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I just finished reading The Secret Daughter of the Tsar and I loved it. Has anyone else read it yet? What did you think about the book? What did you about the concept of a secret Romanov?

It would not add up to the good parenting of N and E to give up a child. I am skeptical.

I haven't read it yet, but I think it sounds interesting. The Romanovs is a great topic where an author can put a unique (fictional) spin on what really happened all those years ago.

I'm working on a WIP that is sorta like "a secret Romanov." One of my characters is an orphan who the Romanovs take in as one of their own. Only few knew of this addition to the family. The Romanovs took the boy in after one of E's many miscarriages.

In fact, I'm almost finished my manuscript. If there is 1 or 2 people out there who would want to beta read, please let me know :)

The family of Czar Nicholas II was so tediously well documented that no legitimate sibling could exist incognito. And there is no possibility that a legitimate daughter could be adopted without the world knowing about it. At the far end of possibility is to consider is that there was a daughter he sired before he married Alexandra—out of wedlock, as it were. Again, the odds of the Czar having a bastard daughter and kept secret is next to nil. Please recall that practically every move he made from time of his birth to death was documented. In those days, the lives of Russian royalty belonged to the world.

It's an interesting thought though. All of this coming from a man that wrote a book based on the possibility of Anastasia surviving the regicide.

That's the beauty of fiction. Books are only based on history :)

You are correct, Jennifer.

Who am I to criticize a fictional tale of Czar Nicholas II when I’ve penned a fictional tale, St. Catherine’s Crown, that posts that Grand Duchess Anastasia survived the regicide when we know for a certainty that she did not survive. Her bones were confirmed by DNA analysis.

My WIP is another take on the idea of Anastasia surviving that horrible night. Although it's a travesty this massacre ever occurred, I enjoy how many varying stories can be told based on this single event.

One of the reasons I wanted to retell this story is so that it can end on a happy note :)

Yeah. I doubt there truly is a secret Romanov, but this book made me think. The author took the path of secret from Nicholas and Alexandra under the guise of false pregnancy. It just played out well in the story.

I wish the author the best with great reviews and even better sales.

Jennifer,

Please let me know when you publish your book. I would be delighted to read it.

Jennifer,

It sounds like you have a great concept and one that hasn't been written before. A few words of advice. Know your audience, if it is your average fiction reader, they won't really know the nuances of the Romanov story. Romanov fans like the ones on this site, know the story like the back of their hand. For example, if you had the family at Alexander Palace when in actuality they were in the Crimea at Livadia. Or having any of the Grand Duchesses with loose morals(secret boyfriends sneaking out to see), that one never goes over well.

Do your research. When writing "The Tsar's Masquerade" we were amazed at the information that helped tell our fictional story. For example, we wanted to use the founding of the Federal Reserve Bank as a resource for the Tsar to smuggle his gold out of the country. I came up with the idea from seeing a tidbit on the internet where someone stated they saw Tsarist gold in Fort Knox. From there I researched the secret meeting at Jekyll Island which involved bankers and others sneaking to the island. One of the attendees at the meeting, had an assistance working for him in Russia. So everything began to fall in place. So although our book is fiction, it blurs into the facts.

Good luck with your story.

R. Mercikovsky

Thank you for the advice, R. Mercilovsky.

I'd say I'm doing some blurring so that my book will appeal to general fiction readers. I try to base things on facts, and then noodle from there to enhance the flow of the story. There are things that Romanov enthusiasts will question, for sure. Hopefully no one questions too much though :)

Good luck. I just started "Catherine's Crown" which I found out about on this thread. Enjoying it so far.

Stared eldest in eragon series. So long! But happey

Raphael:

I'd have interest to your critique of "St. Catherine's Crown"--especially the unconvential ending.

Marty

I'll be glad to. I was interested to read your book because of your military background. "The Tsar's Masquerade" is a collaboration of two authors. The editor was a former Professor of History at the United States Naval Academy. One of the author's has a military intelligence background. Although history now states the bones have been found and DNA testing is conclusive. I still have doubts. We found too many discrepancies.

Thanks for your comments. I have no expertise in DNA testing therefore am unable to post a coherent comment if Grand Duchess Anastasia survived the regicide or not.

Marty

Ohh, Raphael, what discrepancies have you found? That's really interesting!

It's all the little things that add up to make you think the story may not have happened the way Soviet Russia said it did. I'll have to go through my notes to give you more specifics. The premise of "The Tsar's Masquerade" is fiction but we were actually able to use mostly real people as characters in the book. Americans, a Catholic Priest, etc. People who were actually in Russia at the time the story takes place.