In December 1963, Speller & Sons were contacted by Michael Goleniewski, a former Polish army officer who, for some years, had claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia's brother, the Tsarevich Alexei. A meeting was arranged between the two claimants, which took place at the publisher's New York offices on December 31, 1963. As recorded by Anna Anderson's biographer, the late James Blair Lovell, "the two imposters tearfully embraced and affirmed one another's authenticity". Although they later planned to collaborate on a memoir, the alleged siblings subsequently had a falling out. In 1965, Smith denounced Goleniewski as a fraud, although he reportedly remained convinced that she was his sister.
