The Whip [Unabridged] [Audible Audio Edition] Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B009T9YBMQ | Format: PDF, EPUB
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- Best Western, 2013 International Book Awards
- 2013 National Indie Excellence Awards winner, Western fiction category
- Gold Prize in Historical Fiction & Best Western Fiction - 2013 Global Ebook Awards
- Award-Winner in the 'Fiction: Historical' category of The 2012 USA Best Book Awards
The Whip is a multi-award winning novel inspired by the true story of Charlotte "Charley" Parkhurst (1812-1879) who lived most of her extraordinary life as a man in the Old West.
As a young woman in Rhode Island, she fell in love with a runaway slave and had his child. He was lynched, her baby killed. 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 known woman to vote in America in 1868 (as a man). Her grave lies in Watsonville, California.
Books with free ebook downloads available The Whip [Unabridged] [Audible Audio Edition] Epub Download
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 8 hours and 31 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Deyan Audio Services
- Audible.com Release Date: October 19, 2012
- Whispersync for Voice: Ready
- Language: English
- ASIN: B009T9YBMQ
`THE WHIP' by Karen Kondazian
[Charlotte M Liebel Review]
Brilliant and memorable are the lasting impressions you have after reading the final chapter of the debut novel, "THE WHIP" by Karen Kondazian. It is a novel commemorating a true legend of the Gold Rush Era in the person of a woman who survives the struggles of joblessness by reinventing herself.
Charlotte (Charley) Parkhurst was left in a basket at the door of an orphanage in Massachusetts on a cold day of March 1812. It is the baby's good fortune that the lonely boy Lee Colton, a four-year-old, enters her dark room and rocks the baby to sleep. For four years, the children are inseparable.
Management changes at the orphanage result in harsh disciplines that affect the personalities of the two children over the years. Charley is removed from the sewing-room, beaten, and escorted to the barn to break her spirit. Her mentor and surrogate father, the black stable-hand named Jonas, guides Charley. Her greatest success is caring for the strong-willed horse Beelzebub who challenges her with fiery eyes. She leaves the orphanage at age 16.
Mysterious events lead to a relationship and the birth of a beloved infant. Her joy is short-lived when Vigilantes murder her black partner and baby. Charley recognized one of the men fleeing and vowed to kill him.
Charley disguises as a man and applies for a job as stagecoach driver for Wells Fargo. Extremely skilled at the whip and handling the team of horses, Charley wins a competition and trip to San Francisco to even the score with that nameless vigilante.
The historical novel `The Whip' by Karen Kondazian is a page-turner with drama that is unpredictable. The language and situations are focused and thought provoking.
My book club chose this book because it appeared to be the fascinating story of a woman living out her life as a male stagecoach driver (a Whip, as they were called). It's based on a real woman who had accomplished many things, not the least of which was competing in a man's world and succeeding brilliantly.
The story is a piece of historical fiction, which can be done well, or poorly. Had I not gone and looked up what is known about the actual life of Charlotte Parkhurst, I may have like the book more. Turns out, this version by Karen Kondazian is much more fictional than historical and has a lot of completely contrived details. In seeing an interview with Kondazian, she says that, as an actress, she imagines and improvises, creating a backstory for characters and she utilized this creativity to write the book. She apparently got very creative for this particular story.
In the book, Charley lives with a black man, loses him & her interracial baby to terrible violence, goes on a nearly lifelong search to avenge their death, and in the meantime has an affair with a con man, the only person she seemingly trusted with her secret. She rescues a woman and child, who then come to see her as the perfect father/husband, only to be sorely dissappointed.
This was all fun reading, and quite entertaining. But, when I realized that so very much of it was completely unfounded and probably written in order to make the story much more provocative than reality, it was a bit dissappointing. In truth, Charley must have had a fascinating, but secretive life. Therefore, there is little known about her that is factual.
If you want a Wild West tale about a woman who takes on life as a man, and can see it for what it is as fiction, you'll enjoy this book.
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