a few things with the parallel story (the primary story is the murder mystery, but the B plot is what happened to five of the characters several years ago during the war).
Intrigue: 9, I just barely figured out the guilty party before Hannah did, and the author led us on a merry chase. The whole concept of the complexity of human beings meaning you can never fully and truly know someone (or yourself, maybe) was both chilling and rang true. And the stamp left by the horrors of war was heartbreaking- something I see dealt with a lot in WWI and WWII fiction, but have never encountered before with Revolutionary War fiction.
Logic: 9, no plot holes that I discovered, though a couple instances of suspiciously convenient things. The characters did indeed act within their own motivations, even when they were lying to themselves about said motivations.
Enjoyment: 10, I really enjoyed this, even though parts were emotionally difficult to read due to the subject matter. I will absolutely be continuing on with the series. I learned some things about American women during that time period, was re-introduced to the horrors of war in a new way, and became invested not only in Hannah but also in several of the secondary characters as well.
Atmosphere: 9, between the horrors of the Revolutionary War and the frigid desolation of Maine wilderness, this book pulled me in and made me feel a part of the story.
Writing: 9, aside from the redundancy of the term 'hearts and bones' used throughout the story, the writing was spot-on. A great balance of description, action, and dialogue; not too flowery but detailed enough to be immersive; great use of limited character perspectives to build tension with the audience.
Plot: 8, the pacing was very good though there was a point where I had to flip back to the first part of the book because I was getting confused about a few things with the parallel story (the primary story is the murder mystery, but the B plot is what happened to five of the characters several years ago during the war).
Intrigue: 9, I just barely figured out the guilty party before Hannah did, and the author led us on a merry chase. The whole concept of the complexity of human beings meaning you can never fully and truly know someone (or yourself, maybe) was both chilling and rang true. And the stamp left by the horrors of war was heartbreaking- something I see dealt with a lot in WWI and WWII fiction, but have never encountered before with Revolutionary War fiction.
Logic: 9, no plot holes that I discovered, though a couple instances of suspiciously convenient things. The characters did indeed act within their own motivations, even when they were lying to themselves about said motivations.
Enjoyment: 10, I really enjoyed this, even though parts were emotionally difficult to read due to the subject matter. I will absolutely be continuing on with the series. I learned some things about American women during that time period, was re-introduced to the horrors of war in a new way, and became invested not only in Hannah but also in several of the secondary characters as well.
January 17, 2010
This is a novel set in post-revolutionary Maine (then still Massachusetts). It focuses on the life of a midwife, Hannah Trevor.
I loved this book for the way Lawrence wove together different kinds of narratives, and for the two main characters.
It's very clear that Hannah's story is a retelling based on A Midwife's Tale which is a non-fiction presentation of a midwife's diary, carefully examined and analyzed.
I loved this book for the way Lawrence wove together different kinds of narratives, and for the two main characters.
It's very clear that Hannah's story is a retelling based on A Midwife's Tale which is a non-fiction presentation of a midwife's diary, carefully examined and analyzed.
October 15, 2019
This is a different kind of mystery than what I have read before. It is a historical mystery taking place years after the Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolution. Hannah Trevor is the intrepid midwife and solver of mysteries in the novel. People end up dead, and it looks like the killer is obvious, but not so fast! It takes Hannah time to unravel this issues surrounding the deaths, but she manages to do so. She is a lovely woman, and this is only the first in the series. Hearts and Bones refers to a quilt pattern. May have to read more!
July 8, 2023
This is a murder mystery centered around Hannah Trevor, a midwife in 1786. An early feminist, Hannah is unconventional and outspoken, and also the mother of a deaf, “illegitimate,” eight-year-old daughter.
An interesting aspect of the story is information regarding life in America during the chaotic time just after the Revolution. The book includes poems, songs, and recipes of that era, and also explains how to make candles.
This is a decent mystery story that drags a bit along the way and is melodramatic at times. (Dang editors!)
An interesting aspect of the story is information regarding life in America during the chaotic time just after the Revolution. The book includes poems, songs, and recipes of that era, and also explains how to make candles.
This is a decent mystery story that drags a bit along the way and is melodramatic at times. (Dang editors!)
September 25, 2017
I haven't read a book quite like this one since the novels of Taylor Caldwell. Margaret Lawrence brings to life the cold, icy days of colonial America like no one I know. She thoroughly fills in her characters, introducing aspects of their lives, both past and present, in very unique ways. You will think you are there trying to keep warm while trying to piece together all of the loose ends to a most mystifying murder. Then two murders. I won't tell, read the book.
January 29, 2024
A good but disturbing book set right after the end of the Revolutionary War in what is now Maine explores the traumatic effects of primitive warfare on the participants but on generations of the citizens. Plenty of apt descriptions of the area climate & living conditions of the time but told from a Modern ethical point of view makes a very interesting story- Not at all what we expect to hear about people living at that Time in history- and an complicated plot!
August 2, 2018
Good mystery set in Maine (actually Massachusetts at the time) during the period right after the Revolutionary War. Well developed characters with much inner turmoil caused by the war. Strong main character, a single Mid-wive, who does have some of the same ghosts haunting her as do the returned soldiers. Thought provoking.
December 14, 2020
I first read this novel 22 years ago and was so enthralled by it that I bought a copy to reread in the future. When my library closed for the second time during the pandemic, it drove me to my bookshelves and this book. It was just as compelling the second time. Great story, characters and historical detail.
December 24, 2012
One of the few mysteries, I enjoyed about a murder in post revolutionary war Maine. Plan to read the sequel "Blood Red Roses"
June 24, 2012
I enjoyed the vision into the past , and even though she had a strong heroine with profound ideas of feminine freedom, I had to force myself to finish the book.
May 20, 2017
Meh. Dialogue felt forced. Not sure it deserved the time it took to read.
July 3, 2021
Reread this because I didn't remember very much. A wonderful and heartbreaking story and mystery of love, war and heartbreak in post Revolutionary Maine. Great characters.
March 24, 2025
My first thoughts while writing this review is how in awe I am of the author for her ability to write in the vernacular of those living just after the end of American Civil War back in the 1700s. It felt as though I was right back in those times listening in on every conversation and hearing the gentle swish of long skirts against bare floorboards in basic log cabins, in contrast to that terrible swish of a lash tearing the flesh from a soldier’s back, or standing in the shadows watching a young midwife/healer fight tooth and nail to keep her frightened charges, and often their tiny babies, alive - and sometimes having to prepare them for burial when her skills weren’t enough…
This story begins with a terrible crime - the murder of a poor young housewife after being brutally raped in her sparse lonely cabin in the woods. And somehow she had known it was going to happen when she wrote a letter naming three suspects several days prior.
Reading this powerful novel took far longer than I thought it would after first picking it up at a bookstore many years ago - I’m unsure why I waited so long, although there are more than 1000 books sitting on my bookshelves so it’s understandable something so small and unassuming on the outside got ‘lost’ between the rest. Along with the print being very small, the detail conveyed using the language and idioms of those times, as well as the plethora of interesting characters you meet while trying to figure out who did this dastardly deed to poor Anthea Emory, it was written in a variety of styles to offer perspective of all the different aspects that goes into solving a crime, e.g. the evidence, court documents, the official transcript, eye-witness accounts, wicked gossip and some gentle reminiscing, as well as clever twists and turns you never saw coming!
Having been a court reporter for more than a decade, I was intrigued and found myself combing through each portion trying to work out the truth before its dramatic and heart- wrenching end. It also meant going back afterwards to reread certain portions once the truth came out because it was so cleverly constructed.
A word of warning, the storyline can be quite gruesome in parts because of the events that occurred during this period of history and the vernacular used to mirror those times, and it can also be confusing in parts, again due to the writing style - but it’s definitely worth it in the long run.
I’m not surprised this novel was shortlisted for the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1996. The forethought, suspense and ultimate truth-telling were skilfully articulated and are a true credit to the author’s skill with words and their form.
And after finding out on the last few pages there is a sequel, I went straight over to Amazon and purchased a copy, because the suspense is killing me!
Definitely worthy of 4🌟 out of five!
This story begins with a terrible crime - the murder of a poor young housewife after being brutally raped in her sparse lonely cabin in the woods. And somehow she had known it was going to happen when she wrote a letter naming three suspects several days prior.
Reading this powerful novel took far longer than I thought it would after first picking it up at a bookstore many years ago - I’m unsure why I waited so long, although there are more than 1000 books sitting on my bookshelves so it’s understandable something so small and unassuming on the outside got ‘lost’ between the rest. Along with the print being very small, the detail conveyed using the language and idioms of those times, as well as the plethora of interesting characters you meet while trying to figure out who did this dastardly deed to poor Anthea Emory, it was written in a variety of styles to offer perspective of all the different aspects that goes into solving a crime, e.g. the evidence, court documents, the official transcript, eye-witness accounts, wicked gossip and some gentle reminiscing, as well as clever twists and turns you never saw coming!
Having been a court reporter for more than a decade, I was intrigued and found myself combing through each portion trying to work out the truth before its dramatic and heart- wrenching end. It also meant going back afterwards to reread certain portions once the truth came out because it was so cleverly constructed.
A word of warning, the storyline can be quite gruesome in parts because of the events that occurred during this period of history and the vernacular used to mirror those times, and it can also be confusing in parts, again due to the writing style - but it’s definitely worth it in the long run.
I’m not surprised this novel was shortlisted for the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1996. The forethought, suspense and ultimate truth-telling were skilfully articulated and are a true credit to the author’s skill with words and their form.
And after finding out on the last few pages there is a sequel, I went straight over to Amazon and purchased a copy, because the suspense is killing me!
Definitely worthy of 4🌟 out of five!
January 19, 2026
Taking place in the fall and winter of Maine, this book was good to read as the below-zero windchill did its best outside my place. A small town with its own contingent of former Revolutionary War veterans and survivors, Rufford would be a bucolic and charming New England village—if not for the murders, mobs of drunken rioters, and secrets that will rip open the peace. Our protagonist Hannah is someone we’d all like to know, maybe summoning her for healing skills or her midwifery. But she finds ways to immerse herself neck-deep in the intrigues, driving the story like other famed female detective wanna-bes. But she’s not snoopy or gossipy, rather her sense of justice impels her to find the truths of her fellows. With two more volumes in the trilogy, I may continue to follow Hannah for a good while.
July 10, 2018
I was recommended this book in the context of a set of murder mystery series all featuring midwives. (All shared some elements of love stories, differences of religion, and raise the question of whether midwifery allows women to break normal rules for women's behavior or draws to it women already inclined to break those rules.) While the rest were relatively formulaic historical fictions, which could have been about any number of things, this was well constructed with thorough historicism but was also violently creepy and uncomfortably playing into the rationalizations of toxic patriarchy.
August 9, 2025
Well, that was more unpleasant than I wanted. A woman is killed in extremely unpleasant fashion and that carries through the tale as we get war, killings, mutilations, etc. Just because it's a historical story, doesn't mean you're obliged to insert 200 scalpings.
I read a paperback. This is an unbiased review.
I read a paperback. This is an unbiased review.
June 23, 2018
Predictable. Shallow. Boring.
July 29, 2019
I really enjoyed this story. A bit dark and suspenseful for me, but I still liked it. While there is despair, there is also love and all it's little messes. It was hard to put down.
April 2, 2020
Hannah Trevor, a midwife, in colonial Maine, gets involved in the murder of w townswoman. Quite good.
April 22, 2020
4th pandemic re read.
March 16, 2021
This series kept showing up on lists of must reads by some of my favorite authors. I liked it and will read the other 2, but have like others in this genre better, like Sara Donati.
September 19, 2022
Hannah Trevor, widowed midwife, in a murder mystery set in 1786 Maine; good sense of place, although horses don’t scream, but it’s long-winded and becomes tedious.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews