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Evita: In My Own Words

Name: Evita: In My Own Words
Author: Eva Peron
ISBN: 9781595580412

by Eva Peron

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Overview

In 1987, a small Argentine publishing house published a document that had recently been found in a government archive in Buenos Aires. The document was called "Mi mensaje," or "My Message," and appeared to be the long-lost deathbed manuscript of Eva Peron, referred to by her and mentioned in several biographies of her. Rumor had it that the document, which is critical of the Argentine church and military, had been suppressed for thirty years after her death by her husband, Argentine President Juan Peron. Like everything about Evita, "My Message" is shrouded in mystery and myth. Leading Peron scholars disagree about whether Evita wrote every word herself and about whether it is an accurate reflection of Evita's thinking at the time of her death. Her estate, however, insists that the work is not by Evita. In In My Own Words, "My Message" appears in English for the first time, published with an extensive introduction by Peron scholar Joseph A. Page, who weighs all the claims and counterclaims about the document's authenticity and concludes that "My Message" is "a vital document...probably based in part on dictation by the wife of Argentine President Juan Peron."

"Translation of a text supposedly written by Eva Perâon on her deathbed, but not published until 1987. The authenticity of the work has been questioned and it is highly unlikely that she wrote all of it. If it is hers, it displays the sharper aspects of her personality that are missing from the works that she claimed to author. Includes a useful introduction"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.

Synopsis

A new edition of the controversial "deathbed manuscript" attributed to Eva Perón.
In 1987, a document that appeared to be the long-lost deathbed manuscript of Eva Perón was found in a government archive in Buenos Aires. Rumor had it that the manuscript, which is critical of the Argentine church and military, had been suppressed for thirty years after Evita's death by her husband, Argentine President Juan Perón.
First published in the United States by The New Press in 1996, the book remains a fascinating historical document and memoir at a time when Argentina is back in the headlines and trials of leading officials from the Perón era are underway. Leading Perón scholars disagree about whether Evita wrote every word herself, and Evita: In My Own Words includes an extensive introduction by Perón scholar Joseph A. Page, who weighs all the claims and counterclaims about the document's authenticity and provides an essential historical framework for Eva Perón's life.
Evita offers a firsthand glimpse of the woman who left an indelible if controversial mark on Argentina, and, at the time of her death at age thirty-three, was considered one of the most powerful women in the world. Originally published as In My Own Words.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Eva Maria Duarte de Peron died of uterine cancer in 1952, but "Mi mensaje," "My Message," wasn't found until some 30 years later, in a government archive, and then published in 1987. Purported to be the deathbed manuscript spoken of in her biographies, it is disputed by surviving sisters and other family members, who claim that she did not write it. Joseph A. Page, in his lengthy introduction, states that this document is "probably based in part on dictation by" Eva Peron and "provides further evidence of how difficult it is to locate the real person behind the myths shrouding the figure the world knows simply as Evita." In My Own Words: Evita, translated from the Spanish by Laura Dail, contains facsimile pages, photos from the National Archive of Argentina and a chronology of Eva Peron's life, along with the translated document and introduction.

Library Journal

Neither of these two books answers the question, "Who really was Eva Pern?" Enshrouded in myth, this legendary First Lady of Argentina, dead in 1952 at 33 of uterine cancer, remains as mysterious to the reader after reading these books as she was before. From a poverty-stricken and illegitimate background, Eva Maria Duarte de Pern is portrayed in Argentine journalist Ortiz's vituperative book as a power-hungry politico, while the long-lost manuscript In My Own Words portrays an almost leftist Eva who rants for the overthrow of Argentina's tradition-bound oligarchy. Because of the controversy over the authorship, the book cannot legally be attributed directly to Eva Pern; hence the use of "Evita." In an introduction, historian and Pernist scholar Joseph A. Page states he believes the manuscript is legitimate. Unfortunately, much of the truth may never be known because from the time she doctored her birth certificate before her marriage to Pern, Eva was rewriting her personal history.Ortiz's book is an attack on the mythological Eve. Although it includes a bibliography, most of the works cited are in Spanish. Both titles illustrate the problem of biography, especially because Eva will be hot property once more as Madonna stars in the forthcoming film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's myth-perpetuating Evita. Recommended for Latin American collections and women's studies collections. [See also Tomas Eloy Martnez's novel Santa Evita, LJ 8/96.Ed.]Cynthia D. Bertelsen, Indexing Svcs., Blacksburg, Va.