The Woman with the Whip

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Cover of "The Woman with the Whip" as it appeared upon publication in 1952

The Woman with the Whip is a 1952 biography of Eva Perón, the late First Lady of Argentina. Published in England and the United States shortly after Eva Perón's death, it was the first hostile biography of Eva Perón to be published and it has therefore been used by her detractors ever since. This book is the basis for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Evita".

This book was not initially published in Argentina, because Juan Perón, Eva Perón's husband and the President of Argentina, was still in power at the time of publication. Additionally, the author, Mary Main, used the pseudonym "María Flores" in the initial publication. Only after the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical came to fame in the 1970s was the book published with Mary Main's real name on the cover. Since that time, the book has been known by the title, "Evita: The Woman with the Whip." [1]

Mary Main was an Anglo-Argentine who spent her childhood in Argentina but most of her adulthood in England. When, during adulthood, she returned to Argentina, Main was horrified to find the Peróns in power. This motivated her to write "The Woman with the Whip."

Most scholars now agree that the book ultimately consists of little more than anti-Peronist gossip and conjecture, including such unsubstantiated claims that Eva Perón's social aid foundation was used as a means of drug smuggling.

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