I Was Anastasia
Ratings10
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings10
Average rating3.5
In an enthralling new feat of historical suspense, Ariel Lawhon unravels the extraordinary twists and turns in Anna Anderson's 50 year battle to be recognized as Anastasia Romanov. Is she the Russian Grand Duchess, a beloved daughter and revered icon, or is she an imposter, the thief of another woman's legacy?
Countless others have rendered their verdict. Now it is your turn.
Russia, July 17, 1918: Under direct orders from Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov, along with the entire imperial family, into a damp basement in Siberia where they face a merciless firing squad. None survives. At least that is what the executioners have always claimed.
Germany, February 17, 1920: A young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Anastasia Romanov is pulled shivering and senseless from a canal in Berlin. Refusing to explain her presence in the freezing water, she is taken to the hospital, where an examination reveals that her body is riddled with countless horrific scars. When she finally does speak, this frightened, mysterious woman claims to be the Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia.
Her detractors, convinced that the young woman is only after the immense Romanov fortune, insist on calling her by a different name: Anna Anderson.
As rumors begin to circulate through European society that the youngest Romanov daughter has survived the massacre, old enemies and new threats are awakened. With a brilliantly crafted dual narrative structure, Lawhon wades into the most psychologically complex and emotionally compelling territory yet: the nature of identity itself.
The question of who Anna Anderson is and what actually happened to Anastasia Romanov creates a saga that spans 50 years and touches three continents. This thrilling story is every bit as moving and momentous as it is harrowing and twisted.
Reviews with the most likes.
This book is told in alternating timelines. Normally, I'm ok with that style of writing, but I had trouble with out in this book because the Anna Anderson timeline is presented backwards. It was very hard for me to follow. Just be warned.
Otherwise, I would say this book tries to portray both storylines as honestly as possible. And these women had some excruciatingly hard lives, so don't expect an easy read.
The Grand Duchess Anastasia, has easily become the most famous of the Romanov royal family. Pampered, loved, princess, prisoner, missing person. She and her entire family were held in different locations, until one night, they disappeared entirely. Rumors began to surface that they had all been shot, and their bodies disposed of, but Russia was in war, and there was not enough man power, or willingness to look for them at the time.
A few years later, a young woman appeared who claimed to be the lost Anastasia, and the world exploded. Many believed her, many more did not. Court cases, interviews, movies, family members coming forward claiming she was someone else, but through it all the woman we called Anna Anderson stuck to her story that she was the lost princess Anastasia. True, she knew things that most people outside the royal circle would not know but that was not proof enough.
Until her death, she clung to the claim that she was Anastasia. She would not budge from her story, and she refused all offers of buy-outs from the existing Romanov family in Europe.
The story of Anastasia has long captured imagination, brought to life in numerous books and movies. But the true story behind the heartbreaking loss of the entire royal family was not put to rest until the 1990, and the early 2000's. While questions still remain, we know that none of the family made it out of the Ekaterinburg prison alive. The stunning performance by Anna Anderson, which lasted almost 50 years was not put to rest until several years after she herself had passed away.
While I enjoyed this read, I found it somewhat difficult at times to follow the extremely wonky timeline laid out by the author in the book. We were forwards, backwards, backwards some more, and then jumping forward, to fall backwards again. I found myself re-reading bits, to make sure that I had not missed anything, trying to piece all the information together. I have read on Anastasia before, but this almost felt more like a mish-mash of information, not as well laid out as it could have been. Still an enjoyable read, just be prepared for tangled webs, and the feeling of confusion as you read through.
I couldn't finish this book. I wanted to like it, I really did, but I felt it just dragged on and really became more a story of a woman with mental illness than anything else. Whether or not she was Anastasia Romanov, I don't know. I just know by the time I was half way through it, it was no longer important to me.
I really loved this book. Perfect specimen of historical fiction.
