"We Were Five:" The Dionne Quintuplets' Story From Birth Through Girlhood to Womanhood

by James Brough, Annette Dionne, Cecile Dionne

When they were three days old, their father offered them to the Chicago World's Fair as an exhibit.

Appalled, the Canadian government made them wards of the crown and installed them in an elaborate nursery, especially built and staffed, across from the bleak frame house in which they were born.

The Dionnes were offended and bitter. "If you find a gold mine," a man close to the family complained, "the government doesn't take it away from you."

Seven years later, having worn down their guardians by his ceaseless petitioning, their father regained control. "We were transferred into the Big House like a conquered army - one group of five clinging together as if for protection...." Their six brothers and sisters were hostile, the parents tight-lipped and restrictive....

"We Were Five" is the hitherto untold story of the Dionne quintuplets, from birth through childhood to womanhood: what went on behind the scenes of the front-page emotional binge and the years of grist for Sunday supplements that gave the world an image of five cherished little princesses.

The true story has the dark atmosphere and emotional pull of Victorian tales of children secretly tyrannized, of desperate efforts to escape, of flights to a convent, of secret courtships (the Quintuplets were taught that there was not the remotest possibility of their ever marrying), of hidden conflicts of will. It has, under the circumstances, a remarkably happy ending.

What is most extraordinary is this: out of their strange girlhood the five sisters - princesses, freaks-on-exhibit, fought-over commercial properties, lonely orphans in the heart of a big family - miraculously developed into young women of individuality and courage. Annette, Cécile, Yvonne and Marie recall the incredible events of their lives, the people who exploited them, and the people who befriended them, without illusion and with remarkable charity. Their story is unique and wholly fascinating.

To James Brough, for the perception and grace with which he has set down their story, Annette, Cécile, Yvonne and Marie Dionne say, "Dieu vous bénisse."

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, Canada

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

Reviews

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

How could such a unique story be told from any better viewpoint than their own? I call it required reading for anyone interested in their story, if you're able to find a copy to read. I personally have hung on to the used copy I found back in 1985. I hope someday someone writes another comprehensive biography of the Dionnes, especially as this book leaves off in 1964. There was more to their story than was written of then, as well as the tumultuous lives they lived afterwards.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason I previously thought the Dionne quintuplets were born to some minor royalty in Argentina... However, they were born to Canadian dirt poor farmers. Their lavish nursery and extensive staff had been provided by the government as they were made wards of the state after their desperate father gave serious consideration to exhibiting them for profit. Oddly enough, the government themselves came up with ways to exhibit and profit from the quintuplets existence, putting the money garnered into trust funds. Because of this forced removal from the home there was a huge rift between the rest of the family and the Dionne quints that was never really repaired. It made for a difficult and different upbringing for them. This was an interesting read and in the end the remaining quints note that their parents did what they could and what they thought was right out of concern for their well-being not to be mean and that the money and fame changed things. Oddly enough just as I was coming over here to write this review I saw that quintuplet girls had been born in Texas today.

[Catherine Austen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well-written, engaging, and thorough--and what better way to read about the Dionne quintuplets than through their own eyes? I had to get this book through an inter-library loan because it's very hard to come by. (As is any book on the quintuplets, and that in itself is fascinating--that something in the news for decades is forgotten now.) I looked this book up after reading an essay by Maurice Sendak in which he recalled how important the Dionnes were to people during the depression, like five little angels rising above a world of bad news, and every bit of good news about their "miraculous" birth and survival was gobbled up like cake. This book is the inside view of that news-churning miracle. It's a sadder story from the inside. A look at how money and fame can alter a poor family and an entire community.

It's interesting history, quite horrifying in a way, and it's remarkable to read how thoughtful and not embittered these women are about their childhood; they really do seem to see the many sides of their story and while their sadness over being objectified in some ways is palpable, they don't paint anyone as villainous and they are clearly grateful for all the happiness and comforts they had because of their remarkable birth, while equally clear on the costs of those comforts. There were, I guess, many rumours about the family, and this book sets them to rest. (I was born the year this book was published, so I didn't know of any rumours to be set straight. Still, I found the whole story interesting.)

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

one of the books i was inspired to read after reading out of the dust. (theres a quick mentions of the quints birth). hard to believe the life these girls had, how their mother was able to keep having babies, and how much better their life truly should have been.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was all right. I was interested in the story, having read a short news story earlier. I have to say the book itself didn't really grab my attention, though, and I skimmed large parts of it.

[Joanne B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was ok. The story of the Dionne Quintuplets is intriguing, however I could not "get into" this book. Made it through to the end, but not with much enthusiasm.

[Clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first became aware of this book when reading The Miracle and Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets, and it was really interesting to hear things from the Dionne quintuplets' perspective (or rather the four quintuplets surviving at this time; Émilie passed away about a decade before this was written). I found the information on their early adulthood the most interesting, since there were details included here about areas of their lives that I'd had a hard time finding information about online. On the other hand, there were subject areas avoided here where I was able to fill in some gaps based on information revealed later, particularly around abuse by the quintuplets' father.

CW: sibling death, exploitation, maniuplation

[Priscilla Herrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember the Dionne Quintuplets from my childhood. Although the initial excitement had died down, I remember occasional pictures of them as they were growing up, and I remember when Emilie died. But over the years they seemed to fade out of existence.

Of course, once in a while their story surfaces - especially in antique shops where Dionne Quintuplet memorabilia still sells - photos, coloring books, paper dolls, etc. And then recently I read Louise Penny's "How the Light Gets In" which featured the murder of the last surviving Canadian quintuplet. While not actually the Dionnes, Penny clearly based it somewhat on their story - and this piqued my curiosity about the famous sisters.

"We Were Five" was written in 1963; Annette, Cecile, Marie and Yvonne Dionne told their story to James Brough. At the time their parents were both living, as well as their brothers, sisters and other relatives. They seemed to skirt issues they may have had with their parents, emphasizing that they didn't want to hurt anyone, and that as children they could not possibly understand what their parents were feeling. Of course, they also note, their parents seemed to have no idea how they felt.

It seems, after reading this account, that there was more to their story than what appears on these pages. I look forward to reading their more recent book.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was inspired to read this book after reading the fictionalized version "Quintland." With the advances in fertility treatments, multiple births are fairly common these days. It is quite amazing to think about this happening in 1934. Some of what happened is shocking, (the stalking by reporters, the fighting about money and custody.) But this was all new territory to those involved. While the quints resent a lot of what happened, their parents had to do something to come up with the money to raise such a large family. (There were already five older children.) The book itself was rather dry and hard to read. I felt too much of it was spent discussing money and business deals. And if the girls had any happy memories, they didn't include them in this book. The overwhelming sense of bitterness made this a pretty depressing read.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 perhaps, were halfstars a thing!

I'm Canadian, and most of us know about the Dionne Quintuplets (Of whom there are two left, Annette and Cecile, soon to celebrate their 87th birthdays). I'd never read this book they'd written themselves (With the exception of Emilie who passed away at 20), and it was definitely an interesting and heartbreaking read. I think a lot of people assume it was horrible and clinical living in the Nursery for them, but it was all these girls ever knew and they looked fondly back on their time there. It was definitely horrible to read how sheltered and controlled they all were by their family, they barely knew what to do when they became adults and even now the two remaining women still suffer a great deal. They were all treated horribly by everyone involved, and this book is a definite must read for anyone interested in their story.

[Christine Delles hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very eye opening about what theses girls, my relatives went through.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a well done memoir written in the voice of the famous Dionne quintuplets. Very thought provoking. After reading it, I couldn't help looking up old online newsreels of them as children.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written in the 1960s, this book needed a bit more of an introduction to explain the narrator. I believe the narrator was supposed to be from a combination of this for living sisters that were depicted in the story. The other Missing Link was that there was not a representation of the parents pinions what was described and happened. However it is an interesting story and a sad story of a community's response to an unusual live birth of five days without the aid of a neonatal Intensive Care Unit without knowledge of the expected number of babies being born ahead of time as we would currently be aware of in most cases.

[John Nondorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been intrigued by the phenomenon of the Dionne Quintuplets. Such a strange and oddly durable form of celebrity! While I don't think anyone who knows about the Dionnes today has any illusions about what their lives were really like, this book, written by the four sisters who survived in 1963 with James Brough, tells what went on "behind the curtain" so to speak, and how the women struggled to be individuals rather than a collective and a commodity.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading some more recent articles about the Dionne sisters, I'm even more sad. What a great deal of struggle and hardness they had to endure as a result of the choices their parents and the Canadian government made. We see modern stories of children exploited in social media and reality tv by their parents, but things were every bit as bad for these ladies born 90 years ago.

[Ev · Rating 3 out of 5]

No mention in this account of the reported sexual abuse the girls endured from their father and a brother. I guess it's better hey never knew what freedoms other children their age enjoyed. They were so objectified and commercialized.

[Jennifer]

DNF @ Page 84

[Lisa Tangen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very enlightening and sad in many respects. I wasn't old enough to remember when the quints were very popular. I saw a movie short on TV recently showing the hundreds of thousands of visitors that came to watch them play in the backyard when they were babies. Stunning. my husband and I stumbled onto this book at a flea market shortly after that so i was intrigued to learn more. a funny passage was the description of their mom explaining the birds and the bees "she sat herself in a rocking chair with a marriage manual open on your lap it was a distressing duty she would not allow herself to shirk. She carefully read to us what the author had to say and that was sum total of instruction. We had as little desire to ask any questions than she would have had to answer them." for a woman who had 12 or more children i think it's rather funny she wouldn't talk about this part of life. times have changed a lot in the last 70 years. The last chapter was very encouraging. You can tell they learned a lot from their experience growing up and had made lives they were fairly comfortable in by the time they had their own children. they can share a lot of wisdom with other families who have had multiple births.