The inviting design and layout of this 10 1/4 x 10 1/4" biography of Anastasia Romanov, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, features dozens of photographs of the young grand duchess and her family throughout the volume. Samplings of Anastasia's accomplished artistic efforts also grace many pages. Hugh Brewster writes of Anastasia and her family with an eye on the everyday aspects of these highly privileged individuals' lives, but does not ignore the political overtones that led to their ultimate tragedy. Excerpts from her letters to teachers and friends serve to bring this portrait of Anastasia into even sharper focus, while mention of the questions that still surround her death may send intrigued readers in search of additional information. (Ages 10-13)

Shielded from St Petersburg society, the last tsar's four daughters enjoyed a simple life of almost cloudless happiness. Their evenings were spent with their parents, reading aloud and pasting snapshots into albums. Drawing on these precious personal keepsakes - long hidden in Russian archives - this work offers a glimpse into the intimate family life of the last Romanovs. Illustrated in scrapbook style with Anastasia's own letters, photographs and watercolours, this album brings the youngest of the tsar's daughters to life - a tomboy who scrambled up snowy mountains to sled down on a silver tray. Letters from Anastasia's final heartbreaking days in captivity show that even the filthy conditions and the brutal treatment of her revolutionary jailers could not shake her faith.