The Resurrection of the Romanovs
Ratings1
Average rating3
15
Ratings1
Average rating3
The truth of the enduring mystery of Anastasia's fate-and the life of her most convincing impostor The passage of more than ninety years and the publication of hundreds of books in dozens of languages has not extinguished an enduring interest in the mysteries surrounding the 1918 execution of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family. The Resurrection of the Romanovs draws on a wealth of new information from previously unpublished materials and unexplored sources to probe the most enduring Romanov mystery of all: the fate of the Tsar's youngest daughter, Anastasia, whose remains were not buried with those of her family, and her identification with Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be the missing Grand Duchess. Penetrates the intriguing mysteries surrounding the execution of Tsar Nicholas II and the true fate of his daughter, Anastasia Reveals previously unknown details of Anderson's life as Franziska Schanzkowska Explains how Anderson acquired her knowledge, why people believed her claim, and how it transformed Anastasia into a cultural phenomenon Draws on unpublished materials including Schanzkowska family memoirs, legal papers, and exclusive access to private documents of the British and Hessian Royal Families Includes 75 photographs, dozens published here for the first time Written by the authors of The Fate of the Romanovs Refuting long-accepted evidence in the Anderson case, The Resurrection of the Romanovs finally explodes the greatest royal mystery of the twentieth-century.
Reviews with the most likes.
The author states in his introduction, “there is really no new evidence here.” What a statement!! Mr. King goes through the entire case, from the grand beginnings in the Palaces of Russia and a family seeminly living in paradise, detours through imprisonment and the shattered lives ended in a basement, to the one person who seemed to walk away from it all with just a few visible scars.
Anna Anderson was the one person who brought the entire world almost to a stand still. Her claim to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the Tsar of Russia. She almost seemed bored with the entire proceeding, of having to proclaim over and over again that she was who she claimed to be. Many were taken aback by her apparent lack of care over proving her identity. The major question though is why did she not want to see certain people, how did she manage to pull the charade out for so long, and why were so many people willing to believe she was who she was claiming to be. The answer simply comes down to the fact that after the war, people were desperate. They wanted to reclaim a part of their glorious past, and perhaps if she really was who she claimed, there would be large rewards for them as well. Anderson had something of a natural charm that drew people to her. She could push them away as she was temperamental and suspected everyone of trying to take advantage of her.
In the end, DNA was able to prove what no one else could, that Anderson was NOT the Grand Duchess Anastatia. Anderson had lived with the lie for so long that she even convinced herself of the role. She built each layer so carefully, so precise, that by the end, if she has walked away, she could have opened herself to legal persecution. It was easier to live with the lie than it was to face the truth, the real person that she was. The lie was more engaging, and she was appreciated and wanted. The life Anderson led before was one of hardship, unwanted by her mother, and anonymity that would get her no where. She wanted more from life, and the executions and rumors that swarmed around the possibility that there might be a surviving daughter gave Anderson the light she needed to move forward to a new life.
I think this was a good read,full of information, BUT there were several instances where the reader will get bogged down with details so boring, with the information that seems to be on repeat... a lot. If you want to get a read comprehensive review of the entire case from pre to after without reading any other material, then this would be the book you would want to read.
