Romanovs discussion

I am pleased to invite Sarah Miller to our discussion about her fiction book, The Lost Crown: A Novel of Romanov Russia. Fellow Romanov inthusiasts, please feel free to post questions to Sarah, but at this point, please don't include anything that would contain spoilers, as some of us have not finished the book yet (athough.

I know Donna wanted to know why Sarah chose the manner in which the book was written with alternating perspectives from OTMA.

The really short (and possibly obnoxious) answer to Donna's question is: I couldn't pick just one sister.

The challenge of creating four distinct and authentic voices appealed to me, as did differentiating their personalities. Since Anastasia is so over-represented in Romanov fiction, I also wanted the chance to give each grand duchess equal footing in the story.

You did an amazing job. I found myself feeling very differently with the voice of each sister. (I must admit I was drawn to Tatiana the most).

Thanks. I'm glad it worked so well for you. Not every reader has that experience.

I also enjoy hearing from Tatiana fans. Although many considered her the most attractive of the tsar's daughters, her personality was not as outwardly warm and engaging as her sisters', so people don't tend to gravitate toward her as quickly or as often.

Perhaps not, but I'm a nurse in a critical care unit. I'm bossy, assertive and can easily take the role of "governess".

Well that's just about perfect.

Hi Sarushka! Glad you could reply to this thread! I admire Tatiana very much. I think that she cared so much for others, her mother and brother in particular. I'm sorry, but she wasn't my favorite, though - that would have to be Maria. She's always been my favorite - I'm not sure why.

Did you have a so called "favorite" of the sisters as you were writing? I'd love to hear all about your writing experiences! (Yes, I've read your blog.)

I didn't have a favorite voice when I was writing, although I was surprised by how easy Tatiana was for me. She's very formal, so I didn't expect the experience of writing her to be so relaxed. Olga, on the other hand, came hardest — which makes no sense, because her style is probably closest to mine.

In terms of personality, I'm a bit of a Maria fan, too. To my knowledge she's the only one of the grand duchesses who hasn't been featured prominently in fiction. I think that has something to do with why I chose to open The Lost Crown with her voice. She's also very warm and engaging, which is good for drawing people in.

For more on how I created each sister's voice, see this interview -- particularly the second and third questions:
http://nicegirlsreadbooks.com/intervi...#

I only have about a quarter of the book left, and I am so anticipating how Sarah wrote the ending, especially after reading the interview at the link she posted. I'm definitely intrigued and will have to find any excuse to sneak away from my desk today to read!

I'd have to say I'm a Tatiana fan because she's so pragmatic like me, taking charge of a situation without any hesitation. But I also feel each sister has redeeming qualities: Maria's generosity, Anastasia's humor, Olga's introspectiveness...

Oh. My. God. I had to do everything in my power not to cry on the train yesterday when I got to the end of the book. Beautifully done, Sarah. I had to re-read Olga's last few pages and take some very deep breaths and try to control my quiverring chin. Then I went home and poured through a couple of my Romanov picture books, sighing. What a tragic story and I think Sarah wrote and exceptional book. I'll post a link to my full review later today...

Oh, and Sarah, the last line was absolutely perfect.


***SPOILER ALERT*** to those who haven't finished the book yet, even though, technically you know how it will end, being history and all...


When Olga realizes the soldiers all have their hands behind their back and the chaos suddenly errupts, her realization is so well written, especially with the concluding sentence: "Where we go next, we go together." *Sob*

Here's a link to my full review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Thank you Julie. And thank you for such a flattering review.

I generally don't click the "like" button on Goodreads reviews because I don't want potential readers/reviewers to feel me reading over their shoulders. But I sure do appreciate the good ones.

Well, thank you for writing such a superb book, Sarah.

P.S. - if you haven't read The Lost Crown and you want it to be a huge surprise, you probably shouldn't read my review. But it doesn't have any spoilers or anything besides character traits, really, so if you want a little input but no REAL spoilers . . . read on!

Oh, yes, I love your book . . . definitely one of my favorites. The Romanovs were some of my favorite subjects since, well, before I read the Lost Crown, and even so I've read it 4 times since I got it on June 13th. Each of OTMA has her own distinct voice, and I can imagine the sisters having conversations either like or similar to the ones in The Lost Crown. I have to say, "the Little Pair" is my favorite of the four (Maria and Anastasia). But that was from even before I read The Lost Crown. I just love their personalities. This is one of those times when those big long words we used to learn at school comes in handy - Anastasia was definitely "vivacious" - full of life. Maria was just very sweet - or "saccharine".

Olga and Tatiana appeal to me in a different way. They're both very responsible young women - Olga with her books and knowledge (I love the comparisions to the French Revolution!) It's funny - whenever Tatiana keeps things from Anastasia, from Anastasia's point of view it seems awful, but from Tatiana's point of view it seems heroic - the way she's trying not to burden Anastasia. Tatiana is also a lot more caring than we usually read about in Romanov historical fiction - none of the bossy, stereotypical stuff for The Lost Crown. They all come across as caring and loving young girls who were thrust into a situation which they did not want nor really deserve. They didn't do anything besides be a Grand Duchess. I love Anastasia's dreams . . . to have somebody look at her and say "Good . . . for anyone, not just a Grand Duchess". They're so himan it's heartbreaking - all with flaws, but they become real.

I also love the use of similes and metaphors. Brava, Sarushka . . . beautiful figurative language. It made the whole story even more beautiful with all their comparisions. Their comparisions was another way to tell some of their interests - Olga-just loved comparing basically anything, Tatiana either fashion or governess-ey topics (or words that reflected what she felt), Maria-everything sweet (chocolates, candy, kittens), and Anastasia . . . she didn't have any specific comparisions. She'd compare anything to anything.

Okay, I'll stop my ranting before I run out of characters. I'll close with: Good job, Sarushka!

There isn't much I can say to that except thank you.

I may have a spoiler or two, so if you haven't finished the book yet, you may want to skip this post until you've finished it.



Sarah--I absolutely loved your book! So much that I would actually list it as one of my favorites of all time.

There were so many "favorite" parts for me, that there's no way I could mention all of them, but a few stand out. In chapter 25 on Anastasia, I loved the discussion of the history lessons where they learned of people who pretended to be the daughter of Empress Elizabeth and others who pretended to be the dead son of Ivan the Terrible. Anastasia's comment was priceless--"No one could pretend to be me and get away with it...."!!! Was this a comment upon the rumors of Anastasia's survival? Either way, I loved it and took it that way.

In Chapter 23 on Maria, when Maria fell and hurt herself, my heart broke for her when her mother responded "Thanks God it wasn't Aleksei." I've often wondered how the girls felt about the care given to Aleksei and the affection shown for him. I realize this treatment is common for the time and for royalty, but I've always thought it would have to sting. I was very happy to see you address that here.

I never realized that the family had been separated at one point during their imprisonment. I have so many other comments and questions, but this is all I have time for right now! I will definitely come back with more. Thank you so much for writing such a wonderful book, Sarah!

Chapter 25 is one of my favorites, too, though I'm more partial to the first half. And yes, that comment Anastasia makes is a sort of an inside joke about imperial pretenders. There's also another, more subtle, reference on page 228.

Looking forward to the rest of your questions.