Welcome to Christine Whitehead & The Blog Also Rises

Obsession bordering on madness for all things Hemingway and related (and what isn’t)

Author Christine Whitehead

I get my best ideas in the barn as I groom my horse, Nifty. The dogs keep a careful distance as I lift a hoof, scrape it out, then move on to the next one. The repetition soothes me. I begin to dream about women like me, women on the edge, restless women who still want to trust that there is love out there, and that being sentimental is not always contemptible, and that good men are not so hard to find if you keep slogging along, seeking a melody to fit your words. So that’s who and what I write about: restless women searching.
"Grief, Intrigue, mystery and plenty of scenic description to make you feel like you’re right there with the characters. Couldn’t put this one down from start to finish. Love it."
Lovely story to get stuck into
Naz

Hemingway's Daughter

Finn Hemingway knows for a fact that she’s been born at the wrong time into the wrong family with the wrong talents, making her three dreams for the future almost impossible to attain. She burns to be a trial lawyer in an era when Ruth Bader Ginsburg is being told to type and when a man who is 500th in his law school class is hired over a woman who is first in hers. She yearns to find true love when the family curse dictates that love always ends for the Hemingways, and usually, it ends badly. And finally, she’d give up the first two dreams if she were able to triumph on the third. She longs to have an impact on the only thing that matters to her father: his writing. To accomplish that would require a miracle. All three dreams are almost impossible, but it’s the “almost” that keeps Finn going. Ernest Hemingway had three sons and ached to have a daughter. This is her story.
"If Hemingway had a daughter, Flea, would be her in many ways. It’s left to the reader to understand the connection between them. Finley Hemingway is as complicated as Hem, yet she comes to find and accept a second love, never gives up and lives an amazing life as a lawyer, horsewoman with a competitive edge that leads to success. Another great novel by Christine Whitehead."
Fascinating read
Linda Hanna Lloyd

The Rage of Plum Blossoms

Attorney Quinn Jones is in over her head. Her husband, Jordan Chang, Annapolis grad and superstar businessman, has been found dead outside their Greenwich Village brownstone. He’s wearing clothes that aren’t his, and was last seen at a place he never went while consorting with people he shouldn’t—and he’s vastly richer than he ought to be. Since NYPD has labeled Jordan’s death a suicide, Quinn is on her own to uncover the truth. Courtrooms, Quinn knows. Chanel No. 5, horses, frizzy hair, and martial arts, she knows. Murder, she doesn’t know but she’s learning fast in order to stay alive. With a few clues to work with, including a photo of Jordan with a stunning unknown Asian woman and a copy of a 1986 check payable to Jordan for twelve million dollars, Quinn stalks the back streets of Chinatown, haunted by the need to know what happened that day and why.
"Loved this book! Couldn’t put it down & read it in 2 days. I wasn’t sure how the author was going to be able to make the concept of Hemingway having a daughter feel authentic but the relationship Ms Whitehead crafted between Papa Hemingway & Finley came across as so believable & true that I was swept up in the possibility that she might’ve actually existed! Excellent character development! I’ve read a lot of material on Hemingway’s complicated life & loves and was impressed with the historical accuracy, not only regarding Hemingway but also of the various time periods, such as the fact that women weren’t seen as capable or smart enough to have a legal career. There were times throughout the book where I cheered Finn on or felt her pain. I won’t add any “spoilers” but will encourage readers to dig into this very impressive and thoroughly enjoyable novel. If you have an affinity for anything Hemingway, add this to your list!"
If Hemingway had a daughter she would have been Finn!
M. Gould

Tell Me When It Hurts

Archer Loh seems to have the world on a string. A magna cum laude graduate of Smith College, a law degree from Columbia, a great husband, a wonderful daughter, and a slot on the U.S. Equestrian Team all make it possible for Archer to almost forget her mysterious past, her violent history. All is almost perfect–on the surface. But nothing stays at equipoise forever. When Archer’s daughter, Annie, is murdered, her own life shatters and deadly skills, long dormant, become highly relevant again. As Archer embarks on her own path to salvation, she snips all ties with the past. Love and connection are now extravagances she can no longer afford. At her darkest ebb, Connor McCall, Harvard-educated financial baron turned Wyoming sheep rancher, stumbles into Archer’s life with his own demons and presses her to start reconnecting the dots. In Tell Me When It Hurts, memories can sustain or sink you, all in the same night and all the same memories.
"This was a thoroughly enjoyable read from the first page to the last. Please note that a familiarity with Ernest Hemingway’s writings is not necessary, but would enhance the appreciation of the quotes at the beginning of each chapter as well as the references to characters and plot points of his books. In life, Hemingway had three sons, but no daughter. Whitehead has created this fictional character with such finesse that the story becomes totally believable. Filled with the complexities of Hemingway’s personal life and career, the novel unfolds is simple, yet effective prose. The dialogues are natural and reflect the multidimensional aspects of the relationships between the characters. From reading a brief biography of Hemingway, the author appears to have stayed true to many of the events and people that peppered his life. For all the drama portrayed in the book, it never deteriorated into melodramatic affectation. Findley (aka Finn, aka “Flea”) is an engaging character. Her relationship with her father is paradoxically one of a deep loving bond, yet fraught with her insecurity in not knowing her place in his life’s priorities. Like many gifted, creative people, Hemingway was self-centered and suffered emotionally and physically for his art form. Finn understood this, but craved to be foremost in his focus. I appreciated her strong character and her desire to challenge the prevailing attitude that women could not compete in a man’s domain – in this case becoming a successful litigation attorney. In essence this is a love story of a woman who struggled to reconcile her deep need for connection with a belief that the “Hemingway Curse” made it impossible to experience true and lasting love. Her father’s multiple marriages and affairs underscored this belief and challenged her to risk living life on her own terms rather than avoiding the vulnerability inherent in loving someone."
A Thoroughly Enjoyable Novel
ORShopper