The apocalyptic group The Family and their guru, Anne
Hamilton-Byrne - one of very few female cult leaders in history -
captured international headlines throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Hamilton-Byrne, who some followers believed was Jesus Christ, was
glamorous and charismatic - and, many allege, very dangerous. From
her base in a quiet suburb, she recruited wealthy professionals to
join her cult, including doctors, lawyers, nurses, architects, and
scientists. She acquired children and raised them as her own,
bleaching their hair blonde to make them look like siblings, and
her group became surrounded by rumours of LSD use, child abuse, and
strange spiritual rituals. In 1987, police swooped on The Family's
lakeside compound and rescued children who claimed they were part
of Anne's future master race. The children recounted terrible
stories of near starvation, emotional manipulation, and physical
abuse. But Anne could not be found, sparking an international
police hunt that involved Scotland Yard, Interpol, and the FBI.
Could they bring Anne to justice? Today, the elderly Anne has an
estate estimated to be worth millions, with only one minor criminal
conviction to her name. Her few remaining followers attend her
nursing-home bedside. How did such a notorious group come to
flourish? How did Anne maintain a hold over her followers? And why
was she never fully brought to justice? Drawing on revelatory new
research, including interviews with survivors, The Family tells for
the first time in full the strange and shocking story of one of the
most bizarre cults in modern history.
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