'Today is my birthday. I'm ten. It's also the first day of this diary, a present from Papa and Mama . . .' It is June, 1911. Ten year-old Anastasia is, in many respects, an ordinary sort of girl. But she has been born into the Romanov family, who have ruled Russia for centuries - a family whose world is about to shatter . . .
Anastasia lives life as a whirl of parties, strawberry ice and skating on the palace lake. Irreverent and charming, she is the naughty one of the family: she quarrels with her brother and sisters, she's atrocious at spelling and loves practical jokes - her father calls her 'the imp'.
But if this seems like a fairytale, it isn't. For Anastasia's beloved Russia is a country in turmoil. And the common people are no longer enchanted by their princess.
