Anna Pasternak: Difference between revisions

In 2016, Pasternak published a biography of [[Boris Pasternak]] and his mistress, [[Olga Ivinskaya]], titled ''Lara: The Untold Love Story That Inspired Doctor Zhivago''. The book achieved huge critical acclaim and was serialised in American Vogue.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pasternak |first=Anna |title=From Russia with Love: A Grand Passion {{!}} Vogue {{!}} DECEMBER 2016 |url=https://archive.vogue.com/article/2016/12/01/from-russia-with-love-a-grand-passion |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=Vogue {{!}} The Complete Archive |language=en-US}}</ref> [[The Sunday Times]] noted it was "a meticulously researched book."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Julia Llewellyn |date=2023-09-26 |title=Lessons in love and defiance from Diana and Doctor Zhivago |newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lessons-in-love-and-defiance-from-diana-and-doctor-zhivago-q89b8ckxn |access-date=2023-09-26 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> [[Shelf Awareness]] said "Pasternak seems to have inherited her great-uncle's talent. She writes with an intimate and lyrical simplicity that perfectly catches the volatile moods and emotions and torn allegiances of one of the literary world's most compelling love stories."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shelf Awareness for Readers for Friday, February 3, 2017 |url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/readers-issue.html?issue=580 |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=www.shelf-awareness.com}}</ref> [[NPR]] observed, "With its overview of Russian history in the mid-20th century, including the privations of World War II, the abominations of Stalin's Great Terror, and Khruschev's insufficient thaw, Lara is a chilling, upsetting reminder of what can happen when free speech is curtailed."<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |title=In 'Lara,' The True Story Of Pasternak's Muse And Mistress |website=NPR |date=25 January 2017 |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/01/25/510816406/in-lara-the-true-story-of-pasternaks-muse-and-mistress|last1=McAlpin |first1=Heller }}</ref> [[The Observer]] claimed, "It’s a story with enough romance and suffering to make a moving novel or film in its own right."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Scholes |first=Lucy |date=2016-09-18 |title=Lara: The Untold Love Story That Inspired Doctor Zhivago – review |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/18/lara-anna-pasternak-review-the-untold-love-story-that-inspired-doctor-zhivago-olga-ivinskaya-boris |access-date=2023-12-08 |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> [[Evening Standard|The Evening Standard]] said "It’s a gripping if sad chapter in history and she tells it well."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Law |first=Katie |date=2016-08-18 |title=Lara: The Untold Love Story that Inspired Doctor Zhivago - review |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/books/lara-the-untold-love-story-that-inspired-doctor-zhivago-review-a3324056.html |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=Evening Standard |language=en}}</ref> [[O, The Oprah Magazine|O Magazine]] asserted, "Drawing on memoirs, histories and interviews, she has produced a fascinating and often heartbreaking double portrait. Her book, which proceeds as suspensefully as a criminal investigation, is a testament to the profound bond between writer and muse."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pasternak |first=Anna |title=Lara |url=https://www.oprah.com/book/lara |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Oprah.com}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' claimed that "the 'untold' in the subtitle simply isn't true" because "the story of Pasternak's affair with Olga has been told repeatedly."<ref>{{cite news |title=Pasternak's Muse: The Real-Life Inspiration for 'Doctor Zhivago' |newspaper=The New York Times |date=27 January 2017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/books/review/lara-untold-love-story-doctor-zhivago-anna-pasternak.html|last1=Pinkham |first1=Sophie }}</ref>

 

 

In the same year, Pasternak published a book about [[Wallis Simpson]]'s affair with [[Edward VIII]], titled ''The American Duchess'', the ''Real Wallis Simpson''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The American Duchess: The Real Wallis Simpson |url=https://www.williamcollinsbooks.co.uk/products/the-american-duchess-the-real-wallis-simpson-anna-pasternak-9780008297329/ |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=William Collins |language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Kirkus Reviews]] wrote that "Pasternak offers a variety of thought-provoking arguments and a host of intriguing insights into a misunderstood woman."<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/anna-pasternak/the-real-wallis-simpson/ |title=THE REAL WALLIS SIMPSON {{!}} Kirkus Reviews |language=en}}</ref> [[The Observer]] said, "Anna Pasternak’s empathetic study of Wallis attempts to redress the balance and emphasises her intelligence, independence and unwillingness to ruin the life of the man she loved."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Larman |first=Alexander |date=2019-03-24 |title=In brief: Untitled: The Real Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor; The King's Evil; Circe – reviews |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/mar/24/books-in-brief-wallis-simpson-kings-evil-circe-madeline-miller |access-date=2023-12-01 |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> Booklist noted, "Pasternak's mission here, accomplished with style and discernment, is to give appropriate balance to how history has proffered Mrs Simpson's character and motives and recorded her role in the abdication crisis. What Pasternak poignantly reveals is that both the King and Mrs Simpson demonstrated incredible naivete about the consequences of their marriage."<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.booklistonline.com/The-Real-Wallis-Simpson-A-New-History-of-the-American-Divorc-e-Who-Became-the-Duchess-of-Windsor-By-Anna-Pasternak/pid=9713031 |title=Real Wallis Simpson: A New History of the American Divorcée Who Became the Duchess of Windsor, by By Anna Pasternak. {{!}} Booklist Online}}</ref> [[The Times]] observed, "What makes the book unputdownable is Pasternak’s lively and detailed (and thankfully not Mills & Boonsy) retelling of this ever-fascinating, ridiculously poignant love story."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Graham |first=Ysenda Maxtone |date=2023-12-01 |title=Untitled: The Real Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor by Anna Pasternak review — learning to love Wallis Simpson |newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/untitled-the-real-wallis-simpson-duchess-of-windsor-by-anna-pasternak-review-learning-to-love-wallis-simpson-n2bg7hj3p |access-date=2023-12-01 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> whilst in contrast, [[The Telegraph (London)|''The Telegraph'']] said, "This Mills & Boon-ish mess might be the worst biography of Wallis Simpson ever written."<ref name="auto1">{{cite news |title=This Mills & Boon-ish mess might be the worst biography of Wallis Simpson ever written |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=4 March 2019 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/mills-boon-ish-mess-might-worst-biography-wallis-simpson-ever/|last1=Heffer |first1=Simon }}</ref> The Gotham Group closed a rights deal for ''The American Duchess: The Real Wallis Simpson'' by New York Times-bestselling author Anna Pasternak in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=2020-04-02 |title=Gotham Group To Develop Film On Scandalous Socialite Wallis Simpson Based On Anna Pasternak Book 'The American Duchess' |url=https://deadline.com/2020/04/wallis-simpson-movie-gotham-group-anna-pasternak-book-the-american-duchess-1202899136/ |access-date=2023-12-01 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>