Guest Post: J. Nelle Patrick

Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick
Series: Stand Alone
Published by Razorbill on February 27th 2014
Genres: Young Adult -Fantasy, Young Adult-Historical
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Natalya knows a secret.
A magical Faberge egg glows within the walls of Russia's Winter Palace.
It holds a power rooted in the land and stolen from the mystics.
A power that promises a life of love for her and Alexei Romanov.
Power, that, in the right hands, can save her way of life.
But it's not in the right hands.

That Animated Anastasia Movie is Full of Lies

 

I won’t lie—I adore that animated Anastasia movie from the 90s. It’s got wonderful music, a lovely story, the animal sidekick is a Russian bat…what more could you want?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QkurL3HPSA

Here’s the downside to a movie like that though—people think that movie represents what really happened. I mean, sure, they know that the magic bits were probably fake, but they assume Anastasia really did escape, that Rasputin really was the bad guy, and that the talking Russian bat was…well. I don’t know what they think about the talking Russian bat. Either way, they take the animated movie as truth rather than a fictionalization of history.

Of course, TSARINA is also a fictionalization of history too, so don’t think I’m judging—but I am pretty proud of the fact that, magic aside, the book is rather historically accurate, even down to the street names. I admit, though, that there aren’t any Russian bats in my book. For this, I am sorry.

Anyway– in the author’s note in TSARINA I explain what history I modified and what history I stuck to. I thought for this post, it’d be fun to break down what history the Anastasia movie modified, and what bits are true.

Let’s break down the movie piece by piece, shall we?

In the movie:
Anastasia and her family are run out of the Winter Palace during the February revolution. Anastasia is about 8 years old, give or take. They flee for their lives! They run to the train station! Anastasia is accidentally lost in the chaos!

In reality:
Anastasia and her family were long, long out of the Winter Palace by the time the February revolution happened. Because the political climate in St. Petersburg had gotten so bad, they were living just outside of the city, in another residence called the Alexander Palace. Anastasia was actually about 16 at the time. The family was put under house arrest at the Alexander Palace, and eventually were moved across the country along with a handful of servants.

http://data3.whicdn.com/images/1612859/anastasia_profilelarge_thumb.jpg
Movie Anastasia at the time of the Revolution

http://www.livadia.org/mashka/images/otma1915_1.jpg
Real Anastasia at the time of the Revolution (She’s on the far right. Okay, I know it’s not the most flattering photo of her, but they’d been captured and were living in Siberia, so cut her a break?)

In the movie:
Anastasia returns to St. Petersburg when she’s about 18, with a dog and a head full of amnesia. The rest of the royal family has been executed, but the rumor in St. Petersburg (delightfully explained via a musical number) is that Anastasia survived the execution.

In reality:
I’m sad to say, Anastasia did not survive the execution of her family. Tsar Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and their children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei all died. They were executed in a basement in Ekaterinberg, after having been imprisoned by the Reds for about a year. It was a brutal execution, and one that, quite honestly, I have to work very hard not to dwell on. For a long time there was speculation that Anastasia (or Maria) and Alexei survived, because their bodies were not recovered with the others. However, many years later, their bones were found and DNA confirmed that all of the Romanovs are accounted for.

In the movie:

A young man named Dmitri is holding auditions at the Winter Palace, looking for someone to play Anastasia so that he can collect the reward her grandmother— who survived the revolution by fleeing to Paris early— is offering.

In reality:
Basically, all of the “real” bits are in this section:

1) Anastasia’s grandmother, Maria Feodorova, did survive the revolution and desperately, desperately wanted to believe that her children and grandchildren did as well. She wasn’t living in Paris, though— she was in London.

2) There was, in fact, a man who defrauded noble families with impostors he tried to pass off as the grand duchesses. He wasn’t handsome, and he wasn’t named Dmitri— he was named Boris, and he was actually the husband of Maria Rasputin, who was Grigori Rasputin’s daughter.
3) The movie’s depictions of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg are pretty accurate.
And…that’s it for the real stuff, guys. There are some scenes here and there that include some real stuff (like, for example, the tiny clip where a lady is walking cheetahs? That’s supposed to be Luisa Casati), but as far as the Romanovs go…these three are the only biggies.

https://24.media.tumblr.com/25a951967aa972e49ad89e188ca437d7/tumblr_mzgkmw2Ykt1tpqtd9o1_r2_500.gif
The Alexander Ballroom in the movie.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3094/2551697750_fdaa515d4d_o.jpg

The Alexander Ballroom in real life (restored).

In the movie:
Rasputin sings the best villain song ever, after Poor Unfortunate Souls (which, obviously, is the number one villain song of all time). Rasputin has cursed the Romanov family because they betrayed him and threw him out of Russian court. His curse made each of them pay! But one little girl got away! Little Anya beware, Rasputin’s AWAKE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ocm8QdNR_d8 (embed video please)

In reality:
Rasputin sort of fueled the Russian revolution, but saying that he was directly responsible for the Romanov’s fate is a pretty huge stretch. Rasputin came into the Romanov’s lives because he was a “holy man” who the Tsarina believed could cure Alexei’s hemophilia. Was he holy? I don’t know. He was definitely a pretty strange guy, though. He was allowed access to the royal family that a lot of nobles were very uncomfortable with— especially since he was a drunk womanizer who didn’t bathe. Eventually, a group of nobles coaxed Rasputin out of his house, and murdered him, because his creep level had just gotten way too high. The royal family never betrayed him, and they continued to secretly love and miss him after he was gone.

In the movie:
Bartok

http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/13700000/BARTOK-bartok-13795363-640-480.jpg

In reality:
Zero Bartoks

http://static1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111102193718/donbluth/images/c/cd/Anastasia-anastasia-764062_780_435.jpg

Here’s the thing though— if the Anastasia movie, no matter how inaccurate, makes people interested in Russian history? Makes them turn to Google and read up? Then it’s AWESOME. It’s sort of like a My First History lesson, which eases you into the whole thing by way of catchy songs and a charming love story. Plus, the songs, guys. HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE THE SONGS?

Yep. This movie rocks.

TSARINA Synopsis:

Imperial Russia swirls with rebellion.

The Reds are gaining ground, and the loyal Whites struggle to hold Saint Petersburg. But Natalya isn’t afraid. Wrapped in fur and tucked inside her lavish home, she feels safe. Alexei Romanov, heir to the Russian throne and her first love, has told her a secret: Hidden within the Winter Palace lies a Faberge Egg enchanted by the mystic Rasputin. With it, the Romanovs will never fall from power. The Reds will never take the country. And one day, Alexei will ascend the throne and Natalya will be beside him— the tsarina of Russia.

But when the Reds raid the Winter Palace, the egg vanishes and the Romanovs are captured. Natalya must find the egg to save Alexei, her way of life, and her royal future. To do so, she’s forced to ally herself with the enemy— a young Red named Leo who wants the egg for his own purposes. But as they brave a war-battered landscape of snow and magic, Natalya realizes that the world isn’t as simple as it seemed back in Saint Petersburg. Nothing– not friends, not politics, and not love– are as clear as Red and White.

About J. Nelle Patrick:

J. Nelle Patrick is the pseduonym for twenty-nine year old Jackson Pearce. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with a slightly cross-eyed cat and a lot of secondhand furniture. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and a minor in Philosophy. She auditioned for the circus once, but didn’t make it; other jobs she’s had include obituaries writer, biker bar waitress, and receptionist. She currently coaches a winterguard at a local high school.

Jackson began writing when she got angry that the school librarian couldn’t tell her of a book that contained a smart girl, horses, baby animals, and magic. Her solution was to write the book herself when she was twelve. Her parents thought it was cute at first, but have grown steadily more concerned for her ever since.

Jackson is also the author of a series of retold fairytales.