‘Virginia Roberts Giuffre Was an American Hero’

Amy Wallace spent four years collaborating with Virginia Roberts Giuffre on her memoir, Nobody’s Girl, which has had a far-reaching impact in the fight for justice for the victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. Stephen Colegrave corresponded with the US-based writer and journalist about the book and the extraordinary woman behind it

SC: Nobody’s Girl, published six months after Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s death, not only details her experience of being sexually abused and trafficked as a teenager by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, but also a two-decade-long struggle to hold them to account. Her work to expose these abuses has ultimately led to the stripping of the royal titles from King Charles’ younger brother Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. How did you get the opportunity to ghostwrite (if, indeed, you are happy with that term) this book?

I’m happy with the term – I have been using it myself. At the beginning of the book, there is a preface I wrote called ‘A Note from Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s Collaborator’. Either works for me. I was recommended by the former Editor-in-Chief of Esquire, David Granger. I had written freelance pieces for him. He is now an agent at Aevitas Creative, and another agent – one of the founders of the firm – is Virginia’s agent.

I met with Virginia, her agent, and her publicist over Zoom. They then asked for a few samples of my magazine work to read (the previous books I had co-authored had been leadership books, with male executives). I sent them two pieces that I hoped would showcase my ability to tackle tough emotional terrain sensitively. I am not sure what tipped the scales in my favour, but soon, Virginia and I were hard at work.

No. I had seen the Netflix series Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich about Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s trafficking ring. I was impressed by all the survivors who appeared on camera, but had been particularly struck by Virginia. I felt her story was an important one. I had no hesitation at all.