Anastasia and Her Sisters

As described

I recently discovered and became obsessed with Carolyn Meyers and her fabulous books. "Anastasia and Her Sisters" is the latest one I have read. She is masterful at historical fiction, and it is evident that she is meticulous with her research. In this book, she breathes life into the tragic figures of the Romanov family who once ruled Russia. I was so enthralled I could not put it down. Her inclusion in the story of Rasputin and his relationship with the imperial family was utterly fascinating. A wonderful read, but a sad ending.

A interesting book about the Romanovs. Always thought that Olga, Tatiana and Marie were treated as unimportant, over shadowed by Anastasia. Very nice to see all four treated equalty.

Can’t wait to read

This book was very captivating. It was hard to stop reading. The information was also captivating. I loved also learning about other books by a great author

Good read.

I don't think I'll ever read enough books about the Romanov family - especially when it comes to the Grand Duchesses. Carolyn Meyer is no stranger to turning the stories of historical characters into works of fiction (she does stick close to the facts but also takes a creative license when telling these stories), nor is she a stranger to Anastasia Romanov having years ago written Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess for The Royal Diaries series roughly 15 years ago. Having read that novel way back when, Beauty's Daughter: The Story of Hermione and Helen of Troy last January, and having two additional novels of Carolyn's on my self I knew I couldn't pass up her latest installment. Carolyn tells the last years of the Romanov rule through Anastasia's eyes as she is probably the most well known of the sisters, a fact we can most likely thank all the imposters claiming to be her and having survived the massacre of her family in 1918. The novel beings in 1918 as Anastasia, two of her sisters, and a family friend "dispose of the medicines" - their code for hiding their jewels by sewing them into their clothing - before backtracking to the year 1911 and coming full circle. Anastasia's story focuses on the lives of the sisters, especially Olga as Anastasia finds herself constantly reading Olga's secret diary, and strays away from the political aspects of the time. Nicholas and Alexandra kept their children rather in the dark when it came to what was happening in Russia outside of their family and small group of friends and were daily dressed alike by their mother (even well into their teens and early adulthood) so it makes sense that Anastasia and Her Sisters makes little notes of these historical aspects We spend seven years with the Romanov family and Anastasia's voice grows and changes throughout that time. She goes from talking about her hatred of school and dreaming of balls to understanding that things are not right in Russia even though she doesn't fully grasp what this means for herself and her family. Her thoughts go from surface level to deeper thought and it's this growth and development that adds to the reading experience. Every time I read a novel about the Romanovs it's hard not to feel emotional. By adding a certain level of depth and characterization, Caroyln makes the emotion even stronger. We're not just reading about their exile, we're feeling their exile. We're sitting in Tobolsk, staring out the windows to our friends in the house across the street but able to talk with them; we're at Ipatiev House with only a half hour of daily exercise in an enclosed garden and our windows painted over to keep us isolated. This isn't a nonfiction biography that spews out facts (don't get me wrong, love those too), but a historical novel that gives these characters life.

Captivating and realistic account of the Romanov sisters....first time to read this Author and it was a good read.

Daughter (10) read this book very quickly and thoroughly enjoyed it. She found it very meaningful and more so as she realised it was a true story. This series of books is brilliant for teaching history and inspires the reader to ask questions and find out more. She has already read several and has now just started The Plague. Definitely recommend to ignite an interest in History. It also helps to give a 'heads up' for what they will be studying at school.

The books been really great so far!

Very good book, not much hard words- easy, quick and interesting to read. Learn about a chapter in history of Russia, but the books 'Anastasia' are quite expensive. :-)

This is a great diary, if your not looking for books that give you all the details. To be fair, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, it's just not quite what I expected. After reading a wide range of MY STORY/MY ROYAL STORY books, I expected this to be like most of them, giving you a first hand account of what happens, leaving everything in. And to begin with it was like that. But as you read on they seemed to be quite happy, despite the war and the threats, and it wasn't really until the end that I got what I was expecting. But despite all this I would highly recommend this as a storybook, not a storybook which contains facts about the event in which you might want to read about.

Its 1914 Anastasia daughter of the Russian ruler Tzar Nicholas along with her brother and sister's live a very wealthy life style, they were all very happy and loved Russia, their country, their only worry was that her young brother Alexei had inherited haemophilia a disease that ran though the males of the family, this meant that the slightest injury could cause internal bleeding and make him very ill. This is where the infamous monk Rasputin comes into the story, his mother trusts the monk because he always seems to make Alexei better and she values his advice, though the Tzar does not. After an attack on Serbia, Russia is thrown into war, this turns into a world war as countries begin to take sides, the Tzar is not happy with his General and decides to command the army himself, it starts well but soon Russia is suffering great losses, the people lose faith in their leader and want to sue for peace, a revolution begins, the Tzars famly are all arrested and kept under close guard, even then hoping for a rescue. Everybody knows the events that follow, the family are taken to a basement with all their loyal servants, they are all shot and bayoneted to death, an ok read.