Book Description

Eva Perón remains Argentina's best-known and most iconic personality, surpassing even sporting superstars such as Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi, and far outlasting her own husband, President Juan Domingo Perón - himself a remarkable and charismatic political leader without whom she, as an uneducated woman in an elitist and male-dominated society, could not have existed as a political figure. In this book, Jill Hedges tells the story of a remarkable woman whose glamour, charisma, political influence and controversial nature continue to generate huge amounts interest 60 years after her death. From her poverty-stricken upbringing as an illegitimate child in rural Argentina, Perón made her way to the highest echelons of Argentinean society, via a brief acting career and her relationship with Juan. After their political breakthrough, her charitable work and magnetic personality earned her wide public acclaim and there was national mourning following her death from cancer at the age of just 33. Based on new sources and first-hand interviews, the book will seek to explore the personality and experiences of 'Evita' and the contemporary events that influenced her and were in turn influenced by her. As the first substantive biography of Eva Perón in English, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in modern Argentinean history and the cult of 'Evita'.