August 13, 2024

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!

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Magni

Fiona's gift

By Anne Layton-Bennett • June 14, 2026
It’s taken far too many months for this marvellous model to grace the dedicated desk space in my office. When Fiona comes to visit next she will be very surprised, and hopefully gratified, that her amazing creative talent is finally on display. We’ve known each other for a very long time, and during the insanely busy time when I was helping to run the flower farm, working part-time in a school library, doing a spot of journalism on the side, and fighting the proposed pulp mill that is the subject of the manuscript I’m hoping to get published, Fiona cleaned my house each week. There’s only so much a person can do after all, and it has to be said cleaning our house during those manic years was fairly low down on the list of my priorities. But Fiona is a woman of many talents and she certainly possesses one that I so don’t have: sewing and dressmaking. So over the years she’s also made a few garments based on the pattern of a favourite garment that I was particularly fond of, and she’s also done some clothing alterations for both of us. My skills with needles and thread are limited to sewing on buttons, and taking up hems on John’s too-long pairs of jeans. Anything else is beyond me. But this fabulous model is the pièce de résistance – along with the beautiful crocheted knee warmer she gave me last year. This was when winter was approaching and so determined was I to finish writing the book, I decided to get out of bed at the insane hour of 5am and get in a solid hour’s writing in before dog walking and the demands of the day took over. Fiona was also one of many Tasmanians who needed to be circumspect about her opinion of the pulp mill. It was a project that polarised people, including families and friendships. She was one of several who passed on snippets of useful information, but on the basis of anonymity so it couldn’t be sheeted home to her.  Needless to say Fiona will be one of those whose contribution will be acknowledged – when this book is finally accepted by a publisher.

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