The Queen

<p><b>*** WINNER OF THE NATIONAL CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY ***</b><br><b>*** LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY ***</b><br><br><b>''<i>The Queen</i> is an invaluable work of non-fiction'' - David Grann, <i>Sunday Times </i>and <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i></b><br><b><br>This is the gripping true tale of a villain who changed American history.</b><br><br>In the 1970s, Linda Taylor became a fur-wearing, Cadillac-driving symbol of the undeserving poor - the original ''welfare queen''. In the press she was the ultimate template for this insidious stereotype; Ronald Reagan himself cited her criminal behaviour in his presidential campaign, turning public opinion firmly against state benefits and those who used them.<br><br>But Taylor was demonized for the least of her crimes. She was a con artist, a thief, a kidnapper, maybe even a murderer - and certainly one of the most gifted and deranged criminals of modern times.<br><br><b><i>The Queen </i>is the never-before-told story of a beguilingly complex American character, lost in the rush to create a vicious stereotype.</b><br><br><b>''Anyone who knew welfare knew, I thought, that the welfare queen is a myth. Turns out she isn''t'' - Jamie Fisher, <i>TLS</i></b><br><br><b>''Levin''s brilliant exploration of the politics of welfare reform teaches an essential lesson. Where myths and stereotypes predominate, facts, logic and evidence lose out . . . Levin''s story calls upon us to think harder. Gripping'' <i>Washington Post</i></b></p>