Customer Reviews

Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess (Royal Diaries (Audio))

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have always been intrigued by the mysterious deaths of Russia's last imperial family, the Romanovs. So I quickly took advantage of my chance to read this book. It doesn't portray Anastasia as a historical figure, but as a girl with emotions and opinions and faults. The first third of twelve-year-old Anastasia's diary is full of luxury and comfort, depicting her life as the youngest Russian princess in a world of privilege. However, the book becomes dark when the common population of Russia begin to lose their faith in Anastasia's father, the Tsar. The book realistically depicts Anastasia's loneliness and fright when she and her family are forced to move out of their palace and into a much smaller house, where the family is abused by rude and drunken soldiers. The book also mentions Grigory Efimovitch, better known as Rasputin, whose disastrous advice led to the downfall of Anastasia's family. She is the only member of the family that suspects that Rasputin (or Father Grigory, as he is called in the book) is not completely interested in her family's well-being. A great read, in my opinion. If you're interested in the subject of Anastasia, this is an excellent book to read to learn more about this young Russian archduchess.

What I liked best about this book was that, through a fictional diary kept by Anastasia Romanov, youngest daughter of the last tsar of Russia, was that is showed her not as a royal figure but just as a girl with feelings and concerns. The book begins in 1914. Twelve-year-old Anastasia and her family lead lives of luxury in an elegant palace and enjoy frequant holidays. Anastasia's biggest concern is learning her lessons in time. But as the years go by, and Russia becomes involved in World War I, the Russian people become increasingly dissatisfied, and in 1917, Anastasia's father is forced to abdicate, and the family is exiled to Siberia. The diary ends just two months before seventeen-year-old Anastasia and her family are executed by revolutionaries. The book, except at the very beginning, was really sad, but it brought the life the end of the Romanov dynasty and young Anastasia's final years. I highly reccomend it if you enjoyed any of the other books in this series.

The year is 1914, and 12-year-old Anastasia Nicholaievna Romanov is the last Grand Duchess of Russia, having been the youngest of three sisters, and the last female born before her younger brother, Alexei. Anastasia and her family lead a very luxurious life. Have the privilege to travel to their various castles, and being able to eat lavish foods at every mealtime. The biggest concern weighing on Anastasia's mind would have to be whether or not she'll be able to complete her lessons without dying of boredom. However, as time passes, Russia becomes involved in World War I, and the people of Russia become greatly dissatisfied with how the Tsar - Anastasia's Father - is running things, and by 1917, he has abdicated the throne, and the Romanov family is exiled to Siberia, where they are treated unkindly, and guarded at all times. This is how the diary ends.

I have adored the story of ANASTASIA ever since I saw the cartoon movie years ago, and I found the effort that Carolyn Meyer put into this book marvelous. Anastasia was a young girl like all of us, who had many of the same worries that girls have today. I really enjoyed the many pages of "real" photographs of Anastasia and her family, as well as the many informational pages of the way her life truly ended. I only wish that the movie I saw had been true, and that Anastasia had lived to grow up happy and healthy, as opposed to having her life cut short by gunmen. Overall, this was a marvelous book that will satisfy anyone who is interested in the story of Anastasia, the last Grand Duchess of Russia.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

"Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess" was a great book that gave a much more realistic version of this young girl's life than the movies made about her!

12-year-old Anastasia has a wonderful time with her family, playing with her younger brother and father, reading her sisters' diaries, and visiting relatives. However, after her 13th birthday, her carefree life begins to change, when war breaks out with Russia. Continuing until she is almost 17, you will be amazed at the changes, generally not for the better, that take place in this teenager's life.

I really learned a lot about Anastasia, who lived not very long ago. The only thing I'd say against this book was that some years of her life were covered pretty briefly, but other than that, this first funny, and then serious novel was a great read! I'd definitely recommend it for ages 11 and up - I think this exciting book would appeal to a wide audience!

This book was absolutley wonderful!! I have always been interested in the mysterious deaths of the last of the Russian royalties, the Romanov family. This diary was an insight on further information about how this family lived, and about how the war was fought and Russia lost. It showed how much pride the Romanov's had for thier country, and how they would do anything for it. If you are a history fan like me, you will love this remake diary because it gives you clues on how Anastasia and her family lived. Also, you can make your own theory of wheather Anastasia lived the massive attack of bullets in that small room, or if she along with the rest of her family, died. I recommend this to anyone who loves history and the Romanov family mystery.

I read this book this summer and thought it was great! I just couldn't put it down. It's a great story, and the historical note at the back has lots of great pictures of Anastasia and her family, her palaces, even one of the real Rasputin (and believe me, he's scary looking!) It makes you feel like you are right there in Russia. A really good book!

It's very good for people just starting to get interested in Anastasia and her family, and good for people who are experts on Anastasia who want to just read and relax. If you read it, just know that it's fiction, and that it isn't Anastasia's real diary. It's only based on true events and people. That aside, it's worth reading over and over again.

Anastasia's account of the last few years before her family's execution is very accurate, while seemingly that of a twelve year old girl.
She is the daughter of the Tsar of Russia, with three sisters, Olga, Maria, and Tatiana, and a very sickly young brother, Alexi.The country is clearly going into troublesome times. Much is known about the period of history in which the last Tsar and his family were executed.
But the account hardly comes from the young girl herself.
And interesting depiction of the day-to-day life of the last Grand Duchess of Russia.

I recently finished reading this book, and it is now my second favorite Royal Diary book. This book begins when the Grand Duchess Anastasia is only 12 years old after a ball for the four Grand Duchesses: Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia (OTMA, as they are called in this book) and ends when Anastasia is 16 during the time of the war. This book was very interesting to read and i finished it very fast. It mentioned alot of things i hadn't known about the Romanav family, for Example, Anastasia's mother was the grand daughter of Queen Victoria of England. This book is filled with information and is great for all ages to read.
The most interesting part of this book, in my opinion, is at the end of the book when they leave for Siberia. The least interesting part of this book is probubly at the beggining, although everything in this book is great.
there are also pictures and things at the back of the book, after the story. It has a picture of "The house of special purpose", where Anastasia and her family lived there last days.
Overall, this is definetly a book you'll want to buy. It was interesting to read, much more interesting than i thought it would be, and i would definetly recomend it to anyone that wants a different book to read.

This book is captivating. Carolyn Meyer does an brilliant job capturing the drama of the tragic life of Grand Duchess Anastasia. I know a lot about Anastasia, and was very pleased with the amount of time and work she put into this book. The book does an outstanding job chronicling the downward spiral of the Romanovs reign into one of the world's worst evils; communism. I highly recommond this book to anyone with a sense of history; the story of Anastasia is one that needs to be remembered. Finally a book that is worthy of Anastasia.