In 1967 Robert K. Massie published his magnificent Nicholas and Alexandra, a biography of the last Tsar and Empress of Russia. That book was for me, like many others, a transformative experience, leading to a lifelong interest in Russian history and royal biography. At the time Massie wrote the Cold War still raged and there was little chance that anything more would ever be known about the final days and resting place of the Imperial Family.

Then in the 1990s came the end of the Cold War and the beginning of DNA research. With the Soviet Union dead and buried, researchers began to probe the area around Ekaterinburg, trying to discover the last remains of the Romanovs. Bodies were discovered which appeared to be those of the last Tsar and his family and servants, but proof was needed. Massie does an excellent job describing the search for and discovery of the remains, and then outdoes himself in clearly and comprehensively describing the technicalities of DNA reseach. Samples were taken from living relatives of the Romanovs, and DNA matches were made with five of the recovered bodies. The servants who died with the Romanovs were also identified, but the Tsar's only son Alexis and one of his younger daughters remained missing.

Massie describes these events clearly and concisely. He also includes an interesting section dealing with the Romanov relatives and their family feud over who is and who is not entitled to call themselves a Romanov. While this work does not have the same emotional reach of Nicholas and Alexandra, it still fascinates.

In 2007 two bodies were discovered near Ekaterinburg which appear to be those of Alexis and his missing sister. Once their identity is definitely established and the two bodies are allowed to join their parents and siblings in their new, more appropriate resting place in St. Petersburg, I hope that Massie will provide us with a new, absolutely final chapter in the Romanov saga.

This is a very interesting book (of course Robert Massie is a great writer and historian) but it is very out of date. At the end of the book, a final resting place had not been determined for the remains of Tsar Nicholas and his family (they are now buried in St. Petersburg in the Peter and Paul Fortress with the rest of the tsars who followed Peter the Great). Also, the remains of the Tsar's son and heir Alexis had not been found and one of the daughters was missing. Now these remains have been found. Would be great to have a new edition with updated events and information.

In this book, the author totally convinces the reader that the Romanovs were indeed murdered and their bones positively identified through scientific means. The author also proves to the reader that Anna Anderson, who posed as the duchess Anastasia, was an impostor. There is also some interesting information on living Romanov heirs who believe that the monarchy will be reestablished in Russia. I would recommend this book to those interested in Russian history.

This book begins with the execution of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family.
From there the author recounts the latter-day effort, abetted by DNA testing, to find and identify the remains of the victims. And he discusses at great length the women, particularly the one known as Anna Anderson, who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, the Tsar's youngest daughter. The remains of the Tsar's son and one daughter, whose identity is disputed, were never found -- hence the Anastasia legend.
This is a true-life mystery story in the finest tradition. My only quibble is that significant portions of this work first appeared in the New Yorker magazine, where they obviously were subjected to that publication's procrustean editing process. Other portions of the book escaped the condescending, self-conscious editing that characterizes so much of the New Yorker's non-fiction. There is one author but two styles. See whether you can detect the dividing line.

This is a book you expected Massie to write.....since Nicholas & Alexandra was written in (I think) 1969, an update since 1991 was critical. It gives you an idea what was being discovered in DNA research and proving the bones found were who they were. Its a book a Romanov observer should have, or at least read to glean the information from. Worth it, for sure.

Massie is a master historian and storyteller, and this book is nearly impossible to put down. Though reading Massie's prequel, 'Nicholas and Alexandra', is not essential to understandng 'The Romanovs: The Final Chapter', it is highy recommended. Beginning with the murder of the Romanov family, then moving to the discovery and exhumation of their remains, forensic and DNA analysis and the ensuing religious and political debate over their disposition and burial, Massie weaves an accurate historical narrative that reads like the finest detective thriller. Throughout, he carefully explains-in laymen's terminology-basic aspects of genetics, DNA analysis and forensic medicine. The true identity of 'Anastasia' claimant Anna Anderson is finally revealed in this book through a careful analysis of her life and the historical and genetic evidence. A wonderful read, and extremely informative-highly recommended!

This is the so-called "sequel" to Robert Massie's masterpiece "Nicholas and Alexandra." It is an excellent book about the imprisonment and murder of Russia's last Tsar and his family. If you want to learn about this important event in Russian History, please do not waste your time with Greg King and Penny Wilson's "The Fate of the Romanovs." This book, "The Romanovs: The Final Chapter" by Robert Massie is the book you should read. It also dives into the myth of Anna Anderson and proves she was a fraud.

This is a very good book, but I think it is somewhat dated. The first part of the book is clearly about the discovery of the Yurovsky Note and the Romanov bones. However, I never was fond of the way Massie accepts the Yurovsky Note as fact. How ironic in his previous book, he took everything in the Sokolov report as fact. He certainly seems to have not an ounce of doubt in Dr. Gill's work. I think in addition to this, you should also read Shay McNeal's "The Secret Plot to Save the Tsar". It will make you wonder how authentic the 'Romanov' bones really are. These original tests have also since been challenged by a Stanford University team as well as a team of Japanese scientists. For more on the latter, read 'The Fate of the Romanovs' by Penny Wilson and Greg King.
Since this book has been published, the bones have been laid to rest in a cathedral and the family has been canonized by the Orthodox Church.
Most importantly, mtDNA has been proven to be very common amongst people. In fact, 40 of a random 1,000 people have the exact same mtDNA sequence. Therefore, it is very possible the hair and intestinal tissue samples believed to come from Anna Anderson, the most famous Anastasia 'claimant', did not even come from the same people.
I believe Anna Anderson was Anastasia. All those vivid memories which were confirmed by those who had known her as a child, all those recognitions, all those lies used to defraud her, the numerous handwriting analysis, photographic comparisions, and ear comparisons which all came out in her favor. Imposters are never that lucky. It's very possible that the number was simply placed on the wrong block back in 1979. Anderson's body was cremated, so we don't know if these are truly her remains that were tested.

UPDATE: It should be noted that the DNA tests that were originally done on the assumed Romanov bones and most importantly on Anna Anderson are no longer as valid as they were once thought and here's why.

1) The nuclearDNA tests done are obsolete. The 20-point STR method is now in use instead of the 6-point STR method of 1994.

2) mtDNA is no longer accepted in court cases, as simply breathing on or touching a sample can contaminate it. One scientist stated that 50% of samples which are not supposed to give results do.

3) mtDNA is not the discriminating factor it once was. 40 of a random 1,000 people share the same mtDNA profile.

I also don't like when Massie states, 'If, once upon a time, a Polish factory worker in her own mind and the minds of others, became a princess.'

This is ignorant to the real life of Anna Anderson. She never fancied herself a princess nor does he mention the other inconsistencies about the Franziska Schanzkowska identity. Like the fact she was not reported missing until March 9, 1920, that Baroness Von Kleist denied talking to Investigor Knoff who was hired by Ernst Ludwig, and most importantly that Franziska's was several inches taller than Anna Anderson and wore a shoe size 3 sizes bigger.

This is to explain my conviction that Anna Anderson was Anastasia. I think there is something about the DNA we do not know.

The File on the Tsar- 2002 edition... p. 362

'Nearly fifty years ago, Anna Anderson told a story about a sketch she and her sister had put on to amuse their parents during their confinement in Tobolsk. She played a male part, she 'recalled', and and had to borrow a man's dressing-gown. At a pivotal moment in the play, a freak draught made the dressing gown billow up around their thighs, revealing that she was wearing the tsar's long-johns- against the bitter cold of the Siberian winter. The family, said Anna Anderson, had hooted with laughter.
The only witnesses from the imperial household who would have been present at that scene, and who are known to have survived, were the two family tutors-both foreigners. One was the English tutor, Sydney Gibbes, and his memoirs were published for the first time in 1975. They include this account of an incident during amatuer theatricals in Tobolsk.
"The cast," Gibbes wrote, "had its happiest night with an Edwardian farce by Henry Grattan, called 'Packing Up', ... Anastasia took the male part... at the end of the farce the 'Husband' had to turn his back, open his Dressing-gown as if to take it off- Anastasia used an old one of mine... but a draught got under the gown and whisked its tail up to the middle of her back, showing her sturdy legs and bottom encased Emperor Jaguer's underwear...'
So far as exhaustive research can establish, only Anna Anderson had ever before told this vivid ancedote, in private and three decades before the Gibbes memoirs appeared. If Anderson was a phoney, as the seemingly damning DNA evidence now tells us, how did she know the story?
That was one of the myriad puzzles that believers in Anna Anderson had to confront when the scientists delivered their verdict. Ian Lilburn, a research historian and the only observer to attend every session of the "Anastasia" appeal process in the German courts, had a calmer response than some. "I think," he said, knowing he sounded like a Luddite and Romanov flat-earther, " there is something we don't know about the DNA."


Maybe after reading you can understand why some of us don't believe the DNA was Anna Anderson's, and why we don't believe she was the tall, size '39 shoe wearing Franziska Schanzkowska who could not have had such exclusive info if she were an imposter. The chain of custody for the bowel tissue and the hair would NEVER have been acceptable in any court case anywhere.

Robert Massie was the author who best recorded all the discoveries of the Romanovs in 1990's, when at long last the secrets were revealed. However, one fact remains, two bodies are still missing, the bodies of Anastasia and Alexei, and they weren't burned to ashes. "The Fate of the Romanovs" by Greg King and Penny Wilson demonstrates just why and also is the most updated book. Get that one as an update to this one.

Anyone interested in the resolution of the Anastasia controversy must also read Peter Kurth's books: "Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson" (ISBN: 0316507172) and "TSAR: The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra" (ISBN: 0316557889).

Also read Kurth's direct rebuttal to Massie's "Romanovs" at peterkurth.com, specifically http://www.peterkurth.com/ANNA-ANASTASIA%20NOTES%20ON%20FRANZISKA%20SCHANZKOWSKA.htm

Highlights:

1. The DNA test's techniques are so antiquated that they produce many false positives and negatives. These techniques are no longer considered accurate enough to be admissible in U.S. courts.

2. The DNA sample from Anna Anderson was taken from a bit of "her" intestine that -- God knows why -- had been sitting on a shelf at the hospital where she had had surgery years earlier. Where is the "chain of custody" that any legitimate court would require of such evidence? Thus, the sample tested is suspect.

3. The DNA test results that "prove" AA was a blood relative to Polish peasants in fact PROVES THE OPPOSITE. According to Massie's geneology, AA was a PATERNAL blood-relative to these Poles. But the DNA test that was conducted can only trace MATERNAL blood relations. So a POSITIVE DNA test result "proves" a relationship where none could possibly exist, using Massie's own geneology.

None of this proves that Anna Anderson was Anastasia. But it does cast serious doubt on the conclusiveness of the DNA test results that Massie champions, and serious doubt about the accuracy of Massie's book.

Robert Massie has spent execptional amounts of time for over 30 years flaying this dead horse about the Romanvos. He has all ways been dead wrong with any of his "findings".

As any /every one knows, history is a fairy tale, slanted by the winning side. Russians are incapable of telling the truth. The British are not known as exceptionally truthful. There are legions of individuals both directly involved and peripherally involved with the "fate" of the Romanovs, but none will band together and state the facts. TOO, too ridiculous, with Massie acting like Moses coming down from the Mount. Hey, Bob, after all, it is ONLY your version of the facts.

His "research" is sloppy, he relies on dubious sources. He violates all the basic tenets of factual, honest journalism.

By all means, AVOID any and all books with Massie's name on them. Total waste of time, effort, ink, paper and money. He should have quit with "Nicholas & Alexandra", so long ago!