Rubies in the Snow

From her diary, Anastasia appears to be an ordinary – if privileged – child; she and her brother and sisters entertain and annoy each other, they endure lessons, visit relatives and love their idyllic summer holidays. But Grand duchess Anastasia Nicolaevna is the youngest daughter of Russia's ruling Romanov family and she lives in extraordinary times. She's unaware of the earth-shattering social and political changes fracturing Russia and the world beyond her circumscribed life but history inevitably intrudes, bringing her diary to a sudden, violent end.

This is an approachable introduction to the Romanov's story. The Anastasia this fictional diary portrays is attractive – a bright, chatty child, blamelessly caught up in the tide of world history.