James Blair Lovell books

[OlgaNRomanovaFan]

Thanks Ra-Ra-Rasputin and Abby. I can't believe Lovell [or Anderson] would fabricate such a terrible lie.  

[Alixz]

I just recently got this book.  I know that there are inaccuracies, but I have a questions about pictures of identified as "Maria" and her hair is up.

Now in 1915 when these pictures were taken, Maria would have been 16 and so could have been putting her hair up, but the face just doesn't look like Maria at all.

However, it isn't Tatiana as she is so much different facially than her sisters and in some of the pictures Olga (who it really looks like) is actually in the picture, too!

On my book the cover photo is of the four girls and three of them have their hair up and one, Anastasia, does not.

Can someone direct me to the obvious errors?

[Margarita Markovna]

Are you talking about the photo on the front of the book? The girls are in age order and Maria's there definitely...or are you talking about another photo?

[Alixz]

I thought that would be Maria, but it is so unusual to see her with her hair up and she looks (to me) very much like Olga.

Thanks   

[s.v.markov]

My copy is an earlier one (1995) with a different cover, showing the double-headed eagle emblem and golden tassles to make it look like a genuine old photo album. Maybe it has been corrected in later editions, but in my copy the famous photo of Pierre Gilliard conducting a lesson on the terrace at Livadia (page 83) is captioned 'The French tutor Pierre Gilliard with Maria and Tatiana'. There are two mistakes in that caption! The same photo is also featured in Daniel Girardin's 'Precepteur des Romanov' (p26), with the caption 'Pierre Gilliard with Olga and Maria at Livadia in 1911'. That is particularly unfortunate, as Girardin's book tells the story of Pierre Gillard, who knew the four Grand Duchesses so well and would be distressed to see them confused in this way.  The picture can be found in many different books, but at least it is correctly captioned in Peter Kurth's 'Tsar : The Lost World...' (p107) 'Olga and Tatiana perch on the balustrade as Pierre Gilliard gives a lesson on the terrace'.  Perhaps someone would be kind enough to post the photo and confirm the identities for those who do not own the books. I cannot post pictures from here at the moment.

[Alixz]

Here is the picture form the book I have.  the text is not clear in this picture but it says, "The French tutor, Pierre Gilliard, with Maria and Tatiana. etc"

[Alixz]

This is the picture of Maria where I find that she seems to have "grown up" and looks older so fast.  She would have been just 16 in this picture, but she looks (to me) much older.

[s.v.markov]

Yes, I agree. She's wearing the same dress in the picture on p.99 of the book AND she's with Olga, which makes for a good comparison. Can you post that one too Alixz? Thanks.

[Alixz]

This is the picture from page 99.   

[Sarushka]

The photo with Gilliard on the balcony at Liviadia in 1911 is of Olga and Tatiana.

The other two photos are indeed of Maria Nikolaevna in 1915. I've found identically labeled photos in a Russian book in the New York Public Library's online collection, and I believe they're correct.

Once Maria began wearing her hair up, she showed a remarkable resemblance to Olga -- it's often tricky to tell them apart after 1915. However, Maria tended to part her hair in the middle, while Olga's is generally parted over her right eye.

[Alixz]

Thank you Sarushka.

I just find it amazing that Marie N's looks changed to much in about a one year period.

It is hard to find a resemblance to the pictures of her just a year before.

I find the same thing happens with Alexei.  From imprisonment at Tsarskoe Selo to sawing wood with Nicholas in Tobolsk, Alexei has grown and become quite a different much more mature looking young man.

His health seems to have been good through this time and he is walking straight and is physically active.  But it is his face that seems to have changed and grown so much older and more mature.

[OlgaNRomanovaFan]

In both this book and Frances Welch's book 'A Romanov Fantasy : Life At The Court of Anna Anderson' this photo of Maria is indentified as Anastasia. It's odd since in the Welch book it's used as an ear comparision, and it doesn't look at all like AN.

[Rachael89]

They misuse the same photo of the back of Rubies in the Snow clealry implying it's suppose to be Anastasia when it's Maria - these mistakes are so annoying!

Rachael

[moonlight_tsarina]

All the inaccuracies in this album have always maddened me to no end....I'm glad others have been able to prove them false. It was hard enough for me to believe Lovell's book on Anastasia, and ALL his credibility went right out the window for 2 reasons: labeling Maria as Anastasia, and for saying there was a 5th daughter. Oy vey.

[Sarushka]

ALL his credibility went right out the window for 2 reasons: labeling Maria as Anastasia, and for saying there was a 5th daughter.

IMO, the first isn't sufficient reason to dump someone's credibility -- the APTM main site makes the very same mistake in one of its albums. Silly little flubs happen to everyone.