Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Nigel Cawthorne, Gibson Square, $24.99.
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell had the world at her feet, living a seemingly charmed life: model looks, connections, charm, a billionaire father and close-knit siblings. Then in July 2020, the FBI arrested her on multiple underage-sex charges.
Prolific freelance writer Nigel Cawthorne, author of Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palace, gives the inside story on Maxwell, her sudden amass of fortune and the FBI’s year-long manhunt that led to her arrest in New Hampshire.
She became one of the most recognisable fugitives around the world. Who was she and how did she fall so far from grace and amass her fortune of over $30 million after being next-to-penniless following the death of her father, Robert Maxwell? This is the first investigation based on new sources.
Located in New York, Ghislaine was seen at all the best parties, not only in Manhattan, but around the globe. Her friends included Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, along with just about everyone on the A-list worldwide. One of her oldest and closest friends was billionaire Jeffery Epstein, who was arrested again in July 2019 on far more serious federal sex trafficking charges involving the abuse of minors. He died mysteriously awaiting trial in jail a month later.
Ghislaine, 59, lived a life that captivated, slightly separate from the real world. Her trial is set to begin in November 2021.
Cawthorne points out: “The deeper question remains: how was it that a woman born to wealth and privilege, who rubbed shoulders with royalty and was the toast of the champagne circuit, has been brought so low?”
