Lesley Hewitt

Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s memoir, written in collaboration with Amy Wallace, was published posthumously in October 2025 and has already had a significant influence in shining a light on the abuse she and many other young women suffered at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Her powerful voice added to the pressure that led USA president Donald Trump to sign an order last month to release the so-called Epstein files and to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor being stripped of his royal titles.

Guiffre died by suicide in April 2025 and just before she died expressed a strong desire to have her memoir published. It is a raw and unsparing account of her experiences of being trafficked for sexual activities to powerful men by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, her escape and her fight for justice for herself and other survivors.

The book covers four sections. “Daughter” recounts her childhood sexual abuse by both a family friend and her father who continues to deny this.  Guiffre writes in intimate detail about the abuse, family dysfunction, conflict and poverty she suffered as a child, the impact of which made her vulnerable to manipulation by Epstein and Maxwell. “Prisoner” details her experience of being trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell and “Survivor” describes her eventual escape from their control at age 19 and her efforts to rebuild her life. The final section “Warrior’” focuses on her decision to speak up about her abuse, file lawsuits against powerful men including Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and advocate for other victims of abuse and trafficking.

In the book is a photo of a very young Guiffre at Naomi Campbell’s 30th birthday party. She is obviously a child. I look at that photo and wonder how no-one questioned what was going on? And the answer lies in systemic failures in police and legal institutions and the influence of power and money in providing protection for men like Epstein who have access to financial resources and social capital.

The book is readily available at bookstores including Daylesford’s Paradise Books, online and can be requested through our library.

Lesley Hewitt is a Daylesford resident who presents the Second Tuesday Book Review on HEPFM.