Was she, or wasn't she?

A fitting title given the latest book I've scored for reviewing purposes is a story of the woman who assumed the identity of Anastasia Romanov, youngest daughter of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas and Alexandra. The whole family was murdered in 1917 during the Russian Revolution, on the orders of Vladimir Lenin, a leading revolutionary who became the founding head of Soviet Russia.

I was still in my teens when I read a non-fiction book about Anna Anderson - who claimed to be Anastasia. There were a few Anastasia impersonators, but 'Anna' was the most credible and she convinced a lot of high profile and influential people both in Europe, and the US where she eventually lived. Ultimately she was exposed as a fraud, but it took many years and several court challenges and there were always niggling doubts given her physical similarity to Anastasia, the terrible unexplained scars on her body, and her detailed knowledge of Russia, its language and its nobility.

This is a novel though so I’m curious to see how Ariel Lawhon the author – a name unfamiliar to me - handles the known facts about Anna/Anastasia and weaves them into a story that leaves readers guessing - and wondering. Writing the short review for Better Reading could prove an interesting task as well, with care needed to avoid spoilers!

By the time I’ve read and reviewed ‘Am I truly Anastasia Romanov’ my next review book should have arrived. Thomas Mayo’s ‘Always was, always will be’ is a non-fiction title and comes courtesy of Independent Australia. Subscribers to IA are also offered an opportunity to put up their hands for the occasional book that is offered for review. I suspect this one could be more challenging since it deals with the aftermath of last year’s Referendum, and the impact it had across the country, but especially for Indigenous Australians. The review can be a bit longer though, so the word count is not quite so strict.

Then there are the books to read for my two my book discussion groups. No shortage of reading matter, and no immediate chance of being able to dip into the ever teetering TBR pile beside my bed either!