Brittany Higgins compares herself to a ‘B-grade Grace Tame’ and admits she and fiancé David Sharaz ‘war-gamed’ her rape claims in an early draft of her prospective book.
Ms Higgins signed a $325,000 book deal with Penguin Books in April 2021 which was brokered by Peter FitzSimons, husband of former The Project host Lisa Wilkinson who first aired her bombshell allegations on TV.
But the book’s publication has been on hold since the rape trial against Bruce Lehrmann was abandoned because of juror misconduct, and the charge against him later dropped over concerns for Ms Higgins’ mental health.
Mr Lehrmann denies the allegations.
The future of the book remains uncertain, but parts of a rough draft, under the apparent working title of #NotJustADaughter, have now been leaked to The Australian.
And it reportedly opens with Ms Higgins admitting: ‘Honestly, I feel like a B-grade Grace Tame.
Brittany Higgins (left) compares herself to a ‘B-grade Grace Tame (right)’ in an early draft of her prospective book
Bittany Higgins admits she and fiancé David Sharaz (pictured together) ‘war-gamed’ her rape claims for maximum political impact using their inside knowledge of Canberra and the media
Ms Higgins signed a $325,000 book deal with Penguin Books in April 2021 which was brokered by Peter FitzSimons, husband of former The Project host Lisa Wilkinson (pictured together) who first aired her bombshell allegations on TV
‘She exists outside and beyond the political bubble. Court case closed, awarded and revered,’ she wrote, the newspaper reports.
‘Here I am in the mud with the pigs – fighting for control of the daily news cycle. Throwing mud: A WhatsApp here, a voicemail there, a drop to Sam [Maiden, political journalist].’
The book is reportedly dedicated to Mr Sharaz and reveals how the pair meticulously planned the maximum political impact from her allegations using their inside knowledge of Canberra and the media.
She outlines how the ‘Liberal Party had spent the last three years training me how to play media games’ and her vow that ‘if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right’.
She allegedly adds in the leaked draft: ‘We had become quite a twosome when it came to game planning.
‘My experience as a media adviser, David’s experience as a producer; together we understood how the gallery media sphere operated.’
From the outset, she said she wanted to reveal her claims before a two-week sitting cycle in Parliament to ensure the government would have to face Canberra’s media.
She admitted she had thought about holding it back ‘for another few months’ – but was concerned the upcoming 2019 election would overshadow her story.
‘If this was going to happen, it was now or never,’ she writes in the draft.
It reveals her plans to fly to Canberra to confront then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison and then face the Parliamentary press gallery.
But she also reveals her frustration and anger that she was having to ‘come up with the agenda and the solutions to these deeply complex problems as well’.
She said she longed for the help of a ‘political saviour’ like Liberal figureheads Peta Credlin, Julie Bishop or Julia Banks to take charge and ‘turn it into meaningful change’.
But she said no-one was coming forward to help her – and she felt like Sisyphus from Greek mythology, condemned to roll a huge boulder uphill forever.
‘It was still just me, facing what felt like an immovable force,’ she wrote in the draft.
‘And for what? To be abused online? To muddy the waters in a criminal case? To make enemies of former friends? To alienate myself from potential employees?’
She admitted there was a long list of reasons not to go public with her allegations but she persisted because ‘it was the right thing to do’.
The book deal was announced in a blaze of publicity by Penguin who said Ms Higgins ‘spoke truth to power and sparked a reckoning with systemic abuse that will be felt for years to come’.
It was spruiked as the ‘personal account of a young woman who took on the most formidable institution in the country’.
The book is reportedly dedicated to her fiancé David Sharaz (pictured with Brittany Higgins)
The deal was announced by Penguin Books Australia in April 2021 but the book has yet to be published
The abandoned rape prosecution against Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) has created complex legal problems for the book. He strenuously denied all allegations against him
Ms Higgins added at the time: ‘This book will shine a light on the culture inside the corridors of power and provide a firsthand account of what it was like surviving a media storm that turned into a movement.’
But the project has been on ice ever since with no publication date released yet.
The draft seen by The Australian is believed to be a very early one with an outline for a 90,000-word book of 35 chapters and some scant notes under chapter headings.
The abandoned rape prosecution against Mr Lehrmann has created complex legal problems for the book. He strenuously denied all allegations against him.
It’s complicated further by his ongoing defamation actions against Ten and Wilkinson, and the ABC.
It’s unlikely the book can be published until those lawsuits are resolved.
Ms Higgins’ potential book came under fire during Mr Lehrmann’s trial – with defence lawyer Steven Whybrow putting to Ms Higgins that she started outlining chapters before she finished making her formal statement to police.
Mr Whybrow told the court there were ‘325,000 reasons why’ the case was important to Ms Higgins.
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