I Was Anastasia

by Ariel Lawhon

Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An enthralling feat of historical suspense that unravels the extraordinary twists and turns in Anna Anderson's fifty-year battle to be recognized as Anastasia Romanov. Is she the Russian Grand Duchess or 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 survive. 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. Refusing to explain her presence in the freezing water or even acknowledge her rescuers, 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 young woman claims to be the Russian grand duchess.     

As rumors begin to circulate through European society that the youngest Romanov daughter has survived the massacre at Ekaterinburg, old enemies and new threats are awakened. The question of who Anna Anderson is and what actually happened to Anastasia Romanov spans fifty years and touches three continents. This thrilling saga is every bit as moving and momentous as it is harrowing and twisted.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101973318
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/05/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	101,354
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Ariel Lawhon is a critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction. Her books have been translated into numerous languages and have been Library Reads, One Book One County, Indie Next, Costco, and Book of the Month Club selections. She lives in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and four sons. She splits her time between the grocery store and the baseball field.

Read an Excerpt

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Excerpted from "I Was Anastasia"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Ariel Lawhon.
Excerpted by permission of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Reading Group Guide

These discussion questions are designed to enhance your group’s discussion of I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon.

1. I Was Anastasia is an unusually structured novel that moves backward and forward in time. Why do you think the author chose to tell the story in this way?

2. When we first meet Anna Anderson, she is not an easy character to like. As you learned more about her past, did your opinion of her change?

3. How do you interpret Anna’s hoarding tendencies, especially with regard to animals?

4. Anna’s story is told in the third person; Anastasia’s story in the first person. What are your thoughts on the different points of view? Which did you prefer?

5. People often think of Anastasia Romanov in terms of the 1997 animated film. Yet this book does not portray her as a typical Disney princess. Were you glad to see a different side to this historic figure? Or did it bother you?

6. The bombing of Hannover (October 8, 1943) is a dramatic and terrifying scene in the book. Do you think you could display the same level of resilience if you were in Anna’s shoes?

7. The longer the Romanovs were in captivity, the smaller their world became, until they were confined to a handful of rooms. They each handled the boredom and oppression differently. What would you have done in their situation?

8. Do your thoughts about Anna’s identity shift as the novel progresses? Does she become more (or less) believable as we travel back in time with her?

9. Did reading this novel inspire you to find out more about the Romanovs?

10. The Romanovs are not the only royal family to come to a tragic end, yet their story endures as few have. What do you think contributes to the timeless fascination—that of Anastasia in particular?

11. Discuss the ending of the novel. How did it affect your feelings about the novel as a whole?

12. Did the Author’s Note change your opinion about the ending?

Editorial Reviews

01/29/2018
Lawhon’s spectacular, emotionally rich third historical thoroughly imagines the events leading up to the execution of Russia’s royal family in 1918, after the October Revolution by the Bolsheviks. In a dual narrative, Lawhon also tackles the life of Anna Anderson, a woman who claimed to be Anastasia Romanov in Berlin in 1920. She has what look like scars from old bullet wounds, consistent with the manner in which the Romanovs were murdered. Anna’s claims spread fast, and she’s wooed by a long list of wealthy patrons who jump at the chance to be near possible royalty. Using material from the correspondence of the Romanov servants, Lawhon (Flight of Dreams) fleshes out the minutiae of the life of young Anastasia, a vibrant young lady confronting the loss of everything she’s ever known. The tragic story of Anastasia is an enduring one, and the woman who laid claim to her birthright is a testament to the world’s desire to believe in Anastasia’s survival. This sprawling, immersive tale travels from revolutionary Russia to interwar France and Germany, bringing its characters to sparkling life. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Intriguing. . . . A poignant picture of the fated clan’s final days.”
—The New York Times Book Review
 
“Captivating. . . . A gorgeous story that will sweep readers right off their feet.”
—Bustle
 
“Illuminating.”
—Bookpage
 
“Brilliant.”
—Historical Novel Society
 
“Perfect!”
—The Free Lance-Star
 
“Anastasia Romanov lives yet again!”
—Kirkus Reviews

"[Lawhon's] effortless, eloquent prose transports the reader via a dramatic, suspenseful and satisfying work of historical fiction...Lawhon brilliantly employs an inventive and non-linear dual narrative to tell the tale of how Anastasia would become Anna Anderson, or, perhaps, how Anna became Anastasia."
—USA Today

"This sprawling, immersive tale travels from revolutionary Russia to interwar France and Germany, bringing its characters to sparkling life."
—Publishers Weekly

"Sumptuous."
—RT Book Reviews

"Tantalizing, surprising, compelling, and utterly fascinating. Ariel Lawhon unfolds a complicated story with skill, style, and compassion."
—Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours

"So gripping you will believe history itself can be rewritten. Told with masterful intensity and moments of true human compassion."
—Helen Simonson, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Before the War

"Ariel Lawhon is a masterful storyteller; I Was Anastasia is a wild ride, extravagant with its vivid sensory experiences and page turning suspense. Inspired by history, and infused with imagination and intrigue, this novel satisfies with every twist and turn. I was both captivated and enchanted; I will carry this story—from its beguiling opening to its catch-my-breath ending —  in my heart and imagination for a long, long while."
—Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Driftwood Summer and The Bookshop at Water's End

"A deft and deeply moving saga."
—Jacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean

"A gorgeous, haunting puzzle of a book that will grip you until the final page."
—Karen Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City and Liar Temptress Soldier Spy 

From the Publisher

05/01/2018
Not long after the execution of the Romanov family, headed by Tsar Nicholas, rumors fly that their youngest daughter, Anastasia, has escaped the carnage and is alive and well. Anna Anderson, a young woman rescued from a canal in Germany, bears an uncanny resemblance to the young tsarina, and her supporters are sure that she is, in fact, Anastasia and can regain the Romanov fortune and power. Her detractors see her as a money-hungry fake. Neither side offers definitive proof. Anastasia's story moves forward from the early months of 1917 to the executions in 1919, while Anna's begins when she is an older woman in the 1960s and works backward through time to the moment she is plucked from the canal. Readers move in and out of time and perspectives, switching sides and opinions along the way. The fate of the Romanovs directly clashes with the modern world that is emerging from the industrial revolution, the rise of social consciousness, and the questioning of the historical privilege granted to monarchs. Anastasia's tale reveals the family's disconnect with the common people, while Anna's narrative highlights the cultural shifts that underlie the time period. This is an excellent read for teens. The storytelling makes the novel come alive with tension and intrigue. VERDICT For those who like mysteries and historical fiction.—Connie Williams, Petaluma Public Library, CA

School Library Journal

2017-12-24
Anna Anderson's claim to be Anastasia Romanov—sole survivor of the murder of the czar's family during the Bolshevik Revolution—is explored in this drama of historical suspense.In her third novel, Lawhon (Flight of Dreams, 2016, etc.) fictionalizes the story of a woman named Anna Anderson, who was pulled out of a canal in Germany after a 1920 suicide attempt. She claimed to be the surviving daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov. The czar, his wife, and his five children, along with a few family servants, were famously shot en masse…but this woman claims she escaped. Not only does she resemble Anastasia, but she has the scars on her body that would necessarily be there if she had survived the shooting, and in the course of the 50-year period during which she makes this claim, she wins important supporters, including a childhood friend of the czarevna—as well as many detractors, particularly among the extended Romanov family. Lawhon tells Anna's story in reverse: from 1970 in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she awaits the results of the final German court ruling on her identity, going backward to 1920, when she was pulled out of the canal. Anastasia's tale is told in the first person in the opposite direction, starting in 1917 with the Romanovs being taken prisoner in their palace and going forward through their exile in Siberia to the night of the murders. This makes a certain amount of sense, as it allows the story to converge on the moment of truth, when we will find out if Anna is, as she certainly seems to be, Anastasia. What pushes it a little too far from the point of view of readability is the decision to tell individual Anna chapters backward. So, for example, a chapter that covers the period 1928-29 starts in November '29, then has a section set four months earlier, then six months earlier, then one month earlier, and so forth. Anna's globe-trotting trials and tribulations are hard enough to follow without this level of intricacy. So the Anastasia story ends up being the more compelling of the two, hurtling as it does to its grisly ending. Then comes an interesting Author's Note, where Lawhon discusses her process and decisions.Somewhat overcomplicated but ultimately satisfying. Anastasia Romanov lives yet again!

Kirkus Review