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The Dionnes
A sensitive and candid inside account of the struggles of the Dionne quintuplets, from "million-dollar babies" to impoverished adults, and their ultimate triumph in the battle for compensation after years of exploitation.
In February 1998, a press conference was held by three tired 63-year-old women, who held up a sign that read JUSTICE NOT CHARITY. Eight days later, the Ontario government -- who had ignored the three surviving Dionne quintuplets' pleas for three years -- bowed to public opinion and awarded $4 million to the sisters and to their two nieces, Marie's daughters.
The miracle babies -- to this day the world's only surviving identical quintuplets -- were raised in a compound separated from their family and put on display for thousands of tourists. "Quintland" became a cash cow for the Ontario tourism industry, and many people benefited from the bizarre, micro-managed lifestyle the children were forced to live. As teens they were returned to their family, who were like strangers to the girls. As young adults they turned to convents or to marriage and motherhood, desperate to establish lives of their own. Physical ailments continued to plague them, however, with two sisters dying tragically Emilie at age 20, and Marie at age 35.
In addition to the personal struggles the three sisters candidly relate, The Dionnes recounts the stories of their friends, families, lawyers, supporters, and legions of admirers. It was journalist Ellie Tesher's heartfelt coverage of the sisters' plight that led to a public outcry, ultimately forcing Ontario's Harris government to come up with the money they had pledged not to give. Much more than a rags to riches story, The Dionnes is a tale of humanity and courage, of family feuding and family solidarity, and of the long and painful road to justice.
In February 1998, a press conference was held by three tired 63-year-old women, who held up a sign that read JUSTICE NOT CHARITY. Eight days later, the Ontario government -- who had ignored the three surviving Dionne quintuplets' pleas for three years -- bowed to public opinion and awarded $4 million to the sisters and to their two nieces, Marie's daughters.
The miracle babies -- to this day the world's only surviving identical quintuplets -- were raised in a compound separated from their family and put on display for thousands of tourists. "Quintland" became a cash cow for the Ontario tourism industry, and many people benefited from the bizarre, micro-managed lifestyle the children were forced to live. As teens they were returned to their family, who were like strangers to the girls. As young adults they turned to convents or to marriage and motherhood, desperate to establish lives of their own. Physical ailments continued to plague them, however, with two sisters dying tragically Emilie at age 20, and Marie at age 35.
In addition to the personal struggles the three sisters candidly relate, The Dionnes recounts the stories of their friends, families, lawyers, supporters, and legions of admirers. It was journalist Ellie Tesher's heartfelt coverage of the sisters' plight that led to a public outcry, ultimately forcing Ontario's Harris government to come up with the money they had pledged not to give. Much more than a rags to riches story, The Dionnes is a tale of humanity and courage, of family feuding and family solidarity, and of the long and painful road to justice.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published October 19, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 13, 2025
This book was very engaging but extremely biased and it aged like milk left out in the sun on the hottest day of the year. Written almost 30 years ago there have been changes, one being that there are now only two quintuplets left and those two ladies are the only surviving siblings of the entire Dionne family. The other being Bertrand Langlois being lauded as a hero and ending up as a piece of shit who quite literally took the money and ran.
The story of the Dionnes is horrifically tragic. Five identical girls born on a northern Ontario farm. (glad the author pointed out Northern Ontario begins at North Bay, as a lifelong resident of Northern Ontario I'm sick and tired of Muskkoka being called Northern Ontario so celebrities can feel like they're living in rustic wilderness it's not) The five of them weighed just over 13 pounds combined. They were stolen from their parents and siblings as babies and thrust into the spotlight. Yet their father signing a deal with the World's Fair made him a monster while Dr. Dafoe who led the charge with movie deals, commercials and weird doctors studying them was a hero.
This book describes the girl's unusual childhood and then each one gets their own chapter from around 18 until the then current year 98. Emilie died young due to an illness that went untreated mostly due to superstition on their parents part, at least according to the quints but having lived in the north our access to great health care was limited in my lifetime from the 80s so i can't imagine it being better in the 50s so I'm guessing the truth lies somewhere in between though you would think these childrenwould have betteraccess than most. Marie also died young leaving two daughters but no one quite knows what killed her since almost all of them had epilepsy maybe that was it.. Of the five three married unhappily, though Annette and her husband patched up things and were on friendly terms at leastat the end of this book. Cecile put her kids in foster care. Marie had failed businesses, Yvonne was the one I related to. Never married no children, traveled and enjoyed being alone very reflective. She's someonei would've liked to have met. All five had sad lives but tried to make the best of it and to look on the bright side amazing considering their abusive lives. The book ends as they finally get compensation from Mike, the knife, Harris and a report though not an official inquiry something the surviving women disagreed with. This book reminded me of how many terrible premieres we've had in Ontario over the years Rae, Harris and it didn't get much better after them or beforefor that matter. As mentioned Cecile's son Bertrand is heavily featured here and he comes across as a golden child when we know now he basically abandoned his mother taking the money with him.
Now comes the biased part. While each girl gets their own chapter as they should the one chapter devoted to the Dionne family is biased. I know that they refused to be interviewed for this book and I can see why. The author will say something nice about the family, for instance one of the daughters saying that their parents were kind and loving, then she says in the next paragraph that there was no way she could know any of this. When she talked to and read notes from a historian on the Dionnes history she again points out mistakes saying he went on emotions and heresay instead of facts. I'm sure I could point out the same if I went through her chapters on each of the quints but everything they say is to be believed 100% while everything the other siblings say to counter it needs to be picked apart. Did the quints go through hell? Absolutely, we can prove they experienced emotional and financial abuse and their claims of other abuse do deserve to get heard and for all we know could be true. We weren't there we didn't see it. But she then seems to agree with Therese one of the older siblings when she writes that they wrote their more explosive book Family Secrets because they needed the money. The whole saga is just a mess. She also has scorn for the family for having an ex-wives club where they no longer speak to the spouses who have divorced the brothers. Not sure why they would. If my family member got a divorce especially a contentious one I probably wouldn't speak to their ex either. The fact that Oliva, Elzire and the non quintuplet Dionnes cut people off and don't talk much to outsiders comes from the years of being portrayed as backwards, stupid and unfit to care for their own children. I don't think I'd trust anyone either.
These five girls were failed at every turn. I do agree with the sentiment spoken by all sides that it was the government's doing. If they had been returned home once healthy and strong enough to survive outside the nursery maybe just maybe things might've been better. But nine years of living in isolation and as adored public figures, tourist attractions, almost like zoo animals, bred resentment in those growing up on the outside without the public adoration, toys, money and spoiling, while the quints had their own resentment and hurt and never knowing love and what growing up in a large close knit family was really like. And sadly these resentments on both sides continue to be felt even through the generations. The whole story is tragic and horrifying and a shameful part of Canadian and Ontario history.
The story of the Dionnes is horrifically tragic. Five identical girls born on a northern Ontario farm. (glad the author pointed out Northern Ontario begins at North Bay, as a lifelong resident of Northern Ontario I'm sick and tired of Muskkoka being called Northern Ontario so celebrities can feel like they're living in rustic wilderness it's not) The five of them weighed just over 13 pounds combined. They were stolen from their parents and siblings as babies and thrust into the spotlight. Yet their father signing a deal with the World's Fair made him a monster while Dr. Dafoe who led the charge with movie deals, commercials and weird doctors studying them was a hero.
This book describes the girl's unusual childhood and then each one gets their own chapter from around 18 until the then current year 98. Emilie died young due to an illness that went untreated mostly due to superstition on their parents part, at least according to the quints but having lived in the north our access to great health care was limited in my lifetime from the 80s so i can't imagine it being better in the 50s so I'm guessing the truth lies somewhere in between though you would think these childrenwould have betteraccess than most. Marie also died young leaving two daughters but no one quite knows what killed her since almost all of them had epilepsy maybe that was it.. Of the five three married unhappily, though Annette and her husband patched up things and were on friendly terms at leastat the end of this book. Cecile put her kids in foster care. Marie had failed businesses, Yvonne was the one I related to. Never married no children, traveled and enjoyed being alone very reflective. She's someonei would've liked to have met. All five had sad lives but tried to make the best of it and to look on the bright side amazing considering their abusive lives. The book ends as they finally get compensation from Mike, the knife, Harris and a report though not an official inquiry something the surviving women disagreed with. This book reminded me of how many terrible premieres we've had in Ontario over the years Rae, Harris and it didn't get much better after them or beforefor that matter. As mentioned Cecile's son Bertrand is heavily featured here and he comes across as a golden child when we know now he basically abandoned his mother taking the money with him.
Now comes the biased part. While each girl gets their own chapter as they should the one chapter devoted to the Dionne family is biased. I know that they refused to be interviewed for this book and I can see why. The author will say something nice about the family, for instance one of the daughters saying that their parents were kind and loving, then she says in the next paragraph that there was no way she could know any of this. When she talked to and read notes from a historian on the Dionnes history she again points out mistakes saying he went on emotions and heresay instead of facts. I'm sure I could point out the same if I went through her chapters on each of the quints but everything they say is to be believed 100% while everything the other siblings say to counter it needs to be picked apart. Did the quints go through hell? Absolutely, we can prove they experienced emotional and financial abuse and their claims of other abuse do deserve to get heard and for all we know could be true. We weren't there we didn't see it. But she then seems to agree with Therese one of the older siblings when she writes that they wrote their more explosive book Family Secrets because they needed the money. The whole saga is just a mess. She also has scorn for the family for having an ex-wives club where they no longer speak to the spouses who have divorced the brothers. Not sure why they would. If my family member got a divorce especially a contentious one I probably wouldn't speak to their ex either. The fact that Oliva, Elzire and the non quintuplet Dionnes cut people off and don't talk much to outsiders comes from the years of being portrayed as backwards, stupid and unfit to care for their own children. I don't think I'd trust anyone either.
These five girls were failed at every turn. I do agree with the sentiment spoken by all sides that it was the government's doing. If they had been returned home once healthy and strong enough to survive outside the nursery maybe just maybe things might've been better. But nine years of living in isolation and as adored public figures, tourist attractions, almost like zoo animals, bred resentment in those growing up on the outside without the public adoration, toys, money and spoiling, while the quints had their own resentment and hurt and never knowing love and what growing up in a large close knit family was really like. And sadly these resentments on both sides continue to be felt even through the generations. The whole story is tragic and horrifying and a shameful part of Canadian and Ontario history.
August 23, 2019
I am livid. These women were, and still are, exploited by everyone who was supposed to take care of them. Be aware that the copyright date of this book is 1999, and it paints, if not rosy, a reasonably uplifting end to their struggles. I won't give spoilers (I will make you look it up yourself) but someone who is presented as a hero in this book has since absconded with one of the sister's settlement money and disappeared. Unconscionable. This was well-written, but the content will make you boil. For that reason, I only gave it 3 stars because I really wasn't prepared for the staggering magnitude of the injustice these women have endured their ENTIRE LIVES.
July 23, 2023
This is a very good account of a tragic, true story. Even if one is not familiar with the Dionne quintuplets, there is a great deal to learn from this book. There is no sensationalism here. These are the facts, as heartbreaking as they may be.
May 2, 2018
Storie from up north !
May 22, 2019
A good attempt at an even handed account of the Dionne Quintuplet's lives. Very sad
Want to read
December 5, 2025Recommended by Shelley Wood, author of Quintland Sisters
February 26, 2016
I loved how this book did not rehash stuff from the prior books, but referred you back to them. It showed the indignity that the surviving quints faced and how they didn't want to ask for money but they were forced by circumstances to demand at least a portion of what had been stolen from them over the years by gross mismanagement of their supposed "trust" fund. So much wrong was done to them both by the government and their parents, and even their siblings. I hope that they find the peace and security that has alluded them in their remaining years.
July 13, 2010
Interesting history about the Dionne quintuplets and what happened to them in later years. I think there are three surviving sisters today.
January 1, 2024
A tragic story.
Read
December 8, 2012ehh.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews