Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography In this critically acclaimed true crime tale of welfare queen Linda Taylor, a Slate editor reveals a wild, only-in-America story of political manipulation and murder (Attica Locke, Edgar Award-winning author).
As he stunningly reveals in this invaluable work of nonfiction, the deeper truth, the messy truth, tells us something much larger about who we are (David Grann, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon )..
In the finest tradition of investigative reporting, Josh Levin exposes how a story that once shaped the nation\'s conscience was clouded by racism and lies.
The Queen tells, for the first time, the fascinating story of what was done to Linda Taylor, what she did to others, and what was done in her name.
Part social history, part true-crime investigation, Josh Levin\'s mesmerizing book, the product of six years of reporting and research, is a fascinating account of American racism, and an expos of the welfare queen myth, one that fueled political debates that reverberate to this day.
As she rose to infamy, the press and politicians manipulated her image to demonize poor black women.
Growing up in the Jim Crow South, Taylor was made an outcast because of the color of her skin.
But nobody -- not the journalists who touted her story, not the police, and not presidential candidate Ronald Reagan -- seemed to care about anything but her welfare thievery.
A desperately ill teacher, a combat-traumatized Marine, an elderly woman hungry for companionship -- after Taylor came into their lives, all three ended up dead under suspicious circumstances.
And that was just the beginning: Taylor, it turned out, was also a kidnapper, and possibly a murderer.
The detective who checked it out soon discovered she was a welfare cheat who drove a Cadillac to collect ill-gotten government checks.
On the South Side of Chicago in 1974, Linda Taylor reported a phony burglary, concocting a lie about stolen furs and jewelry.
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography In this critically acclaimed true crime tale of welfare queen Linda Taylor, a Slate editor reveals a wild, only-in-America story of political manipulation and murder (Attica Locke, Edgar Award-winning author)
