Anastasia's Secret [Hardcover]

Susanne Dunlap (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2010

"Will I never see you again either?" I asked, feeling as though I was about to jump off a high mountain peak and hope to land without hurting myself. That's how impossible everything seemed at that moment, no matter what I did.

 

"Perhaps we will meet again," Sasha said, softening his voice. "But you must see that it does not matter. You have so much ahead of you. It's your choice now. Choose the future! Choose life!"

 

For Anastasia Romanov, life as the privileged daughter of Russia's last tsar is about to be torn apart by the bloodshed of revolution. Ousted from the imperial palace when the Bolsheviks seize control of the government, Anastasia and her family are exiled to Siberia. But even while the rebels debate the family's future with agonizing slowness and the threat to their lives grows more menacing, romance quietly blooms between Anastasia and Sasha, a sympathetic young guard she has known since childhood. But will the strength of their love be enough to save Anastasia from a violent death?

Inspired by the mysteries that have long surrounded the last days of the Romanov family, Susanne Dunlap's new novel is a haunting vision of the life?and love story?of Russia's last princess.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Dunlap's novel combines life in imperial Russia during World War I and young love. Anastasia encounters an adolescent royal guard named Sasha, and the two become friends and lovers. The guard educates her on life outside of the palace walls, and, through Anastasia, Sasha sees the humanity of the royal family. The writing is quite atmospheric, providing a sense of the physical, political, and historical environment at the time. It also conveys an incredible amount of detail about the Romanovs' daily lives before and during their captivity, humanizing even the tsar and tsarista. The author articulates the emotions of the characters well, and Anastasia grows from a naive duchess to a young woman attuned to the social and political situation of the day. The romantic relationship, which is consummated and continues while the family is under house arrest, is less believable given the security surrounding the royals. A list of the family members, primary servants, and head guards precedes the story. Dunlap also provides an epilogue that details the conclusion of the Romanov dynasty.—Hilary Writt, Sullivan University, Lexington, KY
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From Booklist

Even though more than 90 years have passed since the murder of Russia’s royal family by the Bolsheviks, books about them, and in particular the youngest daughter, Anastasia, continue to be written. This fanciful novel posits a romance between the Grand Duchess and one of her guards. A sheltered Anastasia learns about the outside world from Sasha, a young soldier with whom she strikes up a friendship in the palace. The misery of the Russian people jolts her, but before long it is she and her family who are in dire straits after the revolution turns them into captives. If there’s one thing that can keep a girl going during a revolution, however, it’s romance, and Anastasia has it in spades as Sasha, now one of her guards, becomes her lover. Dunlap weaves a strong sense of the historical into the sometimes far-fetched drama. Many will know this is a doomed romance from the start, and the inevitability makes the story seem longer. But the last tender moments between the lovers will make readers sigh. Grades 8-11. --Ilene Cooper

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens; 1 edition (March 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599904209
• ISBN-13: 978-1599904207
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #883,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've had a varied work life, writing advertising copy for agencies in New York and London and doing marketing and fundraising for arts organizations. After graduating from Smith College in 1976, I moved to London, where I lived for ten years. I returned to New York with my children in 1986, and soon after that started graduate school. A lifelong writer, I turned to historical fiction after finishing my PhD in music history at Yale University in 1999. I saw it as a way to bring my deep love of music and history to a wider public.

After publishing two adult historical novels with Simon & Schuster, I turned to young adult fiction with The Musician's Daughter, published by Bloomsbury Children's, followed by Anastasia's Secret, about the youngest grand duchess in the doomed Romanov family. In April, 2012, In the Shadow of the Lamp will be published by Bloomsbury. It's the story of a young parlormaid who stows away to go with Florence Nightingale and her nurses to the Crimea.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a tender romance about a young Russian duchess, March 3, 2010

By 

Stephanie Cowell (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anastasia's Secret (Hardcover)

Nearly a hundred years ago the Czar of Russia was forcibly removed from his throne and taken prisoner by Russian soldiers; at that time his youngest daughter, Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, was sixteen. From being the ruling family of the country, the Romanovs slipped into increasingly tight imprisonment though never for one moment did the parents or their five children lose their deep love for each other. It was a tragic circumstance for a girl so enchanting and full of life that her story and its legends have been told again and again.

Now in a particularly touching way, Susanne Dunlap has written a gentle romance for the brave Anastasia: a young man Sasha of plain birth who gives her his balalaika and shows her the country's poverty. He meets her secretly in gardens and cellars and even in the snows of Siberia and tries to warn her when her family is in danger.

The Romanov family is as close and loving as any large family can be today; as they are dispossessed of their titles, palaces, jewelry, even toys and books, their close servants and even proper food and heat, they cling together bravely. In the midst of this tragedy, Anastasia is concerned to keep the existence of Sasha from her sisters who begin to guess. A beautiful book about a young girl from a great fallen family who, in the midst of her worry for them and the privations they suffer, finds a love of her own.

I am the author of MARRYING MOZART and CLAUDE & CAMILLE: A NOVEL OF MONET.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A romantic story about what may have happened to Anastasia, April 10, 2010

By 

Debbie's World of Books "Debbie's World of Books" (Union City, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anastasia's Secret (Hardcover)

I would rate this book at 3.5 stars.

I've had a fascination with Anastasia Romanov ever since I learned about the Romanov's in my Russian History class back in high school. The mystery behind her death and if it was possible that she actually survived this tragedy captured my imagination. Not only is this story fascinating but I also enjoyed reading more about what the rest of the family might have been like. I never knew much about the tsar's wife or the rest of the children other than that Alexei had hemophilia.

Dunlap creates a romantic story that follows Anastasia for a few years as she grows older, meets a young soldier who just might be able to save her life in the end. Watching the relationship between Anastasia and Sasha grow was fascinating and the story keeps you wondering will Sasha save Anastasia or will his head be turned by the rising beliefs of the Bolsheviks. To find out you will need to read the book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A romantic and heartbreaking tale of Russia's last grand duchess., March 5, 2010

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anastasia's Secret (Hardcover)

As the youngest daughter of the last Tsar of Russia, Anastasia had a very sheltered and isolated childhood. So when at twelve years old she meets Sasha, a young soldier, in the garden of her palace, she is intrigued - he is very different than anyone she is permitted to be friends with. But soon he must leave to fight in World War I. Anastasia is later reunited with him while helping to care for the wounded soldiers, and now that she is fourteen, hopes he will see her as a young woman, and not a child.

But everything in Anastasia's world is about to change forever. In the aftermath of a costly war, the people of Russia are increasingly angry with their ruler. She must grow into a young woman as everything around her falls apart. After a revolt by the people, Anastasia and her family lose their wealth and status, and are eventually exiled to Siberia. In these dark days, Anastasia's growing love for Sasha still brings her hope and joy. But there is little hope for their future together.

Anastasia's Secret is a romantic and tragic story of what might have been, and brings Anastasia to life as a regular teenager with hopes and dreams, experiencing all the emotions of a teenage girl, although she grew up in a time very different than our own. It was hard to read the book at times knowing what the outcome would be and I so wished it could have ended differently. For readers who love historical fiction or who are fascinated by the Romanovs, I highly recommend this book, but be forewarned, you may need tissues at the end.

Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher