"Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson" by King And Wilson

[AGRBear]

One of the mysteries about FS was how she received her scars.   Greg and Penny tells us on p. 283.   It occured while she was working on the German estate of Gut-Friederikenhof.  For those who might be curious about this estate,  evidently it still exists and you can find some marvelous photos of it on the following URL:

http://www.gut-friederikenhof.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65&Itemid=101

Click on "Galerie" and then "Herbst"  [autumn].  It will show the various crops still being grown there today.

Click on "Startseite" and there is a short movie which will show you more of the buildings on the estate.

If you can't read German go to google,  write in Gut Friederikenhof,  next to it you'll see "translate",  click on it and it'll give you the English version.  They don't have one on the official site.


AGRBear

[Kransnoeselo]

Great job AGRBEar! It would never have occurred to me that the estate would still be up and running. Bravo!

[TimM]

Nice to see some buildings from back then still exist, despite the devestation of two World Wars.

[Suzanne]

I am currently reading this book (I'm about a hundred pages in) - here are my thoughts so far:

I am very impressed with King's and Wilson's critical analysis of the Anna Anderson case, particularly the manner in which she was established as "Anastasia" in the 1920s. I thought the chapter about the Gilliards and Olga Alexandrovna was particularly well written as the interpretation of these visits was extremely significant to the debate concerning Anna Anderson's identity. The authors have supplied useful background information concerning key "interested parties" in the case, which helps illuminate their biases.

The only section of the book that has disappointed me (comparatively) so far is the opening chapters about the real Anastasia. With the exception of the sections about the inner workings of Marie's and Anastasia's hospital, I didn't feel like I learned many new things about Anastasia's life. I have read the memoir literature that was discussed in this section and recognized most of the quotes concerning the Grand Duchesses' upbringing. I feel this section could have been improved by an expanded discussion of popular perceptions of OTMA during their lives (King and Wilson do this during the romanov tricentennial section but could have expanded their ideas). Long before the murder of the Imperial family, there was extensive coverage of the Imperial children in the foreign press. This popular interest laid the foundation for the interest in Anastasia's "survival" and I would have been interested to read more about perceptions of the Imperial children in the press.

I am enjoying the book and look forward to continuing to read it.

[Michael HR]

Just placed my order (had a gift voucher outstanding) so looking forward t a good read!

[Forum Admin]

I am currently reading this book (I'm about a hundred pages in) - here are my thoughts so far:

I am very impressed with King's and Wilson's critical analysis of the Anna Anderson case, particularly the manner in which she was established as "Anastasia" in the 1920s. I thought the chapter about the Gilliards and Olga Alexandrovna was particularly well written as the interpretation of these visits was extremely significant to the debate concerning Anna Anderson's identity. The authors have supplied useful background information concerning key "interested parties" in the case, which helps illuminate their biases.

The only section of the book that has disappointed me (comparatively) so far is the opening chapters about the real Anastasia. With the exception of the sections about the inner workings of Marie's and Anastasia's hospital, I didn't feel like I learned many new things about Anastasia's life. I have read the memoir literature that was discussed in this section and recognized most of the quotes concerning the Grand Duchesses' upbringing. I feel this section could have been improved by an expanded discussion of popular perceptions of OTMA during their lives (King and Wilson do this during the romanov tricentennial section but could have expanded their ideas). Long before the murder of the Imperial family, there was extensive coverage of the Imperial children in the foreign press. This popular interest laid the foundation for the interest in Anastasia's "survival" and I would have been interested to read more about perceptions of the Imperial children in the press.

I am enjoying the book and look forward to continuing to read it.

The reason why there wasn't much "new" about Anastasia was because the authors wanted the focus to be on how FS pulled it off, not a new biography of Anastasia, that section was intentionally written so that the reader who was not familiar with the "real" Anastasia would understand, it was not written for those who already are very familiar with the Imperial Family.  Also, remember that editors had their hand in this to keep the book to the present length, and much background material was sacrificed so that the "how FS did it" part would be left.  The original manuscripts would have been more to your liking!

[Laura Mabee]

Also, remember that editors had their hand in this to keep the book to the present length, and much background material was sacrificed so that the "how FS did it" part would be left.  The original manuscripts would have been more to your liking!

That is such a tease!
I do hope that maybe Mr. King and Ms. Wilson choose to use that research for a future publication!

[Alixz]

I was just thinking that as well.

[TimM]

It really is a good look at how FS, and those around her, pulled it off.  She may not have been Anastasia, but she has secured a place in history none the less.

[Suzanne]

Now I really wish I could read "the director's cut" of King and Wilson's book!

[Greg_King]

Hi Suzanne

The chapters on Anastasia were meant only as a kind of brief layout of her life, and were added in at the last minute at the editor's request, at a time after we had actually concluded most research. This made it impossible to really get at new materials about her life, but the chapters at least offer a few important points on her life like the fact that she was learning German as late as the captivity in Tobolsk, etc. But they really exist only so that readers unfamiliar with the story get a sense of Anastasia before we meet AA.

[Suzanne]

Hi Greg,

Thanks for responding to my comments. It's interesting to know the process of putting a book like this together. I have finished Resurrection of the Romanovs now and found it fascinating. You and Penny have done an excellent job of deconstructing how Franzinska suceeded in convincing so many people she was Anastasia.

P.S. I picked up Gilded Prism last year at Gagliani when I was in Paris and greatly enjoyed that book as well - the Konstantinovichi were an interesting family and should be better known than they are.

[TimM]

Yeah, Greg and Penny wrote a great book.

[Michael HR]

Mine has arrived and so looking forward to getting through it

[Kitt]

I just finished the book.  A terrific book.  I was amazed, once it was explained, how FS absorbed like a sponge, all the tiny bits of info that came her way. She was truly talented in that respect.  And that she actually got caught in her story several times, and was able to recover due to a desperate wish of others to believe her story...  I wouldn't be surprised to see this story, as Greg King and Penny Wilson wrote it on the big screen.  What a production that would be!  All the best, Kitt