The Whip: Straddling Gender Roles in the Wild West
Karen Kondazian's debut novel, The Whip, tells the story of legendary stagecoach driver "Charley" Parkhurst.
BY Nick Pachelli
February 28 2013 8:00 AM ET
http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/books/2013/02/28/whip-straddles-gender-roles-wild-west (http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/books/2013/02/28/whip-straddles-gender-roles-wild-west)
Karen Kondazian's critically acclaimed debut novel, The Whip, is based on the true story of the famous 19th century Wells Fargo Stagecoach driver "Charley" Parkhurst (1812-1879). What no one knew back in the Wild West — at least until Parkhurst's body was buried in Watsonville, California — was that Charley was in fact Charlotte, a free-spirited and determined woman who chose to live the majority of her life as a man. The gripping page-turner explores themes of self-identity, forgiveness, and survival, and captivates the reader from multiple perspectives.
Kondazian fills the story with mounting action, harsh violence, and emotionally jarring sequences while staying true to the sometimes harsh culture of the Wild West. She poses the question to her readers: "What would happen if someone destroyed everything in your life? Would you forgive them? And if you couldn't, how far would you go?"
And how much we can really know about this woman who lived her life as a man? Parkhurst didn't just live as an ordinary man — as a stagecoach "whip," Parkhurst was the Wild West equivalent of a rock star.
The true story behind Parkhurst's personal life is not the easiest to uncover, and when asked about her research on Parkhurst, Kondazian said most of it was through historical archives and personal accounts from people whose great-great-grandparents knew Parkhurst.