The Woman with the Whip

The Woman with the Whip

Cover of The Woman with the Whip as it appeared upon publication in 1952
Author	Mary Main
Country	United States
Language	English
Subject	Biography History Politics Journalism
Genre	Biography
Publisher	Corgi Publishing
Publication date	1952
Media type	Print
ISBN	0552106453

The Woman with the Whip is a 1952 biography of political leader and cultural icon Eva Perón. Published in England and the United States 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. The book, however was wildly popular and is still highly regarded by academics as a valuable work of journalism. The Woman with the whip served as source for Andrew Lloyd Webber's play Evita.

This book was not initially published in Argentina, 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 1974, 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 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.