Until today it didn’t dawn on me that I am writing a memoir which could be termed historical. In my mind, my manuscript could be memoir or biography or autobiography or even creative non-fiction, but more than that, I haven’t thought about. My manuscript begins with the death of my
I’ve always been fascinated with family history. The genealogy of both sides of my family interests me but it is the history and the stories which arouse my curiosity. I am always searching for the unique stories of my ancestors, the stories which explain their way of life and the
Either late on the night of 16 July, or early in the morning of 17 July 1918, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife the Empress Alexandra, their four daughters; Olga, Tatiana, Marie and Anastasia, and the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei, were ordered to dress and go down to the
With the 100th anniversary of the death of the Romanovs approaching next month, my thoughts have been more and more on the Russian side of my family; my mother’s family. My grandmother’s family were Russian aristocrats. As a young lady, she became a Maid of Honour to the Empress Alexandra
We are all stories. Our stories are woven from the stories of our parents, our grandparents and so on through our ancestral trail. Some of our stories are more complex than others, their narratives ducking and weaving across and around war and trauma and flight. Some of our stories are
Last year, around Anzac Day, I discovered this article written by Minna Muhlen. As I read it I felt such relief, relief at finding someone else in Australia who is potentially struggling with the same emotions as I am. I debated with myself for quite a while, should I contact