- Anna, how did it happen that you became a “biographer of the British court”, as they call you in the press?
- Accidentally!
It all started when I wrote a book about Princess Diana 27 years ago.
My book about Wallis Simpson was published two years ago.
Examining their lives, I realized that since the abdication of Edward VIII, the way monarchs rule in the Windsor dynasty has hardly changed.
Recently, while preparing publications about Meghan Markle for British publications and her relationship with Prince Harry, I noticed how some events in the life of the British court repeat themselves.
- Your book “Lara. The untold love story that inspired the creation of Doctor Zhivago was a great success. You are the grand-niece of Boris Pasternak. Olga Ivinskaya, and in this book we are talking about her, as you know, the family was not too fond of. Why did you decide to tell her story?
- I decided to write about Olga Ivinskaya, because I instinctively felt that our family treated her unfairly.
At 22, I tried to ask my grandmother Josephine (Boris Pasternak's sister) about Olga.
Grandmother spoke of her with strange disdain.
Even the mention of Olga was so unpleasant to her that her grandmother called her exclusively "this seductress", but not by her name.
Boris Pasternak and Olga Ivinskaya
© coollib.com
In my family, which was distinguished by strong moral foundations, they could not come to terms with the fact that Boris had two marriages, and then a mistress, with whom he did not hide the connection.
Therefore, Olga was discredited in my family.
The more I thought about her and studied her history, the clearer I realized that her role in Boris's life was key.
I was the first biographer to declare that if it had not been for Olga Ivinskaya, the novel Doctor Zhivago would have never been completed or published. For me, she was the main character in this whole story.
However, neither her nor her daughter Irina was really accepted in my family.
It took me five years to convince Irina to talk to me.
Since I am from the Pasternak family, she treated me with great caution, believing that I intend to defame her mother.
After reading the finished version of the book, Irina sent me an email that moved me to tears.
According to her, "if her mother was alive now, she would sincerely love me, because we are incredibly close in spirit."
Irina warmly thanked me for restoring Olga's good name.
I am proud that I have corrected the injustice on the part of the older generations of my family and elevated Olga to the place in the life and legacy of Boris Pasternak that is truly due to her.
- Was that your first book?
- No, in 1994 I wrote the book "Princess Love" - about the relationship between Princess Diana and Major James Hewitt.
What is noteworthy, even then I wrote the truth about a woman in whom the public did not want to believe - in part, it was the same with Wallis Simpson and Olga Ivinskaya.
© From personal archive
- It was from her that you switched to the historiography of the royal court? Does the Wallis Simpson story seem to you similar to the fate of Olga Ivinskaya?
- After the book about Olga Ivinskaya, in which, according to critics, I restored the good name of a woman offended by the story, I realized that for the rest of my life I would like to rehabilitate women whom history has misrepresented.
I decided to write about Wallis Simpson while watching the TV series "The Crown", drawing attention to the inaccurate reading of her image.
I am very glad that I have carried out my plan, because the Wallis that I discovered for myself had nothing to do with the myth that has developed around her personality for the last eighty years.
Plus, it was an amazing experience.
I take the opportunity to restore justice as an honor.
Wallis Simpson and Edward
globallookpress.com
© Daily Herald Archive / NMeM
- Was the book about Diana written during the life of the princess?
- Yes, my book was published in 1994, and Diana died in 1997.
- How did the members of the royal family react to the letters published in it?
- Diana's letters to James Hewitt were not published in full due to the need to respect copyright.
I read them all and then weaved their content into the text of the book.
- One gets the impression that you decided to devote your life to the rehabilitation of women who contributed to history, but were not very well received by their contemporaries. This is true?
- Quite right.
This is the decision I have made and I find great joy in it.
The main difficulty is to choose the heroine of the next book.
Since I am very deeply attached to the women I write about, and I need to sincerely sympathize with them and their difficult situation, in the process of studying the topic and writing a book to spend at least two years with them, I should be extremely careful in my choice.
I haven't found my third heroine yet.
I have already had several unsuccessful attempts when, in the course of research, I realized that a woman does not cause me such strong sympathy that I undertook to defend her name in my book.
- Now in the center of your attention is Meghan Markle?
“Only in the way that her story echoes that of Wallis Simpson - both were divorced American women who married members of the British royal family, and the consequences were dramatic.
But that's where the similarities end.
Wallis Simpson had a lot more dignity, loyalty to the Crown, and sophistication than Meghan Markle.
The Duchess of Windsor had a much harder time than Meghan because of the royal family, but she never complained about it or sought revenge.
Unlike Megan, who never stops complaining about how she feels she has been treated unfairly.
- Recently, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle gave an interview to Oprah Winfrey. Many noted the similarity of Meghan Markle's tone to the interview Princess Diana gave to Martin Bashir for the November 20, 1995 Panorama special. Didn't you think so?
- Not.
I think Meghan would have liked people to think she looked like Diana, but Diana would never have shown such disrespect for the institution of monarchy in which her sons were born.
princess diana
globallookpress.com
© Jean-Louis Atlan - Pool via CNP
In Panorama, Diana was completely sincere, while Megan's way of speaking was artificial.
- Have you thought about writing a book about the fate of Meghan Markle?
- I do not write a book about Megan, and I have no such desire.
I do not see in her a sufficiently complex, heroic or interesting figure.
- Have you met her?
- No, but some of my friends - yes.
And one friend was at her wedding.
- Did you have the opportunity to chat with someone from the royal family?
- Yes, I met the Duke and Duchess of York, who were extremely friendly to me.
I am also friends with some of the Queen's younger relatives.
Anna Pasternak is reporting in front of Buckingham Palace.
© From personal archive
- On April 9, it became known about the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. What do you think of him and would it be interesting for you to study his biography? It seems to me that he is a very interesting person, given how widely his statements were discussed in the media.
- I was very saddened by the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.
With his death, an entire era passes away.
He was an exceptional man who was confident enough in himself to put the Queen and her country above himself, without feeling infringed upon his dignity.
He was honest with himself, he was an amazing visionary, pioneer and modernizer.
He knew how to look ahead and at the same time honor traditions.
His dedication to service and duty is something that younger royals who are fixated on themselves and their image should learn from.
I do not want to write his biography, because he does not need rehabilitation, and the reaction of people to his death is proof of this.
History has treated him well.
The grief that overwhelms the UK and the rest of the world is a testament to our gratitude for everything he had to sacrifice in his career and personal life to support the Queen.
- Initially, this was not part of my plans, however, while the interview was being prepared, another date came up, April 21, the 95th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. What can you say about her as a key figure in the royal court? Are you thinking about writing her biography?
“The queen is an example of what a monarch should be.
Hence the great concern for her and sympathy for her, which we see in connection with the death of her husband.
For her, duty always comes first, which is why we admire her.
I don’t want to write a biography of her because she doesn’t need rehabilitation, but it would be interesting to see if someone would try to reveal her emotional side.
She was always courageous and restrained, never revealed too much, and therefore it was interesting to know her personal sides: her fears, weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
But I'm not sure that such an emotional revelation about this outstanding woman is even possible.
- Now you are more involved in writing, as I understand it. However, you have many years of journalistic experience. Do you still write for publications?
- Yes, I still regularly write for the British and American press, and at times for the Russian version of Tatler magazine.
I currently write mainly for The Telegraph and Tatler magazine.
- You have both journalism and novels. What is closer to you?
- Certainly, journalism.
I don’t have the talents of a novelist like my great-uncle's.
I really enjoy doing research for nonfiction books.
- How many books have you published in total? How much is translated into Russian? How much work?
- In total, I have published four books, two of them have been translated into Russian: "Princess Love" and "Lara".
"Lara" is now going through a long process of film or television adaptation, and I really hope that as a result the project will be shown in Russia.
- I found another book of yours in Russian translation - "Daisy Dawley's Diary".
- Wow!
I didn’t know that it was translated into Russian.
I wish I could get a copy in Russian.
It was a humorous embellished tale of my first short marriage.
Anna Pasternak with her husband Andrew Wallace.
© From personal archive
- Your husband is a psychotherapist. Does he help you understand the characters of your heroines?
- Sure.
He helped me understand the many emotional aspects of human behavior and why our behavior is so heavily driven by the unconscious.
He gives me tremendous support in my work.
- Do you speak Russian?
- Alas, I don't speak Russian.
I would like to be bilingual, but when my grandmother left Russia in 1922 and began to live in Germany, she no longer spoke Russian at home.
My father spoke German fluently since childhood.
I studied Russian at school, but you cannot call me a talented linguist.
Most of all I regret that I do not speak Russian fluently.
I would really like that.
- What is your daughter interested in?
- My daughter is very interested in acting.
Hopefully, if the film "Lara" is released on the screens, she will play in it.
I think she would be ideal for the role of a young nurse who gave Boris love letters from Olga when he was dying in Peredelkino.
The end of the book seems so touching to me ...
Anna Pasternak with her daughter Daisy.
© Photo by Andrew Crowley
- Could you tell us more about this character - about the young nurse?
- Sixteen-year-old nurse Marina Rassokhina was very devoted to Boris Pasternak. First, she looked after him in a hospital in Moscow, and then went to Peredelkino, where she took care of him along with an older and more experienced nurse, Martha Kuzminichna, when he was already on his deathbed. Since the doctor ordered Boris to rest, and he did not have access to writing materials, Marina, who did not even dare to give him a stub of a pencil from his bedside table, conveyed his messages to Olga. After the shifts, Marina met with Olga somewhere far from the family dacha in order to convey Boris's words of love to her. Both Olga and her daughter Irina were very grateful to this kind nurse, who, in their words, "always smiled." Marina understood the delicate nature of relations in the family of Boris, because he was in the family house with his second wife,while his adored Olga was not allowed to see him. All the nurses simply adored Boris, but, of course, he treated Marina with particular warmth.
During a trip to Moscow to Eugene, the son of Boris Pasternak and his wife Elena on the 53rd wedding anniversary.
The photo was taken in their Moscow apartment on February 24, 2010.
© From personal archive
- Do you visit Russia? Would you be interested to visit some places, show your daughter?
- I have been to Russia five times when I did research for my book Lara: twice with my husband, and once with my daughter.
She was delighted with Moscow and the trip to Peredelkino.
She also liked the caviar, and for breakfast she began to eat eggs and caviar!
We really liked the Moscow Museum-Estate of Tolstoy, and our daughter liked Faberge eggs in Moscow and the beautiful metro.
We have so many good memories of Russia, and as soon as the pandemic is over, I look forward to visiting it again.
In my heart I feel like a Russian, so for me this is a kind of returning home.