Olga Woronoff dedicated Upheaval to her daughter, I’m dedicating the 2nd edition to my sons

First published in 1932, my grandmother dedicated her memoir, Upheaval to her daughter and only child, Tatiana, who was also my mother.

After at least six years of research, the 2^nd edition of Upheaval will be launched in only a few days time, on October 15 at 7pm AEDT, please join us here. I am also dedicating this edition to my children, my three sons who while, interested in their family history, prefer to leave the research to me.

The photo above featured in a review of Upheaval by Kay Mott, published in The Great Neck News on 22 July 1932. The review begins with an explanation of Olga’s dedication,

“A desire to picture for her daughter the Russia which has gone forever turned Mme Paul Woronoff into an author. Upheaval, her account of life at the Russian court and her own experiences of the revolution came into being so that Tatiana, the Woronoff’s small daughter, born in their exile in Nice, France might have a vivid picture of their former life.”

My mother would have been around 10 years of age at the time Upheaval was published, which is around the age of my grandsons now.

I hope that by reading this 2^nd edition of Upheaval, my children and my grandchildren and maybe even my great-grandchildren, will understand the richness of their heritage and appreciate the courage and resilience of their ancestors. If Paul and Olga Woronoff had not survived the conflicts which reeked havoc on their homeland, none of us would exist now. It’s a sobering thought.

I have, of course, read the original Upheaval many times and each time I find something new in my grandmother’s story. The interesting part for me was the research involved in fact checking Olga’s memories. I came up against several brick walls and other barriers such as language. Fortunately I had the assistance of Russian researchers and historians, but even so not all of my questions were answered. Why were there conflicting versions about the fate of my great uncle’s body? Who was the man on the boat with my grandparents as they cruised down the Kuban River?

The day I found my grandmother’s diary written in 1919 was particularly exciting. Here was an even more personal account of their time in the south of Russia during the Civil War than  Olga’s descriptions in Upheaval. So many little things that Olga mentioned in her diary added extra flavour to the matter of fact descriptions in her memoir. Who knew that during a war there would still be access to concerts and theatrical performances? I certainly didn’t. There were also some amusing observations, like the dejection Olga felt when their cook resigned. I think the inclusion of this diary in the 2^nd edition of Upheaval will give readers a more rounded account of this time in history.

If you would like to know more about Upheaval, or you would like to ask me questions about my research, please join me at the launch, the link can be found here and it will be recorded.