who was anastasia?

she was a grand duchess of russia, but she was also half-german. she lived in some of the most beautiful palaces in the world, but she also slept on a camp cot.

just who is this girl anastasia anyway?

it's a question i'm going to try to answer through this blog. anastasia and her family left us a wonderful treasure of photographs, letters and other mementos that let us figure out for ourselves who they were. they lived in a different world - both figuratively and literally - but their stories are not so unique. anastasia may have been a grand duchess, but she was also a daughter and a girl who loved to make others laugh.

anastasia, mugging for the camera, peterhof, 1911

photo courtesy of livadia.org