A Romanov Fantasy: Life at the Court of Anna Anderson [Hardcover]

Frances Welch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 2007

An extraordinary story of tenacity and intrigue, and the deep human urge to salvage hope from tragedy.

Did the seventeen-year-old Grand Duchess Anastasia survive the massacre of the Russian imperial family in 1918? Over the years, the possibility that the youngest of the tsar’s four daughters might have escaped the killings has provided rich spawning ground for claimants. By far the best known of these was Anna Anderson, a mysterious young woman who appeared in Berlin in 1920. Anna attracted a bizarre coterie of supporters—some of whom had known the grand duchess as a child—who risked life and limb, and often all their savings, in a desperate attempt to prove that Anastasia had, after all, survived. But who was Anna Anderson—and just how did she manage to convince so many people that she was the real Anastasia? Frances Welch’s A Romanov Fantasy is a tragic comedy in the best Russian tradition—a compelling, eerie, and frequently hilarious study of discipleship, snobbery, and life after death.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The rumors that one of Nicholas II's daughters survived the Russian imperial family's savage murder led to a slew of claimants to the Russian throne. The most famous was Anna Anderson (1896–1984), whose legal battle for recognition as the youngest daughter, Anastasia, spawned the longest-running German court case of the 20th century, as well as books, a Broadway play and a memorable film with Ingrid Bergman playing Anna. A decade after her death, DNA tests proved that Anderson was not Anastasia but a Polish peasant; an aspiring actress, she had been in and out of German mental sanitariums until, after a 1920 suicide attempt, her claim to be Anastasia brought her to the world's attention. Anderson's bizarre clutch of supporters, comically but sympathetically portrayed by Welch, included social-climbing White Russians and an eccentric American millionaire who married Anderson when she was 72 (he was 23 years her junior). Chief among her true believers were Gleb Botkin, whose father, the Romanov physician, had been murdered alongside the czar. Anderson's denouncers included the czar's sister Xenia and Prince Felix Yussoupov, Rasputin's murderer. Welch (The Romanovs and Mr. Gibbes) has researched a complex and compelling history, a testament to the power of self-delusion and the desperate human need to believe in something bigger than ourselves. 54 illus. (Sept.)
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From Booklist

One of the great mysteries in European royal history is whether or not one of the daughters of the last czar of Russia survived the horrible collective execution of the deposed imperial family in Siberia in 1918. The possibility of a survivor has always centered on the youngest grand duchess, Anastasia, and the most famous claimant to being the still-living Anastasia was a German woman by the name of Anna Anderson, who staked her claim in 1920 and until her death, in 1984, never let up, with her legal battle for recognition turning out to be the "longest-running German court case of the 20th century." Welch tells Anna's story with both sympathy for the woman and appreciation for the incredible historical and human drama it presents. What makes Anna's tale so particularly rich and compelling is the history of her supporters, who came and went depending on their own agendas for personal gain, whether by simply being associated with her or by attempting to exploit her. European history buffs will treat this well-researched work like a delicious dessert. Hooper, Brad

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (September 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393065774
• ISBN-13: 978-0393065770
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #557,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written, entertaining guide to the life of an Anastasia Claimant, October 24, 2007

By 

Tim Welsh "tsarskoe" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Romanov Fantasy: Life at the Court of Anna Anderson (Hardcover)

As a former Anna Anderson supporter, I dreaded reading this book. For over a decade I have studied the claim's Anna Anderson's to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, and while I no longer believe that she was actually the Grand Duchess I still respect and am fascinated by those individuals who spent years of their lives trying to support and aid this very fragile (mentally and physically) woman. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised by the author's ease of maintaining the dignity of the participants while showing quite accurately the circumstances of Anna Anderson's life.

For those unfamiliar with this case the story proves as fantastic as any fictional novel and just as entertaining. For those who are already familiar with Anna Anderson I believe there are enough new tidbits of information that will help to clarify some of the remaining mysteries of this case.

Both readable and informative, I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the mysteries surrounding this most famous of Anastasia claimants.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Extraordinary Woman And Her Friends, September 13, 2007

By 

John D. Cofield - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Romanov Fantasy: Life at the Court of Anna Anderson (Hardcover)

A Romanov Fantasy is the story of the most famous royal pretender of the twentieth century: Franziska Schanzkowska, a Polish peasant woman who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicolaevna, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, for some 64 years. It is also the story of the many devoted and eternally patient friends who sheltered and supported Franziska, better known as Anna Anderson, throughout that time.

Franziska was a highly intelligent woman with a gift for drama. Unfortunately she also seems to have been mentally and emotionally troubled from an early age, so that she was unable to use her abilities positively. Her charm and her ability to pick up information enabled her to pose so successfully that even some of Anastasia's close relatives and former servants and associates were unable to either denounce or accept her. She used her magnetic personality to gather a crowd of supporters who, despite being exasperated by her time and again, seem never to have stopped believing in and trusting her.

Frances Welch's biography concentrates primarily on Franziska's life and on the problems her supporters had dealing with her. The crucial last bit of the story, the DNA testing that ultimately proved Franziska was not Anastasia, is barely discussed. While it would be nice to read a fuller biography of Franziska, she was so unaccountable and so bizarre that it would probably not be possible to write one.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but I wish she got the photos right!, October 16, 2007

By 

Helen Azar "helenazar" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Romanov Fantasy: Life at the Court of Anna Anderson (Hardcover)

The book is not bad, but what put a damper on it for me is that the author had her photos mixed up, she identified the wrong sister as Anastasia a couple of times... You would expect she would at least get that one right. Maybe it was the publisher's fault. Some other minor mistakes and a few somewhat shifty sources, but on the whole a good read. For a change a non-fiction book about Anna Anderson as who she actually was: a mentally ill woman posing as a Russian grand duchess, as well as about the phenomenon of her dogmatic followers.