You really need to put Whitworth's comments in perspective. Given his love...no...infatuation...with large bore handguns that make most mortal men run and hide like little girls we should provide an easy conversion table so that everybody is on the same page.

When Whit says: "It's a great little revolver!"
It means: It is a serious piece of steel, large in size and fairly weighty. Loaded it is just over 3 lbs.

When Whit says: "It's a bit lively, but much better than expected."
It means: The recoil could only be described as punishing. Your wrist will take a beating and there is about a 50:50 chance the front sight will end up implanted in your forehead.

When Whit says: "That gun has some serious recoil!"
It means: It will be darn close to a religious experience...not unlike peering through the gates of hell. Chances are you aren't going to want to take more than one shot with it because it will feel like someone hit you square in the palm with a sledgehammer. You are probably going to feel a bit woozy afterwards and you arm is going to hurt all the way up to your shoulder.