Q&A w/ Karen & The Pelican Pointe Women’s Association Wednesday Night Book Club – Venice, FL

The Pelican Pointe Womens Association Wednesday Night Book Club – Venice, FL

The Pelican Pointe Women’s Association Wednesday Night Book Club sent me Q&A questions for their book club discussion. I enjoyed the questions and answering so much that I thought to share on my blog:

1) From Marsha: How was Kondazian introduced to Charley? Did all the events really happen or did you embellish them for the story?

Hi Marsha, when I was a young woman I used to read Cosmopolitan magazine 🙂 and in one issue there was actually a great article on Wild Woman of the Old West. One of the characters they wrote about was Charley Parkhurst. The idea of a woman living her life as a man, with all of those macho stagecoach drivers she hung out with, fascinated me. I wondered how in the world did she carry off her disguise for twenty years and was not discovered? I couldn’t imagine being so isolated from people to keep such a secret. As the years went by, I used to think about Charley and thought what a wonderful book it might make.

In 2005, my mother passed away. I decided I would put pen to paper and began writing a novel about Charley — and dedicate it to my mama and stepdad. Six years and twenty-seven drafts later, I finished The Whip.

There are very few known facts about Charley. This is because everybody thought she was just another male stagecoach driver. When she died and the doctors were getting her ready for her funeral, they were shocked to find out that the great Charley Parkhurst was indeed a woman and had had a child. We do know that she was the first known woman to have voted in America (as a man) for General Grant in 1868. Charley also bore a child who died, she drove for Wells Fargo for over twenty years, and killed the famous outlaw Sugarfoot, who robbed her stagecoach one too many times.

I went to Watsonville, California where Charley is buried in The Odd Fellows Cemetery, and interviewed some folks connected to her. I then took their facts and rumors, as well as what we know about her historically and fictionalized the rest. On the cover of the book I call it, ‘a novel inspired by a true story.’

2) From Betty: What made you select the life of Charley Parkhurst as the subject of your first novel? Are you planning to do any more books with a similar theme-women who enlisted in the union or southern armies during the Civil War?

Hi Betty, I think I answered the first part of your question in Marsha’s paragraph above.

My next book is not a historical novel, although there are so many fascinating women of that period that I’d like to write about. Especially, as you note, women who fought in the Civil War disguised as men. It’s great that you know about that information as not too many people do. An example of one woman who enlisted in the Civil War as a man was Francis Clalin. She disguised herself as a man named Jack Williams, in order to fight for Union forces during the American Civil War. She served in the Missouri artillery and cavalry units for several months. There was even a military surgeon named James Barry (born Margaret Ann Bulkley) in the British Army. She performed one of the first known caesarean sections in the 1800s.

Since you are interested, please find a link to a list of war-time women who dressed as men: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wartime_cross-dressers

Right now, the working title of my new book is called, Looking For Kerouac – although it has nothing to do with Jack Kerouac. It’s a fictionalized memoir.

3) From Cathy: Were there any other professions where women had to disguise themselves as a man to get employment? How long did that orphanage in Rhode Island exist? Did you get to see any of their records?

Hi Cathy, historically we know that there were over five hundred women who fought in the Civil War disguised as men. In the 1800’s, there were many unknown women who carried off disguising themselves, since women had very few opportunities. Women could not have dreams like men then, so the free-spirited ones took chances – also, it was one of the only ways women could travel freely. If you look up in history, you will see there were women in many occupations from pirates to writers, carrying off living their dream disguised as men.

We don’t know the name of the orphanage that Charley Parkhurst grew up in, as there is no documentation. I chose the name of an orphanage that existed in Rhode Island at that time.

4) From Martha: There was a scene Lee said, “don’t touch the butterfly that it would die.” Charley did let the butterfly land on her finger and of course it did not die. The butterfly was mentioned later in the book. What was the significance of the Butterfly?

Hi Martha, before I answer the question, I want all of you to discuss what you think the symbol of the butterfly is in the book – it’s even on the cover…

I chose the butterfly because in many traditions the butterfly is a symbol of reincarnation – that our spirits never die. It is also a symbol of transformation – Charley transforming herself from a moth into a butterfly. The butterfly also represents innocence, freedom and forgiveness. That’s why I chose the butterfly scene with Lee as Charley’s last vision before she dies.

5) From Marti: Did her best friend Anna, the woman who was living with her know she had a baby and that it was killed?

Hi Marti, after Anna returns to Charley at the end of the book, I believe they told all their truths to each other, as we all hopefully do with the ones we love.

6) From Pat: When did you discover “Charley” a female Whip disguised as a male? And what inspired you to invent a life for her? In your research did you discover any other female whips? What a fascinating person Charlotte was!!!

Hi Pat, I answered your question in Marsha’s answer above – about how I discovered Charley Parkhurst.

You are so right about Charley. Can you imagine what an amazing and courageous person she must have been to take on the guise of a man in a time when women were simply chattel’s. People asked me how I came up with the invented part of Charley’s life, and I must confess, there were some nights when I was writing that it felt like Charley was writing for me. I know that sounds peculiar, but if you ask most writers, that’s the gift they pray for and it’s called inspiration. Or maybe I was lucky enough to have Charley whisper in my ear!

As for other female Whips, the only other six-horse team driver I have heard of was an African American woman named Mary Fields. Fields did not disguise herself as a man though. However, she did drive a six-horse team (like Charley) to deliver mail in Cascade, Montana. She was born a slave in 1832 in Hickman County, Tennessee and was freed in 1865. She was the first African American woman to be employed as a mail carrier in the United States and drove until she was sixty-years old! Like Charley, Fields never missed a day of work and was known for driving through rough terrain, thus earning her the nick name ‘Stagecoach.’

7) From Julie: Why is it that Edmund Bennett, the gambler, suspected that Charley Parkhurst was a woman when no one else saw through her disguise? Was Edmund more aware of Charley’s disguise because of his inventive existence? Loved the Book!!

Hi Julie, I’m so glad you loved the book. Too bad I didn’t have you writing alongside me! What you said about Edmund being more aware of Charley’s disguise, due to his own invented existence, is absolutely right. One of the themes of The Whip besides forgiveness is the ‘masks’ that we all wear to hide the wounded child who lives inside us. If you notice, everybody in the book wears a mask of some kind.

8) From Annie: I so enjoyed this book, one thing that I wondered was how accurate was Charley’s early life? Her later life seemed to be well documented but it seemed like the people in her early life all died, except for Anna and I felt like she didn’t tell Anna everything.

Hi Annie, thanks for your nice words about the book. A lot of what you asked I answered in Marsha’s question above, regarding Charley’s early life.

Just a repeat – history doesn’t know anything about Charley’s early life because she lived in an unknown orphanage in New Hampshire. When Charley died, The New York Times wrote an obituary (included in the back of The Whip) which went out to all the smaller papers, asking for friends, family – someone, anyone to come and claim Charley’s body. Sadly, no one came forth.

The people whose relatives knew Charley in Watsonville, CA, told me all they knew about her early life – which is not much except she grew up in an orphanage. They did mention an interesting fact that Charley’s middle name was ‘Darkey,’ which is the term people used then for African Americans. There was a rumor that Charley had lived with and had a child with a runaway slave. Thus, I took that story and created the love story around it.

Thank you so much for your wonderful questions – some I’ve never been asked before~