I Was Anastasia: A Novel

Trans-Siberian Railway, Halfway to Ekaterinburg. May 24: Anastasia reflects on the word “rape,” thinking about a painting Gilliard once showed them called The Rape of the Sabine Women. He said the purpose of art “is to tell the truth” (245). Olga returns to the train car, and Anastasia thinks she looks like a ghost. Tatiana is bruised and tries to smooth down her clothing. Her eyes are empty, and she crawls into bed with Anastasia.

Anastasia feels they are all demoralized and broken when they arrive in Ekaterinburg. Gilliard bends to tie Anastasia’s bootlace, finds her paper knife, and takes it so she will not be punished. He tells her she has a remarkable disposition. Gilliard is not allowed to go with the children when they are taken to a new house. Tomas is still with them, and Anastasia realizes she loves him. Semyon takes them to what he calls “the House of Special Purpose” (249).

Dalldorf Asylum, Berlin. May 30, 1922: After Anna’s horrifying experience, she feels that there is “a door in her mind that, when pushed too hard, swings toward madness” (251). The episodes are less frequent, and she feels that time is passing quickly at the asylum. She finds it therapeutic to sew. She has refused to tell anyone her identity, so they call her Fräulein Unbekannt, which means “unknown.” The nurse she has nicknamed the Duck brings Anna to see visitors, one of which is the Baron von Kleist, who addresses her as Tsarevna. He is arranging for her to be discharged.

One week earlier. Dalldorf Asylum, Berlin. May 21, 1922: A glamorous couple comes to visit Anna and confirms she looks like the daughter of the Russian tsar, just as Clara said. Anna tells the nurse she never claimed to be Tatiana, but she sees a possibility for freedom, like a door opening. She tells the Duck her name is Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov.

One week earlier. Dalldorf, Asylum, Berlin. May 14, 1922: Clara, who is staying in the same ward as Anna, says she is going to tell important people on the outside who Anna really is.

Seven months earlier. Dalldorf Asylum, Berlin. October 3, 1921: After her picture is published in the newspapers, Anna has a stream of visitors who all hope she is their lost loved one. She feels that she is “an unwilling participant in their personal tragedies” (257). One day, a man visits looking for a sister who wandered away from her boardinghouse in Berlin. His name is Felix Schanzkowska. He looks like Anna, and she wants him to leave. He says he does not recognize Anna.

Ipatiev House, Ekaterinburg, Russia. May 25: The three siblings reunite with their parents and Maria. Anastasia says the trip was horrible but does not reveal what happened to her sisters. Instead, she tells them Semyon threw one of the dogs out the window. Tatiana thanks her, saying she could not bear it if their parents knew.

Two days later. Ekaterinburg, Russia. May 27: The family finds that their belongings have been searched, and several things have been confiscated. Anastasia challenges Semyon, and he reminds her she is no longer royalty. He says she is not even a citizen; she is a prisoner. He takes her diamond earrings, then he strikes Anastasia after she spits on him. She sees that Tomas is ready to intervene on her behalf.

One week later. Ekaterinburg, Russia. June 5: Anastasia, in her boredom, rereads Tolstoy’s War and Peace. She finds Maria kissing Ivan and warns her sister about getting caught.

Two weeks later. Ekaterinburg, Russia. June 18: Anastasia turns 17. Tomas sneaks into her room to return her earrings. They kiss, and Anastasia is amazed.

Dalldorf Asylum, Berlin. June 1920: Anna meets with the clerk and the sergeant who arrested her. Since Anna will tell no one her name, the clerk takes a photograph that they plan to publish to see if someone will come forward.

Three months earlier. Dalldorf Asylum, Berlin. March 30, 1920: Anna has a psychiatric episode that she thinks of as “darkness and nightmare and memory” (273). She wakes to find herself in restraints. A girl, Clara, is watching her. She says Anna looks familiar.

One day earlier. Dalldorf Asylum, Berlin. March 29, 1920: Anna refuses to give her name to the clerk. Dr. Winicke is admitting her to the asylum rather than turning her over to the police—her diagnosis is melancholia. The clerk records her name a Fräulein Unbekannt or “Miss Unknown.” Anna balks at another examination by a doctor she names Dr. Arschloch or “asshole” and a nurse she names the Duck. Dr. Winicke says he thinks Anna is frightened, but he does not know why. Dr. Arschloch concludes she is a sex worker. Anna protests that she will tell him nothing and feels “that old, hated memory pressing in on her, demanding her attention, demanding to be replayed for the thousandth time” (279).