WOW. Thank you for this. I've long been curious to know your post-Anastasia reflections but I would never have been so rude as to ask you any questions. Looking forward to the followup(s)! By the way: This is the first time in, oh, 50 years that I've heard anybody refer to The Borrowers. I read all five of them, loved them, have never forgotten them.
Dear Peter, I read this with the same sense of longing and tragedy, not merely for and about Mrs Anderson's story but my 15 year waltz as biographer of Olga Ilyin, only to have her wrenched away by family members from me just as I signed a contract for the book. I sold off most of my Russian library; couldn't read about Russia or listen to Russian music for years, the pain was so deep and awful. So close and yet... it was not to be. Looking forward to your memoirs. - Grant
So good to hear from you again, Peter. Please continue. I still have my autographed, messaged copy of Anastasia on my bookshelf. It has followed me since the beginning of our friendship in Paris. When I first read abt the DNA results of the “supposed” Anastasia, I wondered abt; no, craved to know your thoughts. Thank you for finally sharing. And sweetheart, I know in my heart you still believe. I don’t blame you one bit. And I believe what you believe!!!!!! You are the deepest, most thorough researcher I know and a great writer. 💕
WOW. Thank you for this. I've long been curious to know your post-Anastasia reflections but I would never have been so rude as to ask you any questions. Looking forward to the followup(s)! By the way: This is the first time in, oh, 50 years that I've heard anybody refer to The Borrowers. I read all five of them, loved them, have never forgotten them.
Dear Peter, I read this with the same sense of longing and tragedy, not merely for and about Mrs Anderson's story but my 15 year waltz as biographer of Olga Ilyin, only to have her wrenched away by family members from me just as I signed a contract for the book. I sold off most of my Russian library; couldn't read about Russia or listen to Russian music for years, the pain was so deep and awful. So close and yet... it was not to be. Looking forward to your memoirs. - Grant
Thank you Gräntchen, this means a lot. xo
A pleasure to read you as to know you and, of course, to love you, Petrushka. Just tried my hand at memoirs about others in my life (Bill: https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/staging-emily-dickinson-the-history-and-enduring-influence-of-william-luces-the-belle-of-amherst-2189265 and my late dog, Freddie: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/animal-emotions/202310/freddies-rollercoaster-journey-puppy-mill-to-loving-home) - now looking at one about me, specifically during the summer of my 8th birthday in 1972, when my mother entered a mental hospital, my grandmother assured me it was OK to be gay, and I stopped praying to wake up as a girl and learnt to love the fact I was a boy who loved other boys. We'll see if I can pull it off.
I am hoping that writing about this makes you float electric, gliding over a surface of stone and ice.
So good to hear from you again, Peter. Please continue. I still have my autographed, messaged copy of Anastasia on my bookshelf. It has followed me since the beginning of our friendship in Paris. When I first read abt the DNA results of the “supposed” Anastasia, I wondered abt; no, craved to know your thoughts. Thank you for finally sharing. And sweetheart, I know in my heart you still believe. I don’t blame you one bit. And I believe what you believe!!!!!! You are the deepest, most thorough researcher I know and a great writer. 💕