This engrossing fictionalised diary of Anastasia Romanov, the doomed daughter of Tsar Nicholas, chronicles the last seven years of the Russian royal family, beginning with Anastasia’s 10th birthday in 1911. It breathes life and detail into the bare facts of history, illuminating, for instance, Anastasia’s mother’s dangerous dependence on Rasputin, the mystic and holy man, for the sake of her haemophiliac son Alexis. Anastasia emerges as spirited, energetic and aware, like the rest of her family, of the responsibilities that go with her position. Neither spoilt nor self-indulgent, the royal children do chores, go to church, visit the poor and work hard to deserve the love of their subjects. Unfortunately, good behaviour does not mitigate the effects of political change in Russia. Anastasia and her family endure increasingly constrained circumstances, and our knowledge of the ending of the story makes their optimism and stoicism poignant. The postscript, which records the fate of characters we have come to know and identify with, is no less shocking and painful in its brutality for being expected. Take care that the children who read it are able to stand it

(Short Books £7.99). NJ

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