Did the 17-year-old Anastasia survive the massacre of the Russian Royal family in 1917? Over the years, the possibility that she, the youngest of the Tsar's four daughters, might have escaped, and the universal longing to salvage some thread of hope from the tragedy, has provided a rich spawning ground for claimants. This story is centred on the best-known of those claimants, Anna Anderson, and the bizarre coterie of supporters who assembled around her - a motley group of doomed souls, the 'Romanov Pilgrims', who risked life and limb, and often all their savings, in a devoted attempt to will the Tsar and his family back to life. But who was Anna Anderson - and how did she manage to convince so many people that she was the real Anastasia? A Romanov Fantasy is a compelling eerie and frequently hilarious study of discipleship, snobbery and life after death.