The Secrets behind the 2nd Edition of Upheaval, my grandmother’s memoir

If you have ever wondered why I wanted to update my grandmother’s memoir, this post will explain all.

When my father died in 2012 I inherited many documents, letters and photographs which were relevant to both sides of my family. For a couple of years they languished in boxes in my home. One day, most likely because I was procrastinating about cleaning, I decided to see what treasures the boxes held. Little did I know I was about to dive head first down a rabbit hole, one of the many I would plunge into as I researched my maternal family.

In the first box I opened I unpacked copies of my grandmother’s memoir, Upheaval and of course I sat down to reread it. It had been many years since I had read her book and I was surprised at how much I had forgotten. It was either that evening, or perhaps the next day, I Googled the names of my maternal grandparents and that was when surprise turned to shock.

I had had absolutely no idea that my grandfather, Paul Woronoff, was one of the “crushes” of Grand Duchess Olga, eldest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia.

Of course I knew my grandfather had been in the Russian navy, and I had seen the photos of him with the young Tsarevitch and the Grand Duchesses, but I knew nothing about the rumours which were still being debated about online.

I have always enjoyed research and the world of academia, so I began again to read my grandmother’s memoir in more detail, checking facts, names and dates, and I discovered several discrepancies. Then, in another box, I found a diary my grandmother had written in 1919, the last full year my grandparents were in Russia. Of course it was handwritten, in Russian, so I had to get it translated. When I received the translation, I realised my grandmother had left so much information out of her memoir that I was certain readers would find interesting.

So the 2^nd edition of Upheaval began to take shape. Along the way I discovered my grandmother had corresponded with the Grand Duchesses and that the State Archives of Russia (GARF) had their correspondence on file. I received copies of these letters from others and also applied to GARF to be able to include them in my manuscript, which they gave me permission to do.

It took several years, and the assistance of Russian researchers, to put the 2^nd edition together.  Along the way I was constantly diverted by other titbits of information about my family, which were all fascinating but not all relevant to the memoir. Such is the life of a family historian!

Currently the 2^nd edition of Upheaval is being polished for publication in October this year. It will be published by Downingfield Press who have been fantastic with explaining every step along the way. I never realised the enormity of the process of publishing!

It will be wonderful to finally see my project in published form and I hope readers will enjoy following the story as much as I enjoyed researching it.