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referred to as tsaritsa in Russian; tsarina , familiar to some readers, does not exist in the Russian language. Their son and heir, Alexei, was properly titled tsesarevich , while Anastasia and her sisters were grand duchesses , meant to convey a higher rank than mere European princesses. Russians use two names: a Christian name, and a patronymic, derived from his or her father. The masculine form takes the father’s name and adds - vich to the ending, indicating “son of.” Nicholas II was thus Nicholas Alexandrovich—son of Alexander. The feminine form adds - evna or - ovna to the end of the father’s Christian name; Anastasia was thus Anastasia Nikolaievna, daughter of Nicholas. With no disrespect, we have tried to escape, as much as possible, the often cumbersome and repetitious use of titles and, after initially introducing them in the pages of the book, have simply referred to many of the Russian actors in the Anna Anderson drama using their Christian names and patronymics. Readers may find it beneficial to refer to the cast of characters as an aid to keep names and relationships in order.
    In transliterating Russian names, we have followed the Library of Congress system, with some exceptions. Christian names—and those names familiar to English-speaking readers—have been rendered in English: thus we have Nicholas rather than Nikolai, and Tchaikovsky in place of the unfamiliar Chaikovskii. But a whole host of issues arise in a book such as this, which begins in Russia and takes readers through Germany and to modern Poland, not the least of which is consistency in spelling. We have tried to obey German rules of grammar and spelling when dealing with a sometimes mind-boggling galaxy of witnesses, interested parties, and Romanov relatives in the Anderson case, but haven’t attempted to cloak everything in an accurate veil; instead of referring to Empress Alexandra’s brother Ernst Ludwig as grand duke von Hesse und bei Rhein—his correct German title—we’ve gone with the simpler grand duke of Hesse. Certain inconsistent spellings and usages, especially among Anna Anderson’s relatives, are documented and explained in the notes rather than in the actual text.
    In Russia, before the Revolution, the Julian calendar was in use; in the twentieth century, this lagged thirteen days behind the Gregorian calendar, used in the West. We have given dates according to the Gregorian calendar, but noted the use, in letters, of the Julian calendar by including the reference OS (for Old Style).

Acknowledgments
    The poor, unfortunate friends and family of those of us who call ourselves authors have to endure absences, preoccupation, missed birthdays and holidays, and other turns of fate that can seem inexplicable, egregious, and dangerously selfish as we labor over laptops and try to reconcile gut instinct when telling a story with demonstrable fact. They put up with it all, and deserve to be noted.
    For twenty-five years, Christopher Kinsman has been a true and constant friend; Penny Wilson thanks him for his longtime interest and support, and looks forward to many more Friday nights sinking beers at the Yardhouse or the Falconer. Penny Wilson works at Riverside City Gym in Riverside, California, the best little gym in the Inland Empire. Over the past few years, the staff there has undertaken extra hours and extra duties to accommodate the writing and research schedule of the resident author. For their unswerving support, Penny thanks Arthur Bruckler, Greg English, Carlos Mata, Tom Mishler, and Ed Gardner; the Perez family: Emilio Sr., Maricela, and Emilio Jr.; Wellington Porter, Madeline Pruett, Josh Sweeten, Cousin James, Tommy Gutierrez, and Allison Wondolleck. Special thanks to Jennifer Hawkins, who is never less than a complete inspiration. Penny also thanks members of City Gym who have given kind words and encouragement, including David Armstrong, Dr. Ron Bailey, Carlos and Laurel Cortes, David Edgin, Tom Foley,