“A historical novel that will enthrall you… I was utterly captivated…” — Joanna Goodman, author of The Home for Unwanted Girls
AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
For fans of Sold on a Monday or The Home for Unwanted Girls, Shelley Wood’s novel tells the story of the Dionne Quintuplets, the world’s first identical quintuplets to survive birth, told from the perspective of a midwife in training who … quintuplets to survive birth, told from the perspective of a midwife in training who helps bring them into the world.
Reluctant midwife Emma Trimpany is just 17 when she assists at the harrowing birth of the Dionne quintuplets: five tiny miracles born to French farmers in hardscrabble Northern Ontario in 1934. Emma cares for them through their perilous first days and when the government decides to remove the babies from their francophone parents, making them wards of the British king, Emma signs on as their nurse.
Over 6,000 daily visitors come to ogle the identical “Quints” playing in their custom-built playground; at the height of the Great Depression, the tourism and advertising dollars pour in. While the rest of the world delights in their sameness, Emma sees each girl as unique: Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Marie, and Émilie. With her quirky eye for detail, Emma records every strange twist of events in her private journals.
As the fight over custody and revenues turns increasingly explosive, Emma is torn between the fishbowl sanctuary of Quintland and the wider world, now teetering on the brink of war. Steeped in research, The Quintland Sisters is a novel of love, heartache, resilience, and enduring sisterhood—a fictional, coming-of-age story bound up in one of the strangest true tales of the past century.
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Exploitation gone wild__everyone made money except the babies. Sickening.
A well-written book with a sympathetic main character. The first several chapters describing the birth of the quintuplets and the care they needed during their first year of life were utterly captivating.
About a third of the way in, the gray undercurrents of the story became apparent and I found that while the story was still very interesting, I didn’t always want to go back to it. A quick read of the Wikipedia entry on the Quints confirmed that there were indeed some unhappy turns ahead. The historical information was well-woven within a fictional account of the life of one of the Quints’ nurses. The tale was quite compelling and rather eye-opening, the writing was good, but it is not a book that I am planning on reading again.
I learned about the family and enjoyed the way it was portrayed.
A look into the lives of the set of quintuplets whose miraculous birth in the 1930’s became a worldwide spectacle. Historical facts mixed with a bit of fiction keep you riveted right to the end.
Very interesting story of the life of these sisters. Enjoyed this book!
Interesting story about the people involved in the lives of the Quints from their birth to the death of the first one many years later. The main character, a nurse, and a local tells it from her point of view. I was very disappointed in the ending though. I felt like it didn’t have one.
I NEVER HEARD OF THESE QUINTS AND HOW AMAZING THAT THE GOVERNMENT TOOK OVER THEIR LIVES
True story; sad in so many ways.
Sad
Somewhere in the back of our minds, we all probably remember hearing about the Dionne quintuplets – the first full set of quintuplets to survive past birth. But I doubt many know their names or anything at all about them. Did you even know that there are only two surviving Dionne quintuplets today?
I had no idea that that quintuplets lived their first decade of life as “animals in a zoo”. They were confined within a “hospital” built across the road from the house they were born in and where the rest of their family lived.
The story is told from the perspective of a young woman who was with them at the moment of their birth and continued to live with the girls for several years. Emma Trimpany, aged 17, was pushed into midwifery by her mother with the Dionnes being her first – and only – client. She was present for the harrowing birth of Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Marie, and Émilie. The quintuplets were born to a French-Canadian couple who already had five children. Due to the uniqueness of the situation, the Canadian government made the babies wards of the British king. Hired to care for them were Dr. Dafoe, who delivered the babies and is credited for their survival, and a small staff of nurses which included Emma who kept a detailed journal on the girls.
It is estimated that each day there were over 6000 visitors come to view the babies at “Quintland”, as the “hospital” came to be known. They were a commercial entity bringing in millions of dollars to the Canadian government and advertising companies. Much was made of the girls being identical, but what makes this book so interesting is the focus on the uniqueness of each girl. “One loves bumblebees and bath time; one loves thunderstorms but is scared of the dark; one for whom the only thing better than building sand castles is getting to knock them all down; one who loves to finger-paint and knows how to tie her shoes; one who hates beets but is not the least bit squeamish about blood.”
I felt sickened to read of the battles regarding custody and the products the girls may have used, such as which company’s corn syrup they first used. But my heart was warmed by the efforts made by some of the nurses to protect the girls from their celebrity and the greedy power struggles that surrounded them. I enjoyed the scenes describing the children as typical little mischief makers and moments of tenderness.
It is obvious that Wood did extensive research in preparation for writing her book. She includes several archived newspaper articles from the Toronto Star. She also weaves in a couple of love stories. The writing was superb and I loved the book until the train scene toward the end. What??!! Was VERY disappointed.