What inspired you to write your memoir?
Actually, it was my great-great uncle, Aron Simanovitch, who wrote the memoir in the late 1920s. I edited and translated it into English with footnotes for historical context. Simanovitch was secretary and friend to Grigory Rasputin for a decade. He felt that Rasputin had been misunderstood and he was disturbed by the falsehoods that had been spread by the nobility and clergy who worked hard to discredit Rasputin. In the years following Rasputin’s murder, many of these lies were further exaggerated into a demonic image by authors and filmmakers. Simanovitch had witnessed Rasputin’s numerous acts of kindness and generosity, and knew his ideas for social equality. He wrote his memoirs about his time with Rasputin in the interest of justice for his friend, so that history would not record him in a negative light.
I was motivated to translate and publish the memoirs in English because, apparently, no one listened to Aron and the myths grew greater every decade. So, I felt it my duty and joy to carry on the effort of vindicating a man who has been maligned for a century, much to the satisfaction of Rasputin’s great-great granddaughter and Simanovitch’s granddaughter who remain friends today.
Aron Simanovitch first published his memoirs in Russian (1928), in French (1930), and they were subsequently translated into Spanish, German and Hebrew. Now the memoirs are available, for the first time, in English.
About your Book:
Aron Simanovitch’s memoirs offer an intimate view of his friend, Grigory Rasputin. Simanovitch reveals Rasputin’s progressive ideas for social and economic reform that outraged the nobility. In the process, he paints a Peyton Place image of early twentieth century Petersburg society, with its plots, gossip and intrigues. But, more importantly, his revelations about Rasputin’s humanitarianism lend a three-dimensional view to this controversial figure of Russian history.
How did you decide how to publish your book and where is it published through:
Years ago, when I finished the first draft of the translation, an editor at an academic publishing house was interested in the manuscript and gave me guidance with regard to subsequent drafts. By the time I had finished the manuscript, he had retired and the new editor was not interested. Not wanting to wait months or years for responses, I simply self-published through CreateSpace, as I did with my more academic book on Rasputin (“Rasputin and The Jews: A Reversal of History”).
“RASPUTIN: The Memoirs of His Secretary” is available on Amazon, in paperback and on Kindle.
How do you see writing a Memoir as different from writing other genres of books?
I can only speak about translating the memoir. Initially, it seemed easier than writing a book from scratch. The characters, plot, setting and words were all there already. However, it was poorly organized and often redundant, so I had to eliminate repetition and re-organize his material into logical themes, all the while keeping the work in Simanovitch’s voice. He also referred to events and people that were within his recent history (and part of the pop culture of his time), but not as familiar to people today. To be thorough, I had to research and footnote these to be understood by today’s reader, as well as for historical accuracy. What seemed so easy and simple, initially, turned out to be much harder than writing my own words, in my own voice.
Author Bio:
I am a freelance researcher, writer and editor who has lived up and down both U.S. coasts, currently residing in the Pacific Northwest U.S.
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