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Ariel Lawhon
Ariel Lawhon writes historical fiction, often focusing on real women from the past. Her book The Frozen River explores a true crime from 1789 Maine. Lawhon's stories bring history to life for readers.
I Was Anastasia
Synopsis
On July 17, 1918, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov and the rest of the Russian imperial family into a basement in Siberia and execute them. None survive — or so the official account claims. In February 1920, a young woman resembling Anastasia is pulled from a Berlin canal, her body covered in scars, refusing to explain who she is or how she got there. When she finally speaks, she claims to be the youngest Romanov daughter. I Was Anastasia follows both the Romanov family in the months before their deaths and Anna Anderson's fifty-year battle to be recognized as Anastasia, as old enemies and new claimants surface across three continents.
Genres
Characters
Anna AndersonProtagonist
Woman pulled from a Berlin canal in 1920 who claims to be Anastasia Romanov.
Anastasia RomanovProtagonist
Youngest daughter of the Russian imperial family, executed with them in 1918.
Frequently asked questions
Is I Was Anastasia based on a true story?
Yes. It's a historical novel built around the real Anastasia Romanov and the real Anna Anderson, who claimed for decades to be the surviving grand duchess. The historical record of Anderson's claim is well documented; the novel dramatizes the people and events around it.