Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.
I have a very special review for ya today. This review goes out to all The Royal Diaries Girlies out there. Yes, that’s right. I’m back with a new Royal Diaries review today. I finally made my way to a used bookstore and found a gem. I spotted the gold spine and ran. No one was safe from me as I zoomed across the store.
And what book did I get my claws on? Please give a warm round of applause to Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess by Carolyn Meyer!
As always, a spoiler alert is in order. This is your one and only warning. If you’ve ever read any of the other posts on RHRML then you know I love to spoil the entirety of the books I read. I guess I’m also going to put a quick content warning here just because Grigori Rasputin exists. Fuck that guy. I had to read about him ever so briefly in this book and he’s creepy as hell. So yeah, content warning Grigori Rasputin. Now let’s get to the synopsis.
Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess follows none other than Anastasia Romanov, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna AKA the last Tsar and Tsarina of Russia. Our story beings in 1914, the royal family is functioning as usual. There’s a big ball being thrown in honor of the four Grand Duchesses. This story spans a few years which lead up to the start of World War One and the Russian revolution. Though our young princess knows nothing about the political climate and what’s occurring outside the palace walls.
No, she’s too busy being a young teen, causing mischief, and growing up. Oh, and dealing with Grigori Rasputin just a tad. Then things turn bad. Tsar Nicholas makes a lot of bad decisions. He makes so many bad decisions that the public is calling for the Tsar’s abdication, political reforms, and major, major changes. These cries are so loud that even the sheltered princess hears them.
If you know history, you know this story turns from bad to worse. Tsar Nicholas is forced to abdicate, the Romanov family is put under house arrest, and eventually taken far away from any major city where they are cut off from practically everyone save for those who want them dead. I think everyone knows where this is going. Anastasia’s diary leads up to the night before her death, and our story ends there.
A sad end, but one we all anticipated. Serious question, I never read this book as a child but those that did, did this ending surprise or shock you? Did you know that the whole family was murdered before you read this book? Please let me know in the comments, I’m genuinely curious. Is this book how some people learned about the death of Russia’s imperial family? Seriously, please leave your experience in the comment section.
Obviously, The Royal Diaries is a very watered down version of history. I was not surprised to see World War One or the Russian revolution glossed over. What I was surprised to see was Grigori Rasputin. I don’t know why, but I did not expect his inclusion. He plays a major role in the lives of the Romanovs so it’d be weird if he wasn’t included in this book. But this man was so creepy and such a disgusting human being that I thought he would be excluded from the narrative. I was a little shocked when his named appeared three pages in. Truly, I don’t know why I was. Guess I thought children didn’t need to be subjected to Rasputin. I thought we were going to pretend he didn’t exist, but I was wrong.
Outside of Rasputin, I don’t have too much to say about this one. I don’t think this is the strongest Royal Diaries entry. Never once have I went into a Royal Diaries book expecting a perfect depiction of the princess in question nor do I expect perfect historical accuracy. The Royal Diaries have and always will be a jumping off point for children to become interested in history. That being said, Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess feels very weak. Everything about the wars are very watered down, the main character knows nothing about what’s happening around her–yes, she was very sheltered by her parents so the book is accurate in that sense, but that makes for a kinda boring read–the family dynamics were great, but that’s all this read has going for it.
I also feel the death of the Romanov family was not the move. Or at least how it's presented in this book. Was this a big historical moment? Yes. Does it kinda make sense to have a Royal Diaries book about one of the Grand Duchesses? Also yes. But since the actual history is so sad, and very dark at times, and the author did not lean into that subject, the book feels lackluster. It felt like the author was too scared to actually discuss the history and terrible things that occurred. The Elizabeth I entry to this series openly discussed Kathrine Howard’s beheading, Cleopatra vividly described a head on a platter and that's been burned into my mind since I read the book in elementary school, Anastasia could have discussed the Russian revolution and darker subjects more than it did. Or perhaps one of her older sisters should have been the main character. I know Anastasia is the most famous of the four but maybe it would have been smarter to follow an older girl. They would have seen and understood more of what was happening around them at the time. Just a thought.
The saving grace of this book is the Romanov family and how they interacted with one another. They were actually a family who enjoyed spending time together and liked one another. The five siblings were incredibly close and that shows in the pages of this book. The book shines when Anastasia is retelling moments of when the family was together and having fun.
Sadly, this was not a strong entry in The Royal Diaries series. The author was too scared to discuss the darker points of Anastasia’s short life thus causing the story to fall short.
And with that, I must bid you all adieu. I shall see you all again next week with another new review. If you can’t wait till then then allow me to recommend my podcast. It’s lovingly called Nothing to See Hear. You can listen to an episode all about the weirdo Rasputin; how fitting.
Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.
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