    |
||
      |
||
    |
||
 |
||
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
The setting on the banks of the St. John River is breathtakingly picturesque. All Kings Landing employees are in period costume and speak in a manner depicting their particular era (different time periods are represented in the various structures in the settlement). About The Film
A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballad won virtually every award available for books of historical research, including the Pulitzer Prize. Film maker Laurie Kahn-Leavitt optioned the book and recruited director Richard Rogers, a Harvard University film professor to assist her in selecting a site suitable for filming the story. After scouting in New England, the pair arrived at Kings Landing Historical Settlement and declared it a perfect location for filming. Fast Facts About Kings Landing Historical Settlement Location: On the shores of the Saint John River 23 miles (37 km) west of the capital city of Fredericton, New Brunswick, off the Trans-Canada Highway (Route 2) at exit #259. Season: May 30 to mid-October. Contact: 506-363-4999; Website: www.gov.nb.ca/kingslanding
|
|
FREDERICTON,
NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA - For six weeks in the fall of 1995, Kings Landing
Historical Settlement in New Brunswick became a giant movie set. In
January 1998, your PBS station presents A Midwife's Tale,
filmed at the settlement. I'd like to share a few of my personal observations
made during my visit. I encourage you to check your local PBS listings
for dates and times of the film, prepare a tasty bowl of popcorn, and
sit back and enjoy the show along with me. I was hooked the minute we
drove down the twisting drive into Kings Landing located 20 minutes west
of Fredericton, New Brunswick. I know it's a cliche, but it really was
like driving back into time: autumn colors; blue skies; and a brisk chill
filling the air.
Kings
Landing Historical Settlement recreates life of the nineteenth century
in a way that entertains visitors of all ages. It's a chance to step back
in time when people and the community worked together to survive. During
the settlement's open season, the restored homes, farms, mills, school,
churches, and factory, each architecturally significant, are filled with
antiques and historically accurate interpreters. 
The
film, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballad, tells
the story of Martha Ballad, an extraordinary woman who was two centuries
ahead of her time. Martha lived during the Revolutionary War. She delivered
814 babies in 27 years, spent long, dark nights nursing the sick, and
prepared the dead for burial. 
Martha
wrote about her life and work in a diary kept between 1785 and 1812. Laurel
Ulrich, a history professor at the University of New Brunswick discovered
the diary in 1982 and produced a biography based on its contents.