Book description
In June 1992, author Roy Moxham did a very strange thing: he wrote to
a bandit in an Indian jail. Phoolan Devi was the controversial and
charismatic 'Bandit Queen' hailed as a modern-day Robin Hood in the
villages surrounding Delhi. In revenge for her own gang rape, her
followers killed 20 high-caste Indians, which led to her surrender and imprisonment.
Struck by her story and appalled by her plight, Roy Moxham helped
Phoolan Devi obtain justice, offered her encouragement when she became
an MP in India on her release, and travelled with her for several
years before she was finally gunned down in 2001. Based on the diaries
that documented their extraordinary friendship, Moxham offers a
fascinating portrait of a remarkable woman and reveals the hidden face
of India.
Roy Moxham is the author of
the acclaimed
The Great Hedge of India
and
Tea: Addiction, Exploitation and Empire
.
He was born and brought up in Evesham, Worcestershire. After working for
a while on a Herefordshire fruit farm, he went out to Africa in 1961 as
a tea planter. He spent 13 years in Eastern Africa before returning to
London. He became Senior Conservator of the University of London Library
and also taught in the Institute of English Studies. Since 2005 he has
devoted most of his time to writing and giving talks. He currently
spends half of the year in London and the other half travelling,
principally in India.
