The Whip: A Novel Inspired by the Story of Charley Parkhurst

by Karen Kondazian

Overview

THE WHIP is inspired by the true story of a woman, Charlotte 'Charley' Parkhurst (1812-1879) who lived most of her extraordinary life as a man. As a young woman in Rhode Island, she fell in love with a runaway slave and had his child. The destruction of her family drove her west to California, dressed as a man, to track the killer. Charley became a renowned stagecoach driver for Wells Fargo. She killed a famous outlaw, had a secret love affair, and lived with a housekeeper who, unaware of her true sex, fell in love with her. Charley was the first woman to vote in America (as a man). Her grave lies in Watsonville, California.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781601823076
Publisher:	Hansen Publishing Group, LLC
Publication date:	12/01/2013
Pages:	306
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Karen Kondazian is an award-winning author born in Boston, Massachusetts. Her debut novel The Whip, received five awards in 2013, including the USA News Best Book Award for Historical Fiction and the International Book Award for Best Western. She is also the author of the best-selling book, The Actors Encyclopedia of Casting Directors, with a foreword by Richard Dreyfuss.

Kondazian was a journalist and is an award winning theater actress who began her acting career at the age of eight, as one of the infamous children on Art Linkletter's, Children Say the Darnest Things. She completed her schooling at San Francisco State College, The University of Vienna and The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.

Onstage, Kondazian has distinguished herself portraying the women of Tennessee Williams, winning the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for her performance in The Rose Tattoo. After seeing her performance, Tennessee Williams and Kondazian became friends and he gave her carte blanche to produce any of his plays in his lifetime. She then starred opposite Ed Harris in Sweet Bird of Youth and also won the Los Angeles Ovation Award playing Maria Callas in The Master Class. She has also appeared as a series regular lead in CBS's Shannon and guest starred in over 50 television shows and films - including, starring opposite James Franco in TNT's James Dean, and playing Kate Holliday in the award-winning anthology series, Showdown at O.K. Corral.

Kondazian is a lifetime member of The Actors Studio, a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and Women in Film. She is presently working on her second novel, Looking for Jack Kerouac.

Editorial Reviews

2014-06-06
In this debut historical novel, a woman disguises herself as a male stagecoach driver in order to track down the man responsible for the murder of her family.Inspired by a true story, Kondazian conjures up the legend of Charlotte "Charley" Pankhurst, a 19th century woman who spent much of her life pretending to be a male. Charlotte, who was raised in an orphanage in Boston, falls in love with a runaway slave and bears his child. But a terrible act of cruelty leaves her mourning her family and planning vengeance on the man responsible. After Charlotte learns that her target is headed west, she decides to follow him. The old West is no place for a lone woman, however, so she disguises herself as a man and finds employment as a "whip," or stagecoach driver. She has a series of adventures as she drives her coach up and down the California territory. She meets an actress named Anna, who later becomes her housekeeper; when Anna falls in love with her, however, Charlotte rebuffs her advances. Charlotte dons her female duds again upon arriving in San Francisco, where she falls for an outlaw named Edmund. However, her plan to take revenge for the death of her family is never far from her mind. The author, an actress, has written a novel about the old West that feels authentic in almost every sweaty detail ("The stagecoach was coming. The whole world was dust and pounding, pounding and dust"). Kondazian's background in the world of make-believe helps her to convincingly render Charlotte's transformation. The novel even offers a pansexual take on romance as both Charlotte and her lover seem to derive extra pleasure from the fact that she can be both a woman and a man.An engaging, authentic depiction of life in Gold Rush-era California.

Kirkus Reviews

I would have done that,” Ms. Kondazian said in a telephone interview. “I would have probably put on men’s clothes, to be free like a man.” —Karen Kondazian
New York Times interview from “Overlooked No More: Charley Parkhurst, Gold Rush Legend With a Hidden Identity,” by Tim Arango, December 5, 2018.

This quick-paced, wily tale is a fascinating blend of both fact and fiction that is sure to engage Western and historical fiction fans and readers.– Library Journal review by Keddy Ann Outlaw

"The Whip" is a beautifully written story of the Old West that moves between the exploits of Charley and the heartbreak of his/her secret. Why did she choose to live as a man? It was a hard life as a "whip" as the early drivers were known. They were held in high regard. This is a very entertaining and emotionally moving read." - By Alan Caruba of Bookviews ( National Book Critics Circle)

(Audiobook Review) Robin Weigert is able to portray Charlotte as both a man and a woman with very slight changes in her voice. She clearly defines the interesting set of characters in Charlotte’s life with changes in pitch, tone, and regional accents. In addition to Charlotte’s inner struggles and gender switches, the story hints of other women in the Old West who could not be self-reliant, respected, and independent as females. This ambitious plot, well performed, is based on a true story. – AudioFile Magazine

Karen Kondazian has allowed her imagination to weave Charley’s life into an intriguing pattern and done so in a fast-moving tale that quite possibly could be true. – Historical Novel Society Review by John Manhold

A gripping page-turner explores themes of self-identity, forgiveness, and survival, and captivates the reader from multiple perspectives. – Advocate.com The Whip: Straddling Gender Roles in the Wild West Review by Nick Pachelli

A new novel takes one back to the legendary days of the American West based on a true story of Charley Darkey Parkhurst who died in 1880 and was celebrated as a one-eyed, tobacco-spitting, gold-rush era Wells Fargo driver, a famed California stage coach driver and outlaw killer. What wasn’t known was that Charley was a woman. Karen Kondazian has transformed his/her story into a novel, The Whip ($15.00, Hanson Publishing Group), a beautifully written story of the Old West that moves between the exploits of Charley and the heartbreak of his/her secret. Why did she choose to live as a man? It was a hard life as a “whip” as the early drivers were known. They were held in high regard. This is an entertaining and emotionally moving read. – Bookviews

Like a nugget of gold pulled from the riffles is Karen Kondazian's debut novel The Whip. . . . It may be a book for the times. . . . We can all use a little cowboy wisdom about now and Charley Parkhurst may just be the gal to bring it. . . . The Whip, a thrilling and soul-searching read, raises questions about revenge and forgiveness as she takes the reader along dusty trails. Above all, this novel captures brilliantly the zeitgeist of the stagecoach era. — Art Kusnetz, San Francisco Books and Travel Magazine

From the Publisher

Awesome read, excellent narrative, perfect blend of fact and fiction, and though Charley faces an incredibly sad amount of misery and misfortune, the book managed to make me laugh at times as well as shake my head in sympathy....numerous things throughout the book made me chuckle and overall, the book has made a huge impact on me. It's also about a very strong woman, probably one of the strongest women I have ever read about. Life kept beating her down and she kept getting back up, minus one eye or minus a man and a baby, but never without her determination.

Book Babe Blog

Charley Parkhurst makes for a compelling main character. The Whip is very well researched (I loved all the historical tid-bits about piano legs, cat-hauling, and the stagecoach business itself), and Kondazian's novel unfolds cinematically; you can almost feel the sun's rays and smell the horse sweat. A truly fascinating novel of one woman's determination and grit in the heart of the Old West.

Reader's Favorite - Kayti Nika Raet

Take it from someone who's had firsthand experience with great art exploring the human spirit in a Western setting: Karen Kondazian's The Whip is just that. This is a story that cries out through its adventurous surroundings a call from deep in the human heart, a call for understanding, for love, for identity and it does so through the skill of a magnificent writer. (It also cries out to be a movie. It's that rich, visual, and dramatic.)

star of HBO s Deadwood and author of Life's That Way - Jim Beaver

Karen Kondazian has gathered what exists [about Charley Parkhurst] and allowed her imagination to weave Charley's life into an intriguing pattern. She's done so in a fast-moving tale that quite possibly could be true. The Whip provides an interesting speculative life history for one of the more enigmatic characters of the Old West. Readers familiar with the setting—or who would like to be—will enjoy this tale.

Historical Novel Society - John Manhold

Kondazian weaves fiction and fact together seamlessly into a poignant and profound read.

Story Circle Book Review - Dawn Wink

A skillful blend of fact and fiction...Kondazian's fascinating portrayal of this admirable historical figure delves into the complex character of a tough woman combating old-school tradition and unhealthy stereotypes.

April 23, 2014 - Foreword Reviews - Julia Ann Charpentier

The desire for vengeance knows no gender. The Whip is an old western novel inspired by the story of Charlotte 'Charley' Parkhurst, a woman living as man in the old west. Drawn out of her serene life in Rhode Island by the slaughter of her family, she chose to travel west and track the killer, dressing as a man and living as a man. Karen Kondazian brings forth a narrative flare to the story, making for a fun read that should prove all too difficult to put down, making The Whip a choice and much recommended read.

Midwest Book Review

One thing I really like about this job is that I get to discover promising new talent far outside of the world of agents, New York publishers, academics, and establishment book reviewers. Karen Kondazian's debut novel, The Whip, is in that category. Her well-written work, based on a true story, displays all the confidence of a seasoned novelist. I didn't detect one false note... I have often been accused of never meeting a book I didn't like. But try The Whip on, nevertheless, despite me. I think you will get as caught up in it as I was. This is classic Americana.

New World Review - Fred Beauford

You won't know what The Whip means until you read this fascinating book. It's a piece of the Old West, a part of America's past, told with amazing authenticity.

New York Times best-selling author - Thomas Fleming