''The Woman with the Whip'' is a 1952 biography of political leader and cultural icon

Eva Perón María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as just Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 19 ...

. Published in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

shortly after Eva Perón's death, it portrays Eva Perón in a highly critical light and is often dismissed by Perón supporters as lacking in historical value.Fraser, Nicholas and

Marysa Navarro Marysa Navarro Aranguren (born 1934) is a Spanish-American historian specializing in the history of feminism, the history of Latin American women, and the history of Latin America. She occupies a prominent role as a promoter and activist in the a ...

. ''Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron''. The book, however was wildly popular and is still highly regarded by academics and considered a valuable work of journalism. The book is thought to be the basis for the Andrew Lloyd Webber and

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...

musical ''

Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...

''. However, the book was never officially credited as such, and Rice incorporated many other historical materials as background. This book was not initially published in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, because Juan Perón, Eva Perón's husband, was head of state at the time. During his regime freedom of speech was suppress and critics were detained. The author, Mary Main, used the pseudonym "María Flores" in the initial publication. Only after Perón death in the 1970's, was the book published with Mary Main's real name. Mary Main was born in Argentina and later moved to the United States in 1941. She returned to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

to write ''The Woman with the Whip'' where she conducted her researched and interviews covertly citing the strong government repression and fear for her life. Marysa Navarro, another of Eva biographer and author of ''Evita'', is critical of Mary Main's book. Navarro argues that Main ignored the political, social and economical background of the period.Marysa Navarro. ''Evita''.

References

Anti-Peronism Cultural depictions of Eva Perón {{Argentina-poli-bio-book-stub