Product Description

Cast your mind back, to the early years of the 20th century. To Russia. An endless country of icy wastes and dusty plains, of silvery birch trees and black earth. A country of extremes. Of unimaginable wealth and unspeakable poverty. Of excess and hunger, culture and cruelty. A country ruled for nearly 300 years by one family, long accustomed to power and privilege - the Romanovs.
And born into that family is a girl, an ordinary sort of girl in many respects, but one swept up by extraordinary circumstances: her name is Anastasia Nicolaevna Romanov, the last Grand Duchess, and this is her diary.
Accompany her on an incredible journey, as the world around her fragments and shatters...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #223150 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback

Review
''An engrossing fictionalised diary which breathes life into the bare facts of history.'' --The Sunday Times

About the Author
Kate Hubbard is the author of A Material Girl: Bess of Hardwick (Short Books, 2001), WHO WAS... Charlotte Brontë and WHO WAS... Queen Victoria from the Short Books children's historical biography series. She lives in London and Dorset.

Customer Reviews

Generally pleasing
I brought and finished this book in one day, so as you can guess it is a very quick read, and I would pay no more than £XXX for it. It was however an entertaining and relatively accurate pseudo diary of Russia's last born Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicolaevna.

For historical accuracy, there are some pitfalls but it is generally well researched and seemed to communicate accurate views of the imperial family, albeit they stereotyped (Tsar as weak for example.) The most annoying historical inaccuracy is the photo on the back - it is of Maria, not Anastasia, it is quite bad that this was not noticed, but the photo in question is commonly mislabelled. Other mistakes are that it has Tatiana's birthday in January, when it was June 11th, but these points are only there to annoy die-hard Romanov buffs, and do not effect the experience for the general reading public.

This may be a good tool for introducing a child to Russian history, although the age range 9 - 12 on the back is rather misleading, as the book deals with the final days of the Imperial Family in captivity, not a particularly child friendly subject.

An odd book, dealing with too depressing a subject matter to be an easy read for children, but often too juvenile and simplistic to satisfy adults. But this in-betweenee (I'm 17) certainly enjoyed it.

- Rachael -

Heart-breakingly good
This was one of the best books i have read this year.It mantains the age of the child(anastasia)well throughout the book. The pages are filled with her normal life around the palace on the first few pages and you wish that you could live the life that she is living.But then things take a turn for the worst.The one thing that shines through throughout the story is the cheeriness of annastasia's personality.When you finally think that all the heart-ache for the family is over something unbelieveable happens................
Elizabeth (11)

You have to read this book because the whole thing is just so utterly mesmorieing

A moving account
I bought this book for my 11 year old daughter, who is a bookworm and loves history. She finished the book within two days, but obviously found the end upsetting. I have since read this and I feel it is spot on for this age group. It deals with the situation sensitively and helps explain what happened at this point in history well, in a manner in which readers of this age will understand. Ten out of ten from me!