Pulled from the Landwehr Canal by police officers after her failed suicide attempt, 'Madame Unknown' was soon brought to Dalldorf Asylum with no papers in her pockets, no labels on her clothes, and a silent refusal to identify herself. Two years later, a nameless woman jumped off a bridge in Berlin. After 300 years of imperial rule, the Romanov empire ended in a chaos of gunfire and bayonets. This thrilling story is every bit as moving and momentous as it is harrowing and twisted.On July 17, 1918, Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, and their five children were murdered in a basement in Ekaterinburg. The question of who Anna Anderson is and what actually happened to Anastasia Romanov creates a saga that spans 50 years and touches three continents. With a brilliantly crafted dual narrative structure, Lawhon wades into the most psychologically complex and emotionally compelling territory yet: the nature of identity itself. Her detractors, convinced that the young woman is only after the immense Romanov fortune, insist on calling her by a different name: Anna Anderson.Īs rumors begin to circulate through European society that the youngest Romanov daughter has survived the massacre, old enemies and new threats are awakened. When she finally does speak, this frightened, mysterious woman claims to be the Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia. Refusing to explain her presence in the freezing water, she is taken to the hospital, where an examination reveals that her body is riddled with countless horrific scars.

Germany, February 17, 1920: A young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Anastasia Romanov is pulled shivering and senseless from a canal in Berlin. At least that is what the executioners have always claimed. Russia, July 17, 1918: Under direct orders from Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov, along with the entire imperial family, into a damp basement in Siberia where they face a merciless firing squad. Is she the Russian Grand Duchess, a beloved daughter and revered icon, or is she an imposter, the thief of another woman's legacy?Ĭountless others have rendered their verdict. In an enthralling new feat of historical suspense, Ariel Lawhon unravels the extraordinary twists and turns in Anna Anderson's 50 year battle to be recognized as Anastasia Romanov. “Compelling and utterly fascinating.drifts far into the mysterious lives of Anastasia Romanov and Anna Anderson.” (Lisa Wingate, author of Before We Were Yours )

I was anastasia