Outlaw

In June 1992, author Roy Moxham did a very strange thing: he wrote to Phoolan Devi. The controversial and charismatic "Bandit Queen" has been 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 traveled with her for several years before she was 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.

"A fascinating and well-written account of the murky underbelly of Indian life."  —Sunday Telegraph

"In simple prose, without artifice, he relates what it was like to be part of Phoolan's rather chaotic household. It's a convincing picture."  —India Today

Roy Moxham is the author of The Great Hedge of India and Tea: Addiction, Exploitation and Empire.