From the author of The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets and The Borden Murders comes the absorbing and compulsively readable story of Violet and Daisy Hilton, conjoined twins who were the sensation of the US sideshow circuits in the 1920s and 1930s.
On February 5, 1908, Kate Skinner, a 21-year-old unmarried barmaid in Brighton, England, gave birth to twin girls. They each had ten fingers and ten toes, but were joined back to back at the base of the spine. Freaks, monsters--that's what they were called. Mary Hilton, Kate's employer and midwife, adopted Violet and Daisy and promptly began displaying the babies as "Brighton's United Twins." Exhibitions at street fairs, carnivals, and wax museums across England and Scotland followed. At 8 years old, the girls came to the United States, eventually becoming the stars of sideshow, vaudeville, and burlesque circuits in the 1920s and 1930s.
In a story loaded with questions about identity and exploitation, Sarah Miller delivers a completely compelling, empathetic portrait of two sisters whose bonds were so sacred that nothing — not even death— would compel Violet and Daisy to break them.
About the Author
Sarah Miller is the author of The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets, which received four starred reviews, and The Borden Murders, a School Library Journal Best Book and an ALA-YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. She is also the author of two historical fiction novels for young adults, Miss Spitfire- Reaching Helen Keller and The Lost Crown, about the Romanovs, both ALA-YALSA Best Books for Young Adults.
In addition to her work for young readers, she is the author of the USA Today-bestselling Caroline- Little House, Revisited, which was named a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, among other accolades. Visit her on the web at sarahmillerbooks.com or on Facebook at @SarahMillerwritesbooks.
