“Maria cries unashamedly on my shoulder while I whisper and pet her cheek, but Anastasia grips my other hand and stares fiercely back at our Alexander Palace with her wet blue eyes until it is no more than a lemon-colored speck against the sunrise.” HomeSadnessRussiaRussian RevolutionAnastasiaTsar Nicholas IiOtmaThe Romanovs Book:The Lost Crown Source: The Lost Crown
“The pair of us are like salt and sugar: such different flavors, but so close in every other way you could never sort us apart once we're together.” LoveFriendshipRoyaltyBest FriendsAnastasiaRomanovThe Lost Crown Book:The Lost Crown Source: The Lost Crown
“I wish I wasn't an imperial highness or an ex-grand duchess. I'm sick of people doing things to me because of what I am. Girl-in-white-dress. Short-one-with-fringe. Daughter-of-the-tsar. Child-of-the-ex-tyrant. I want people to look and see me, Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova, not the caboose on a train of grand duchesses. Someday, I promise myself, no one will be able to hear my name or look at my picture and suppose they know all about me. Someday I will do something bigger than what I am.” LifeInspirationalSelfRussiaRoyaltyRussian RevolutionAnastasiaRomanovsOtmaTsar Nicholas Book:The Lost Crown Source: The Lost Crown
“I have been wrong to hide my temper so completely. All this time I have been inadvertently teaching my girls that goodness is the absence of faults. An unattainable goal that can only lead to a lifetime of discouragement. Effortless virtue is a fairy tale, so far as I can tell. The honor is in the struggle.” CharacterVirtue Book:Marmee Source: Marmee
“I'll pretend, I tell myself. Pretending is safer than believing.” WarRussiaPretendingBelievingRussian RevolutionAnastasiaTsar Nicholas IiRomanovsOtma Book:The Lost Crown Source: The Lost Crown
“It's different now, like pushing the stop lever on my camera until nothing except the war can squeeze through the lens.” WarRussiaRussian RevolutionAnastasiaRomanovsOtmaTsar Nicholas Book:The Lost Crown Source: The Lost Crown
“My sisters and I sit together on a pair of suitcases. If we've forgotten anything, it's already too late -- our rooms have all been sealed and photographed. Anyway, Tatiana would say it's bad luck to return for something you've forgotten.” WarRussiaExileTravelingRussian RevolutionAnastasiaTsar Nicholas IiRomanovsOtma Book:The Lost Crown Source: The Lost Crown
“Waking up every day and remembering Papa's gone to the front is like biting into a bonbon with nothing in the center.” SadDescriptive Book:Marmee Source: Marmee
“We should be used to it," Tatiana reasons. "There have always been lines separating us from the rest of the world, whether they were satin ribbons or iron rails.” RussiaRoyaltyRussian RevolutionRomanovsOtmaTsar Nicholas Book:The Lost Crown Source: The Lost Crown