美国国家公共电台 NPR How A Famous Fraud Brought A Kind Of Hope In 'I Was Anastasia'

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The narrator of Ariel Lawhon's new novel asked readers on the first page...

ARIEL LAWHON: (Reading) Am I truly Anastasia Romanov - a beloved daughter, a revered¹ icon², a Russian grand duchess? Or am I an impostor - a fraud, a liar³, the thief of another woman's legacy⁴? That is for you to decide, of course.

SIMON: Ariel Lawhon joins us from WPLN in Nashville. She's the author of acclaimed⁵ historical fiction that includes "Flight Of Dreams." Her new novel "I Was Anastasia" is a kind of dual⁶ biography that imagines the story of what led up to the execution of Russia's royal family, including the Princess Anastasia, by the Bolsheviks in 1918 and another woman known as Anna Anderson who threw herself off a bridge in Berlin in 1920, survived and convinced many people - most of whom wanted to be convinced - that she was the surviving Romanov daughter. Was she? Ariel Lawhon, thanks so much for being with us.

LAWHON: Thank you for having me.

SIMON: To avoid a deluge⁷ of emails, there is no doubt - especially in these days of scientific testing - what happened to the Princess Anastasia, is there?

LAWHON: There's not. And that actually creates the first dilemma⁸ when you're writing a novel about the Romanovs - when everyone knows how the story ends. So how do you make it different and new and interesting? So for me, actually, that was part of the appeal in writing the novel. How can I take a story where everyone knows the end but keep them connected to it regardless?

SIMON: I particularly admire the sections you write of the Romanovs, between the time where they're essentially⁹ made prisoner in one of their homes to the fate I won't detail. And they certainly witness chilling cruelty from the Bolsheviks even before their exile to Siberia. But you have a scene where Kerensky, the Bolshevik leader, reminds them that - let's put it this way - they're not like the royal family that we see in "The Crown," are they?

LAWHON: No, the Tsar and his wife were a very imperfect people who had ruled imperfectly and caused a great deal of distress¹⁰ and suffering in their own country. And Tsar Nicholas the II, in particular, he was the last monarch¹¹ in this 300-year dynasty. And you can argue that he brought the whole thing crashing down.

SIMON: Yeah, at one point, he says, look, we did nothing. And Kerensky says to him, well, that's kind of the point.

LAWHON: Yeah, yeah.

SIMON: And let me ask you about about Anna Anderson. What made her so convincing to so many people - perhaps even herself?

LAWHON: Well, you know, it's funny. You and I look at this story through the lens of history, and we have the benefit of hindsight. But her contemporaries did not have that. They didn't have DNA¹² science. All they had was a woman who stood in front of them who bore a very striking resemblance to Anastasia Romanov and who was claiming to be this woman. And she had information that only the Romanovs had. She had supporters that were close to the Romanov family - many of their friends, some of their relatives.

And I think, to be honest, there is an element at which people wanted to believe. They wanted to believe that this really tragic¹³ horrible story could have a happy ending. And that's a really powerful thing. And you can argue various ways when you look at the research whether she used that on purpose or whether she was trying to give people what they wanted. There's a lot of room to explore there. There's a lot of opportunity to create a character on the pages of a book that's complex and hard to trust. But you also want to root for her as well.

SIMON: It's remarkable¹⁴ how much suspense¹⁵ you managed to work into the final scenes of Romanovs. Are these details widely reported? How much did you use literary license¹⁶?

LAWHON: I try as hard as I can to stay as close to historical fact as possible. Usually when I am building my own story, it's within the cracks of what we know for sure. So those scenes at the end that - they were incredibly well-documented. Those details were taken from my biographies. They were taken from letters and affidavits¹⁷ written by the soldiers who took part in that execution. And it was really hard to write.

That's one of the things that surprises me with every novel - is I will pick a subject, and I will approach it really methodically. I research it. I plan everything out. And I will kind of look at a thing that's coming. In this case, it was the execution of the Romanovs. With my last novel, it was the destruction of the Hindenburg - you know, these moments that you can kind of look at from a distance and go, oh, I can do that. I can get that on paper. But then there comes a day where you actually have to sit down at your desk and do it. And that is always far more dramatic than I think it will be.

SIMON: Because?

LAWHON: Because it's hard to write - and it's true, and it happened. And if you are making something up entirely¹⁸, you kind of can always fall back on the, oh, it's just a story. It didn't really happen. I'm just making this up. But for what I do, it's not just a story. It's history, and it really happened. And to bring the full emotional impact of a story to fruition, you have to write it.

You asked earlier, I think, why Anna Anderson's story - you know, why we wanted to believe her. I do think so much of it goes back to there were children involved. There were four daughters and one son. The oldest of those children was 21 years old. They were innocent. They shouldn't have been there in the first place. And they were lost in this really horrific, really tragic way.

And what Anna Anderson gave our culture - really the world-wide culture - was an opening, the possibility, the chance that one of them made it out. She kind of cracked that door open for hope. And when you think of those girls, and you think of Alexei facing that end, it's really hard to wrap your mind around who could do that to a child. Anna Anderson comes along and says maybe one of them made it.

SIMON: Ariel Lawhon - her novel, "I Was Anastasia." Thanks so much for being with us.

LAWHON: Thank you for having me. It was wonderful.

1 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

2 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

3 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

6 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

7 deluge   

n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥

参考例句：

• This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候，这条小溪能变作洪流。
• I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。

8 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

11 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

12 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

13 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

14 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

15 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

16 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

17 affidavits   

n.宣誓书，（经陈述者宣誓在法律上可采作证据的）书面陈述( affidavit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The woman offered written affidavits proving that she was the widow of Pancho Villa. 这女人提供书面证书，证明自己是庞科·比亚的遗孀。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The appeal was adjourned for affidavits to be obtained. 为获得宣誓证明书，上诉被推迟。 来自口语例句

18 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。