Violet & Daisy: The Story of Vaudeville's Famous Conjoined Twins

by Sarah Miller

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.

Violet and Daisy. They were as sweet and pretty as their names would suggest, the pair of them as alike as two flower buds on a single stem. They were also joined, back-to-back, at the base of their spine.

Freaks, monsters -- that's what conjoined twins were called in 1908. And so their mother abandoned Violet and Daisy to the care of her midwife, who immediately put the babies on exhibition in the back room of her pub, embarking on a course of blatant exploitation that would range from the Brighton seashore to Australian amusement parks, American sideshows, and eventually to the most phenomenal success in vaudeville's history.

But Violet and Daisy were more than just an exhibit, of course. They were two distinct individuals with remarkably harmonious personalities: Violet thoughtful yet candid, Daisy impulsive and easygoing. Above all, they were sisters.

In a story packed to the brim with questions about individuality, identity, and exploitation, Sarah Miller delivers an engrossing, compassionate portrait of two sisters whose bonds were so sacred that nothing -- not even death -- would compel Violet and Daisy to break them.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Family, Memoir, Audiobook, Disability

320 pages, Hardcover

Published April 27, 2021

About the author

Sarah Miller began writing her first novel at the age of ten, and has spent the last two decades working in libraries and bookstores. She is the author of two previous historical novels, Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller, and The Lost Crown. Her nonfiction debut, The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century, was hailed by the New York Times as "a historical version of Law & Order." She lives in Michigan.

Reviews

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Violet and Daisy is such an intriguing story. The twins were born conjoined in 1908. I felt drawn to the story because it was hard to fathom how young children could be treated so cruelly. The girls were adopted by Mary Hilton and used as a way of making money. At the time Circus Shows and Freak Shows were an accepted as entertainment to show off different or disabled people. The girls become enormously popular when Myer Myers takes over their act. He decides to display them as beautiful girls to come and see. They travel all over the world. He makes an enormous amount of money off them, yet each is given very little of the money. So, these girls who grow into young women have always had to preform and were exploited their entire childhood. This was quite sad.

Fortunately, Violet and Daisy are smart and realize they deserve to be free of this. The story covers their entire lives. They are able to become free of people exploiting them and are in charge of themselves. Both Violet and Daisy always wanted to remain conjoined and could never imagine being apart. They have different personalities, so different friends and also date. They continue to do appearances and shows. The bond between the sisters in quite unique and it is obvious each feels so much love for the other. This was heart warming to know that they were able to live a functional life and enjoy it. It was impossible for them to ever imagine being apart.

So, I recommend this to readers who like to understand how being different does not have to mean unhappy or dysfunctional. These women figured out how to make life work perfectly for them even though conjoined. It was an amazing story from the harsh days of childhood all the way up until the end of their lives.

Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Miller, and Random House Children’s Publishing for a copy of this book.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Violet and Daisy is such an intriguing story. The twins were born conjoined in 1908. I felt drawn to the story because it was hard to fathom how young children could be treated so cruelly. The girls were adopted by Mary Hilton and used as a way of making money. At the time Circus Shows and Freak Shows were accepted as entertainment to show off different or disabled people. The girls become enormously popular when Myer Myers takes over their act. He decides to display them as beautiful girls to come and see. They travel all over the world. He makes an enormous amount of money off them, yet each is given very little of the money. So, these girls who grow into young women have always had to preform and were exploited their entire childhood. This was quite sad.

Fortunately, Violet and Daisy are smart and realize they deserve to be free of this. The story covers their entire lives. They are able to become free of people exploiting them and are in charge of themselves. Both Violet and Daisy always wanted to remain conjoined and could never imagine being apart. They have different personalities, so different friends and also date. They continue to do appearances and shows. The bond between the sisters in quite unique and it is obvious each feels so much love for the other. This was heart warming to know that they were able to live a functional life and enjoy it. It was impossible for them to ever imagine being apart.

So, I recommend this to readers who like to understand how being different does not have to mean unhappy or dysfunctional. These women figured out how to make life work perfectly for them even though conjoined. It was an amazing story from the harsh days of childhood all the way up until the end of their lives.

Thank you NetGalley, Sarah Miller, and Random House Children’s Publishing for a copy of this book.

[Leslie Goddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not an easy read but I’m glad I read it, for two reasons. First, Sarah Miller is such a thoughtful researcher, and given that the Hilton sisters (and the newspapers of the day) were not always reliable, that’s helpful to sort through all the variations in what was said. Miller is so good at sorting out things like how the public viewed them (as freaks whose lives would be infinitely better if they were separated) and how they viewed themselves (as partners who did not want to be separated). She has a deft touch with discussing the benefits that came to them from being joined for life.

But second, this book I s a powerful reminder that exploiting people in their youth — stealing their labor, manipulating them, keeping them imprisoned literally and/or figuratively — is no small crime.

I read this book at about the same time as Never Caught, Erica Armstrong Dunbar’s biography of George Washington’s enslaved woman Ona Judge. Something Dunbar said about Judge applies to the Hilton’s as well. We want this story to be a victory, and in some ways it is because in both cases the heroine/s achieve a life of self-determination. But these aren’t victorious stories in that they live happily ever after. The Hiltons never, it appears, achieved happiness, personally or in their careers/finances. Like Ona Judge, they ended up living a hard life and passed away penniless.

The challenge some readers have had with this book are understandable. It’s a tough read because the story is not happy or triumphant — and because their lives were a long repetitive series of attempts to find that happy triumph.

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 3 out of 5]

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of VIOLET & DAISY by Sarah Miller in exchange for my honest review.***

Conjoined twins VIOLET & DAISY Hilton were used and abused by their adopted mother Mary Hilton and later by her daughter and son-in-law. Forced to work in circuses and vaudeville that twins never saw a penny of their earnings and weren’t allowed to interact with others. Basically, VIOLET & DAISY were captives until as adults they took their guardians to court for emancipation.

With engaging writing, Sarah Miller does a great job trying to make often dull facts seem interesting, but not enough is known about the emotional aspect of their lives to compensate for the overabundance of facts about the money they earned and shows they performed. Miller could only work with the facts she had, unlike a memoirist who can create a story that as readable as a novel. I felt the same way about the Dionne Quintuplets’ biography. The Quints’ lives on display mirrored that of VIOLET & DAISY.

To summarize, VIOLET & DAISY is a well-written biography that will inform, though likely not entertain.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: Of course their mother screamed when they were born. She screamed so loudly and for so long on February 5, 1908, the neighbors pounded on the wall to command her to stop. But twenty-one-year-old Kate Skinner could not help but scream. After fourteen hours of unrelenting pain, her baby had not come. It had not even seemed to budge. The midwife, Mary Hilton, began to fear that the unborn infant had died. She ran downstairs and out of the house to call for the doctor.

Premise/plot: Violet and Daisy is nonfiction biography. It is listed as being YA Nonfiction, but honestly I can see adults reading it too. So Violet and Daisy were conjoined twins who--for better or worse, mainly for worse I imagine--lived life in the spotlight from an incredibly young age. Think toddlers. Born in 1908, the two lived at a time when it was all but impossible for 'freaks' not to be exploited or gawked at. I use the word freaks not because I genuinely believe they were freaks of nature and 'monstrous' but that is how they were perceived at the time by many.

Miller's biography chronicles their lives. It's not an easy task but a layered one full of puzzles and mysteries. You see, Violet and Daisy were "raised" (not nurtured by any stretch) by people who told flim flams as often as they breathed in and out. In other words, from an extremely young age, the two learned that truth was flexible and ever-changing. It wasn't so much what is actually-actually-actually true but what can bring in the most publicity and thus the most money. The "truth" being sold (or peddled) depended entirely on the audience and the day.

Piecing together their lives a century later requires much discernment and some intuition.

My thoughts: I found it compelling and fascinating. Also bleak--very bleak. Sarah Miller seems to be drawn to stories that are darker in nature, OR incredibly sad, or infuriating. Perhaps a bit of all three. Her nonfiction works include: The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century, The Miracle and Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets, and Violet and Daisy: The Story of Vaudeville's Famous Conjoined Twins. I think she treats all her subjects with dignity--even though especially with the last two books the subjects were often exploited or taken advantage of. Miller is great at capturing the humanity of her subjects. And to be fair, that means the good, the bad, and the ugly. (Not literally ugly).

It's a bleak read, I won't lie. There were highs, for sure, moments when the two seemed to be actually truly authentically happy to be living their lives just as they wanted on their own terms. But mostly, this is a bittersweet story of two misunderstood often exploited souls who were seen as money-making tools.

It's sad in many ways. But no matter how I emotionally react to Miller's story, I found it engaging.

[Caroline David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It brought humanity to the girls and really shared the story as it should’ve always been told. The idea that anyone ever viewed them as “freaks” seems so unreal with the world we live in now but back then, it was their reality. My heart just broke for them.

[Maggie Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled on Sarah Miller as an author while reading Caroline and this was my fourth read of hers. I love that she is vested in telling stories of interest and vetting all the information to present her knowledge of whatever the topic may be in an enjoyable and easy to read narrative. This book did not disappoint. I loved that the girls were flawed in their own way, but thrived despite the unconventional upbringing and being kept from normal childhoods.

[Jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers the lives of Violet and Daisy Hilton , conjoined twins from the early 1900s. From the moment their mother gave birth to them and rejected what she considered "monsters" and gave them up to Mary Hilton, who had assisted her with the births. Mary Hilton, the woman who adopted the twins, exploited them, showcasing them all over the world until her death, when she willed the chiildren to her own daughter and her husband, who continued to exploit the girls for years until they were emancipated. Many events in this book seem to have not happened. After pages and pages of storyline, the narrator comes back to say that no news articles have been found to substantiate the claims made by thr girls or by Mary Hilton. Time and time again, I found myself reading entire chapters and then being told that these things may not have happened and were probably all publicity stunts. That got old after the 5th chapter, Still, an interesting life into the lives of these twins who made tons of money, but were never really given that money. I loved the addition of multiple photos of the girls throughout their years.

[Elyse (ElyseReadsandSpeaks) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another 320 page book that took me forever to finish because I just wasn't into it. No lie - the last book I read was also 320 pages and I could have sworn it was 500. This one wasn't to that magnitude, but it just wasn't captivating. Honestly, it wasn't the author's fault - I think it was just that Violet & Daisy seemed to have promise to be a very interesting story and it ended up just being lackluster.

The early years were interesting enough. The thought that a mom would just give up her conjoined twins to practically a stranger because she thought they were ugly is just crazy. Also, the fact that this woman immediately saw them as a way to make money and could "will" them to someone else to make money in the event of her death is also crazy. But this was also a long time ago and the procedures weren't the same as they are now.

Honestly, after the early years, the book just dragged on because there wasn't much to write about. I think that should be an indication that maybe there isn't enough there to write a whole book on.

[Elizabeth Roberts-Zibbel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but sort of dry. It also read a bit more like a children’s biography than a YA one. I would love to read a novelized version of their life story. Lots of facts here, but obviously no thoughts, or motivations behind sometimes inexplicable actions by the sisters.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book documents the lives of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton.

Daisy and Violet Hilton were born on February 5, 1908 in Brighton, England. They are believed to be the first set of conjoined twins in the United Kingdom to survive for more than a few weeks. The girls shared a tailbone and a rectum. They were joined at the buttocks, but because of the location and nature of their connection, they could hinge away from one another in the shape of a V.

The twins' mother Kate Skinner was unable to cope with her daughters' birth defect, which she believed to be God's punishment for her out-of-wedlock pregnancy, and she quickly surrendered them to her employer, Mary Hilton, for whom she had worked as a barmaid in exchange for room and board and the promise of assistance in childbirth.

[Note: Because Hilton attended the births of the unwed pregnant women whose labor she exploited in her business thanks to the stigma against unmarried pregnancy persons in the early 20th Century, the author refers to her as a “midwife.” This is a misnomer. Mary Hilton was a bar owner and not a practicing midwife. This incorrect attribution actually does a disservice to the profession of midwifery. Midwives at this time were either nurses with advanced medical training or lay practitioners with hundreds of hours of hands-on training through apprenticeship.]

Mary Hilton immediately began exploiting the 3 week old twins as a curiosity in the backroom of her pub the Queen's Arms and would continuously exhibit them for money for the next 11 years until her death in 1919 at which time the twins were inherited by her daughter and her daughter’s husband as a piece of property.

In addition to putting them in public display for money, Mary Hilton also allowed curious doctors to examine them, subjecting them to invasive procedures — often conducted in medical theaters with dozens of other doctors in observation — without their consent after which they would be beaten with the buckle end of a leather belt for crying and resisting. The Hilton sisters developed a lifelong fear and mistrust of doctors and spent their early lives in terror that their guardian would allow someone to cut them apart.

In 1910 when the twins were two years old, Mary Hilton began exhibiting them across the United Kingdom at bars, fairs, carnivals, and circuses. They caught the eye of promoter Ike Rose who was already exhibiting the Bohemian conjoined twins Josefa and Rosa Blažeck, and in 1911 they began touring mainland Europe under his management. During this time Daisy and Violet were taught music and dance to increase their money making potential, and performing proved to be the one real joy in their lives.

Their music lessons were one of the few contacts they had with the outside world. Mary Hilton kept the girls in extreme isolation, fearing that people would not pay to see Violet and Daisy if they were allowed to glimpse them for free. They weren’t allowed to attend school or church services and were never allowed to play with other children or socialize with their fellow circus performers. The twins were kept in complete seclusion in their apartments, hotel rooms, train cars, ship cabins, and dressing rooms. Prior to his death, Mary Hilton’s husband would try to intercede on behalf the girls to allow them some freedom, but he was cowed by his overbearing wife.

Violet and Daisy were also bereft of any loving relationship with another human being outside of themselves. The one member of the household who may have harbored sincere affection for the girls was their foster sister Edith. However, once Edith became engaged to aspiring promoter Myer Myers who partnered with Mary Hilton to advance Violet’s and Daisy’s career, their relationship was permanently sundered. The mild tempered, meek, and obedient Edith’s loyalty would always lie with her brutish and controlling husband whom she married in 1915, and as with her mother, she would never side against him for the twins’ sake.

In 1913 the Hiltons left Europe for Melbourne, Australia where Violet and Daisy were exhibited at an outdoor amusement park, followed by a tour through Australia in a sideshow. Under Myer Myers’s management, the girls were exhibited in a series of storefronts in a faux playroom setting. After being stripped to verify their authenticity as conjoined twins, Violet and Daisy would play with their toys, sing and dance, and interact with the audience.

The Hilton-Myers family set sail for the United States in 1916 shortly after Australian authorities took an interest in the twins’s welfare. Violet and Daisy performed in traveling carnivals and sideshows throughout the United States until 1924 when they made the jump to vaudeville.

Despite a disastrous audition, they caught the eye of a theatrical producer who developed an act for them in which they played musical instruments, sang, and danced with a set of identical twin boys, and they debuted on the vaudeville stage in 1925. While critical reviews were lukewarm, Violet and Daisy were wildly popular, breaking box office records and earning the modern equivalent of millions of dollars both for the theaters and their guardians. Sadly, the Hiltons would see very little of their earnings, and the fraction they received upon their legal emancipation from the Myerses would quickly be mismanaged and spent.

The Hilton sisters remained under the exploitive control of the Myerses until December 1930 when a lawsuit brought the girls into contact with a lawyer in whom they confided. A sensational trial resulted in 1931, which nullified their contract with Myer Myers and awarded them a portion of their earnings as well as their costumes and stage sets. The future seemed bright for Violet and Daisy, but, unbeknownst to them, it would only be downhill from there.

Despite being seasoned performers, the sisters had never learned how to manage finances, let alone budget, save, and invest, and the sisters spent money as quickly as they earned it. At the same time, their income began falling as the Great Depression hit, theaters began preferring sound motion pictures over live performances, and audience tastes switched to rock n’ roll. To top this off, the Hiltons fell victim to a series of unscrupulous managers and booking agents who regularly swindled them and/or absconded with their earnings. They also alienated their original fan base through risqué behavior that included sham marriages as publicity stunts.

The quality of their bookings steadily fell through the 1930s, and by the 1940s they were performing in cocktail lounges, nightclubs, fairgrounds, and military training camps with the United Service Organizations (USO). Eventually they turned to burlesque shows, performing in the vaudeville style acts preceding the striptease. Violet and Daisy knew no life — and had no viable skills — outside of entertaining, and due to their status as “freaks,” it was unlikely they would be able to obtain any of the regular jobs open to women.

Along the way, Daisy fell pregnant, and like most unwed mothers of her time had no choice but to surrender her baby for adoption. Ironically, openly raising an illegitimate child was considered too scandalous even for a conjoined twin exhibiting herself as a show business curiosity. For me as a reader, this was one of the saddest events in their lives. The Hilton sisters had been isolated since childhood and were unable to form any intimate relationships aside from each other. When they toured the United Kingdom as adults, their blood relatives refused to acknowledge them. And at the end of their career, they found themselves destitute and utterly alone. The loss of Daisy’s son deprived them of the opportunity to make a meaningful relationship outside of themselves as well as of a person who could have provided them with companionship at the end of their lives.

In 1951 the Hiltons were duped into financing a film about conjured twin sisters, based very loosely on their own lives. It was a highly exploitive melodrama in which one of a pair of conjoined twins murders her estranged lover, forcing a court or law to weigh the fate of both sisters. They had hoped this would spark a film career, but the movie “Chained for Life,” released in 1952, was a flop that’s only bright spots were the vaudeville performances that served as interludes. Daisy and Violet toured drive-ins with the film in an attempt to increase interest, but it did little to help the film or salvage their failing career.

In 1955, they used the last of their money to open a hamburger stand in Miami, Florida, which failed within a year, and they returned to touring state fairs, the burlesque circuit, and drive-in movie theaters accompanying their film “Chained for Life.” The final performance of their career was a public appearance at the Fox Drive-In in Charlotte, North Carolina, in December 1960. Afterwards they were abandoned at a motel in the neighboring town of Monroe by the last in long line of predatory agents who vanished with their meager earnings. After over 50 years in the entertainment industry, having once been the highest paid vaudeville performers, the Hilton sisters found themselves alone and penniless. There was literally not a single person whom they could call for assistance.

Fortunately for Violet and Daisy, the motel owner allowed them to continue to stay at his motel and eat at the adjoining restaurant without any expectation of repayment. After some months a local church arranged for them to move into an empty trailer in a nearby trailer park. They applied for work at the closest grocery store. Although in the early 1960s hiring persons with disabilities for mainstream jobs was still relatively unheard of, the owner Charles Reid was a deeply religious man who believed God wanted him to help the Hilton sisters, and he gave them a job in the produce department. He and his wife also arranged for their church to rent them a small cottage for less than they paid for their trailer and personally purchased furniture for it.

The twins proved to be hard workers. Although they remained aloof, their fellow employees at the Park-N-Shop as well as a few regular customers became the closest thing they had to family over the next eight years. Violet and Daisy even went so far as to tell their coworkers that this was the happiest time in their lives. While they may have simply been playing to their audience, Violet and Daisy never looked back and thoroughly embraced their new ordinary life.

In December 1968, Violet contracted the Hong Kong Flu, and then just as she had recovered Daisy fell ill. Normally, illnesses were less severe for the second twin thanks to their shared immune system, but this was not the case. Knowing the sisters had no family or close friends, their employer called almost every day to check on them. When no one answered the phone on January 4, 1969, Reid called every hour. Panicked he and his wife drove to the Hiltons’ house, and when no one answered the door, they contacted the police who entered the residence and discovered Violet and Daisy dead. At time they were found, they had been deceased for at least 24 hours with Daisy preceding Violet.

Members of the Park-N-Shop staff and local residents saw to it that Violet and Daisy were properly buried. A regular customer donated a burial plot, and a casket large enough to accommodate both sisters was arranged. Violet and Daisy Hilton are buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Charlotte, North Carolina beneath a marker reading “Beloved Siamese Twins.”

This was a story that was both amazing and tragic. The author does a fantastic job of conveying Violet’s and Daisy’s experience of being conjoined. They naturally moved in tandem attuned to almost imperceptible physical cues. To Violet and Daisy, they were whole as they were, and they never wanted to be separated, which seems unbelievable to the average person. To give themselves privacy, they developed the ability to mentally block out what the other was doing. They also held to an unfailing policy of compromise and cooperation, which enabled them to have an almost entirely conflict-free relationship.

I went into this book knowing only that there was once a set of conjoined twins who were famous vaudeville performers in the early 20th Century. I don’t know why I was surprised to learn that they were exploited and then forgotten, seen as valuable but never valued. At the very least, I thought their biological mother would have loved them, and I had hoped the liminal space of the sideshow would have been a refuge for them as it had been for others. Sigh. Violet’s and Daisy’s deep love for each other as well as the genuine care shown to them at the end of their lives by others who had nothing to gain is some consolation at least.

[Charly Troff (JustaReadingMama) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've loved Sarah Miller's books in the past and while I loved her writing in this one, it wasn't as enjoyable of a read. There were a lot of facts and honestly, I found much of the life of the twins boring to read about (particularly in the middle, where it's heavily focused on where and how they performed). There were things that really touched me emotionally, and I wish they'd been given a better childhood or more people in their lives besides each other to love them for who they were.

[Read Ribbet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Miller has written a number of well received YA nonfiction books focusing on interesting subjects. In her latest book, she chooses the famous conjoined twins Violet and Daisy who at one time were the most celebrated performers in vaudeville. Initially, the book focuses on their rise to fame and presents an interesting take on the historical development of the entertainment industry. The reader can follow the story of those who helped and hindered the girls in their celebrated career. A key turning point becomes a trial in which the girls seek emancipation from long time guardians and managers. After that the readers learns of how the entertainment industry changes and how Violet and Daisy managed their careers on their own. It is a compelling story of two women who were at the top of show business only to spend their final years working at a grocery store in Charlotte, NC. Well documented and heavily referenced. It was a very engaging read.

[Audrey (Warped Shelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This review is based on an ARC of Violet and Daisy: The Story of Vaudeville's Famous Conjoined Twins, which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (Random House Children's/Schwartz & Wade).

Sarah Miller's Violet and Daisy is a thoroughly researched and wonderfully presented biography of conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton. Nearly from birth and even after death, these two were stars. I was tirelessly fascinated by their story: their rise to epic stardom and their rocky road down to earth.

Despite periods of poor documentation throughout the twins' lives, Sarah Miller pieces together the bits she can to share their story with the world--and it's this passion from Miller that struck me the most while reading this biography. The author's devotion to and enthusiasm for her subjects and her book are palpable in her writing and research. Further, she writes about these so-called "freaks" with tact and humanity. Miller's knack for her trade has me captivated--she is a biographer to explore!

Whether you are interested in Vaudeville, or Siamese twins, or just looking to read a fascinating life story, Violet and Daisy is an unforgettable book about two undeniable women!


POPSUGAR 2021 Reading Challenge: A book that discusses body positivity (I mean, kinda...)

[Laura Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another high interest NF book from @sarahmillerbooks !! Excellent on audio.
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Violet and Daisy Hilton were conjoined twins who were heavily exploited in childhood and forced to perform on vaudeville stages in the early 1900s. They also had to endure prying eyes and hands curious about the connection between the two. When they won their freedom at the age of 21, they knew no life other than show business.
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Author Sarah Miller (Lizzie Borden Murders and Dionne Quintuplets are both popular in my library!) tells the story of the life of these two women with great skill, especially given how difficult it was to trust the reliability of source material. Readers will be fascinated to learn about the Hilton sisters’ lifelong desire to remain conjoined, as well as their natural ability to compromise with each other without ever saying a word. The author’s note was an interesting glimpse into the writing process and the fallibility of certain sources (good reminder that “fake”/inaccurate news has always existed!).
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[Robin Mandell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concisely written and well-researched.
Raises as many questions as it answers, including questions about the ways we look at history when we will never have all the facts.
I didn’t always agree with the conclusions the author draws, and I would have liked to see even more cultural and historical context around the different events and periods in Violet and Daisy’s lives.
But, I loved learning about two women I had never even heard of, and the book kept me riveted the whole way through.

[Alia B · Rating 2 out of 5]

What's up with the word ballyhoo? It's used over and over and it really ticks me off.

[Tawnya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragic true story of two resilient woman who were taken advantage of because of their situation at birth.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written but depressing.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very intriguing story about Violet and Daisy, siamese twins born in 1908. Kate Skinner was a 21 year old unwed mother when she gave birth. Believing this was her punishment for sinning she gave the girls to her midwife Mary Hilton to raise. Mary used the girls to make money in circus freak shows. Upon her death, the girls are marketed by Myer Myers. These poor girls are exploited their entire lives. Later in life they became independent working at the grocery store. Never wanting to be separated they remained conjoined till the end of their lives. A sad tale, especially the death. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM #bestestbookclubever

[AquaMoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had Violet and Daisy Hilton been born today, doctors likely could have separated them at birth, had their parents wished it and had they the finances to do so (What with health insurance being as it is, that later bit is questionable. Laughable, even. Of course, with the oversaturation of Social Media on today's society, a GoFundMe [or similar $$-raising venture] would have easily drummed up the dollars for the operation. After all, it worked for the Gorilla Glue situation). And the ladies would have gone on to lead separate, although still (likely) child-star famous, lives. Completely independent of each other. Maybe they'd have gotten their own YouTube channel or Tick-Tock early on, but would also likely been soon forgotten by the masses (because the average attention span today is shorter than that of my cat [Not the chill one. The super-anxious one I suspect is severely ADHD]), remembered only among the members of the medical community as a minor oddity...But even then eclipsed by the woman who had a total head/body transplant or maybe the dude who had plastic surgery to purposely resemble an Orc (I think this actually was a thing, but don't quote me because I heard it from a friend who heard it from someone else. I can't immediately confirm it like I can confirm Barbie [want to hear something truly freaky? Google THAT ). Today, conjoined twin surgery is likely much more common than it was back in 1908. Today, these ladies wouldn't have had nearly the fame and limelight exposure. Because what's one more oddity in a modern society where everyone is trying to outdo everyone else with Weird and Strange and, ok, yes, Freaky. But the girls weren't born today, and that is why they were so special and, even today, so famous.

I first learned of Daisy and Violet by watching the still-infamous movie, Freaks, which my husband and I viewed on the recommendation of a friend who, I might add, has exceptionally quirky taste. I truly enjoyed the movie. I thought it was a good story, if a little quaint, and couldn't fathom what all the hype and hullabaloo was about (of course I come from a society and a time when far stranger stuff is readily available as clickbait or otherwise and have been properly desensitized. See above). Hubby and I have been known to cheerfully quote bits of the film, much to the confusion of our peers... who have no idea the significance of (or what to make of) the phrase, "Gooble-Gobble" (which has become somewhat of an inside joke). For example, "Aww... Gizmo just Gooble-Gobbled you! He accepts you as Friend!"...said when our shy kitty head-bumps a visitor.

So when I saw this book on the "New" shelf, I snapped it up in an instant. It made for a fascinating read. I had no idea what tragic and interesting life these ladies lead, from gaining their freedom from their Evil Keeper to how small details of their daily existence worked: Different tastes, romantic endeavors, and other personal choices...because, even though they are joined, they're separate people with separate lives. Of course, where one goes, the other must follow. And if there's a disagreement, a consensus must be reached. Not to mention questions I had whilst reading. Like... how would the bathroom situation work? And what about [*blushes*] you know... [*giggles awkwardly and leaves the question hanging*]? Not being a conjoined twin myself (or even a sibling, as I'm an only child), this sort of life is something I never even really thought about. Which made the ladies' story all the more fascinating!

This biography was exceptionally well-written. Quite possibly one of the most interesting nonfiction books I've ever read. Even more than the bio about Phineas Gage (Want a truly freaky and fascinating story that beats Orc Man and Barbie Girl combined? Google him!!).

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to Sarah Miller's Violet & Daisy because last year I read and loved her account of the Dionne Quints' lives in The Miracle and Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets. I was hoping for much of the same with Violet & Daisy, a book about a set of conjoined twins who were thrust into the spotlight from birth and exploited for the entirety of their lives.

I had never heard of Violet and Daisy Hilton before reading this young adult nonfiction piece about their lives, but Miller's book will ensure that I don't forget about them anytime soon. Born to an unwed mother in England, the girls already faced scrutiny for that alone, not to mention the fact that they were conjoined at the base of their spine. They were adopted out to a woman who exploited them from the backroom of her pub, allowing patrons to take a peep at their conjoined bodies if they paid a little something extra. From there, the girls were put on display at amusement parks, circuses, sideshows, and vaudeville, where they experienced much success by showcasing their musical talents, not to mention the novelty of their conjoined bodies. The Hilton sisters would amass a significant fortune, of which they would only ever see a fraction. Those who exploited them, also stole from them, making this story of conjoined twins triumphing in spite of their condition also a tragedy.

Miller's Violet and Daisy is a detailed account of the Hilton sisters' lives, from birth to their unfortunate death. Violet and Daisy's story has many holes and contradictions, but Miller attempts to piece them together without embellishment to tell a complete and fairly factual life history. Growing up in the spotlight, much was exaggerated and fabricated about the girls' lives and condition to draw in crowds, making the truth about Violet and Daisy's real life often murky here. However, skeptical readers should consider that Violet and Daisy themselves didn't even know the truth about their lives, so it is difficult to say for sure what is exactly true about their lives.

As I said with Miller's Dionne Quints book, I feel that Violet and Daisy is marketed to the wrong crowd. Gearing the book toward a YA audience feels wrong, as much of the storyline may be over their heads and/or not of interest. Violet and Daisy may be great for factual school projects, but may not hold the attention of a curious teen reader for long.

[Bethany Swafford · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1908, an unmarried woman gives birth to conjoined twin girls. The ashamed mother wanted nothing to do with the "freaks" that she was certain were the punishment for her sin. Midwife Mary Hilton legally adopts the twins and promptly displays them to the public. Thus begins the life of exhibition for Violet and Daisy Hilton until they cannot take the abuse any longer.

Before I picked up this ARC, I'd never heard of the Hilton sisters. Or so I thought. As it happens, I did see a very old film from 1932, Freaks, and the Hilton sisters were in that film. So while I have seen them before, I can safely say I knew nothing about their life.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Violet and Daisy as I read this one. The author does an excellent job of presenting the facts that could be proven and sharing the "ballyhoo" or tall tales that were spread about the twins. The book follows Violet and Daisy from their birth, through every exhibition they were part of, and then to their death. It was especially interesting to see how they displayed their unique personality and how they had some privacy from each other, even when they were by each other's side 24/7.

The one thing that is very clear is how they were captives of those who were supposed to be caring for them. Once they had their freedom, they didn't know how to manage their affairs and that lead them into more trouble. As the vaudeville circuit and the stage life that was the only life they knew, they took up burlesque dancing to support themselves until they finally took positions at a grocery store. The last half of the book I found very sad to read.

Although at times it was a little disconcerting to read a story only to have the author immediately show that it was another tall tale, it wasn't overly distracting. I found it interesting to see how much Mary Hilton and then the twins themselves would twist the truth to make the most of a situation.

I thought this was an interesting read and would recommend it for readers who would enjoy a look at two of vaudeville's stars. I received a free copy through NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own.

[Librariann · Rating 3 out of 5]

My assessment from halfway through stands.

"When I was a kid, I got a Scholastic book with chapters that covered all the highlights of 19th and 20th century sideshow "freaks" - Tom Thumb, the Elephant Man, Robert Wadlow, Chang and Eng Bunker, etc. Since then, I've always been fascinated by the topic.

This is pretty slow so far, and relatively dry for modern youth narrative nonfiction, so I think this is best for someone with an interest in the topic already."

The book slowed even more in the second half, and the author's strict adherence to using source texts and quotes only without embellishment, while admirably scholarly, perhaps causes the book to suffer in comparison to more lively narrative nonfiction contemporaries.

The portrait of these 20th century Siamese Twins will appeal to a niche audience and I have no qualms recommending it to the right person with the right interests, but I'm not going to buy it for my library.

[Dorothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had read Ms. Miller's book on the Dionne quintuplets and found it quite good, so when my library received this book, I was eager to dig into it. Sadly, it's just too long. The beginning of the book is quite interesting, and the end of the book is a nice surprise, but the middle of the book just drags on and on. The author acknowledges that she's grateful for the digital archives that make following the sisters' travels easier and more accurate, but it doesn't mean that we need to accompany them to each stop. Much of the stories of their tours and marital interests became repetitive. As a fourth generation show person, I was the perfect audience for this book, but I can't think of many of my high school students who would have the stamina to get through this one. We have better options for me to share.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is avery thorough accounting of a specific pair of conjoined sisters which incorporates their own insights/reports of memories, experiences, reactions, and more.
The attitudes and approaches of that historic period (freak shows) and specifically the calculated effort to monetize and objectify physical differences come through strongly, but also there are insight into the daily lives or patterns of the 'featured acts" as human beings.
It was readable and interesting to me as as adult, and might engage some younger (MG/YA) readers due to the novel view of these differences and of the attitudes of the times. It could also be a valuable view of the significance of changes that have gradually been gained in society, with a need to sustain and advance that further.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read the detailed and sympathetic portrayal of the Dionne Quintuplets in this author's previous title, The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets, I knew from the beginning to have high expectations for this book. I was certainly not disappointed as the author tells the fascinating and heartbreaking story of Violet and Daisy Hilton, conjoined twins born in 1908 to Kate Skinner, an unwed mother who gave them up to her midwife. That midwife, Mary Hilton, almost immediately began making a profit of the girls, showing them off in the pub she ran in Brighton, and later in various showcases and even on the vaudeville circuit. After Mary died, the girls became the property of Myer Myers and his wife, Edith, Mary's daughter. The girls were kept on a short leash, allowed very few freedoms or independence, and next to no funds despite the fact that they earned thousands of dollars for their variety act consisting of singing, dancing, and athletic feats. Eventually, they sued for financial independence. The author does not stint in providing details about how their caretakers took advantage of and profited from them as well as how cruelly they were often treated. And equally heartbreaking is the steady dimming of their popularity, matched only by their naivity about worldly matters and inability to manage their money well. In the end, they relied on the kindness of strangers and took jobs weighing produce in a grocery store. But this account is so much more than the tale of two little girls lost, individuals whom some would term "freaks." Instead, it's also a study of the types of individuals in their audiences and their fascination with the girls as well as how different Violet and Daisy were from one another. It's intriguing to consider how it's possible to have any semblance of privacy or individuality when linked physically to someone else or how it's possible to form a romantic bond with someone with a sister so close to hand. This well-written account of their lives and times and how they made the best of their situation is not to be missed, in part because of the questions it encourages readers to ask themselves about exploitation, identity, and how anyone who is different from what is deemed the norm is treated. Conjoined twins are rare, indeed, and it's appropriate to wonder how different their lives might have been if they'd been born today.

[Megan Millard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Violet and Daisy Hilton were brought up under the spotlight of their unique situation. They were conjoined twins who were born out of wedlock to a poor ignorant woman who was eager to get rid of them. She essentially sold her children to Mary Hilton, who by most accounts took custody with the intention of exploiting them.

The lengths to which Hilton allowed people to go to view the girls was absolutely deplorable, and it is even worse when you consider that this occurred during a time when "normal" women would never dream of being exposed in such a way. The trauma that this inflicted on the sisters is hard to imagine. Considering that no part of their young lives could be considered happy or even normal is pathetic.

The concept of "ballyhoo" is vital to understand the context of their story. This was the spiel that talkers would give to draw in crowds. The truth is speciously confuddled to make the sideshow acts as appealing to a wide audience as possible. This means that much of their true story was obfuscated even to them. They grew up in an environment where telling fibs/outright lies was so commonplace that as they grew older and began to manage their own lives and choices, they continued the practice. As a result, their own accounts of what happened is worthy of fact-checking. And this is where the low rating comes into play.

Sarah Miller has a bad tendency to give an account of a particular incident and afterward casually saying something to the effect of, "....But did it really happen?" and explaining the information that was JUST relayed in detail is unverifiable and PROBABLY not true. I have no problem with this information being included in the book, of course it has its place. My problem is with the technique of the reveal. I prefer to know in advance if what I'm reading is questionable.

Since so many schools are now questioning whether media literacy should be required coursework, I am disinclined to recommend this book to students who struggle with sussing out the difference between fact and falsehood. I WOULD however recommend this book if you have students who don't engage easily with biographies for non-required reading. The story of the sisters is truly engaging.

[Kayla Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book "Violet and Daisy: The Story of Vaudeville's Famous Conjoined Twins" intriguing even though it was not necessarily fast-paced. Understanding how they were the first sideshow performers to make it out of the circus or carnival shows is worth reading. They managed to do this as children. I was sad to find out at the end of their from being famous vaudeville pennies less as grocery checkout girls on January 4, 1969.

Violet and Daisy were born on February 5, 1908, in Brighton, England, to a young, unwed mother who could not handle that her babies were conjoined twins. Their birth mother let her midwife, Mary Hilton, adopt the girls when they were three weeks old. As soon as Mary had Violet and Daisy in her possession, she started to have the babies on display in her bar. As the girls got older, she allowed doctors to perform invasive medical examinations on them girls. While raising Violet and Daisy, Mary portrayed herself as a loving, adopted mother to the public, but behind closed doors, she was abusive to the girls. When the girls were toddlers, she received an offer she could refuse.

The offer was to travel and show Violet and Daisy around Europe after they moved to Australia, where Mary and her daughter Edith showed the girls at an amusement park. This lasts for a few years until Edith marries a man named Meyer Meyers, and Mary makes him the girls' manager. Shortly after Meyer became their manager, the family moved to America in 1916. They toured around with a couple of family-friendly sideshows. All the while, the girls were made to take music and dancing lessons to set them apart from the other performers. They eventually made their way to vaudeville and earned their freedom from the family that was turning them into virtual enslaved people at the age of 21, but because they were never taught the skills they needed, the rest of their lives were hard.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting, yet heartbreaking, story of the lives of Violet and Daisy Hilton, conjoined twins forced by circumstances and greed to live a life on stage. Abandoned by their biological mother, the girls were adopted and immediately used as a way to bring in money for their adoptive mother. The girls were literally sold into the public eye at 3 weeks old. When their adoptive mother passed away, the girls were willed to their adoptive sister and her husband. Given away through a will just like property. Eventually the girls did bring an emancipation action and were awarded their freedom from that guardianship, but that came with a huge financial loss as well as highlighted the fact that they had never been taught how to manage money or fend for themselves.

The author's note at the end clearly indicates that the events portrayed in the book are thought to be mostly accurate but acknowledges that there is simply no way to know the true story of the lives led by Violet and Daisy Hilton, as even the girls themselves were known to make up stories for the sake of publicity.

Overall, this is a well written and well researched book. The story itself is heartbreaking to me and I am left feeling incredibly sorry that two girls were used as a means to an end. I hope that the unknown portions of the stories truly did involve happiness.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for the opportunity to review this advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.