The Lives and Loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton: A True Story of Conjoined Twins

by Dean Jensen

The true rags-to-riches-to-rags tale of conjoined twins--their journey from freak-show notoriety to vaudeville stardom to movie celebrity, and their heart-wrenching descent back into poverty.

A richly detailed account of the romantic adventures of these attractive and accomplished young women who were at the epicenter of one of the most celebrated sex scandals of 1930.

Chronicles the hurly-burly history of American entertainment from the turn of the 20th century through the 1950s.

Illustrated throughout with rare black-and-white photographs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Biography Memoir, Historical, Memoir, 20th Century

432 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

Dean Jensen is a former journalist who owns and manages an art gallery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Also writes under the name Dean N. Jensen.

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daisy and Violet Hilton were born as conjoined twins, (their spines fused together) to an unwed mother in 1908. To escape the shame of being not only a single woman but also having given birth to infants with birth defects, their young mother wouldn’t even look at the girls. The midwife, Mrs. Hilton, a married pub owner and mother of one daughter, accepted the girls into her family and seemingly saw the twins’ moneymaking potential.

Very quickly Mrs. Hilton drags the girls from their home in Brighton, England to a variety of venues all over the world, from vaudeville to circus freak shows, where the girls entertained their audiences as musicians, singers and dancers.

Although the girls seemed to enjoy entertaining and traveling, their foremost wish was to have a real family, be reunited with their birth mother, and live peaceful married lives with children of their own. Those wishes were unreachable due to their dependence on Mrs. Hilton, her daughter and Myer Myers, Mrs. Hilton’s son-in-law, who were more interested in exploiting and defrauding the girls.

This is not an uplifting book in any way. The girls were so naïve not only in trusting what little pseudo family they had, but also after they were adults and as they grew older, trying to eek out incomes and living independent lives.

Their story is tragic because had they been born a half century later, they probably would have been able to medically be separated and would have had the advantage of many more choices in how they would live out their lives.

I liked the chronological nature of the writing. What became hugely annoying, and by the end infuriating, was the enormous amount of proofreader errors. The substance of the story made reading the book worthwhile but had I not been so engaged I might have given up and not finished.

[Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been reading some of the best non fiction lately. Usually historical biographies are so dry and boring, but not this book.

Daisy and Violet Hilton are truly one of the most famous pair of conjoined twins there ever was (besides Eng and Chang) and they had a fascinating life. I’ve been trying to find out more information about conjoined twins, sideshows, and carnival life and this book is a plethora of information. It’s a compelling read as well.

For years, Daisy and Violet have been an enigma to me. I saw their picture in a book about sideshow performers years ago when I was a little girl, and I became fascinated with their beauty. I always wondered what life must have been like attached at the hip to your sister.

The twins were talented musicians, highly educated and very successful. They lived a very unusual and exciting life. I don't want to give too much of it away, so I will leave it at that. This is an excellent read.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

CAPTIVATING. ILLUMINATING. FASCINATING.

“Extensive tours throughout the United States and Europe afforded [Harry] Houdini many opportunities to seek out freaks and phenoms. In fact, he may have encountered more human oddities than any other person of his time. Even so, he was wonderstruck when he entered Pickard’s Waxwork and saw Daisy and Violet Hilton. Not only were they the most amazing human oddities he had ever seen, but the blue-eyed, curly-haired moppets were also just about the most beautiful children he had seen anywhere, period.” (Kindle Locations 515-518)

They led lives unimaginable to all but a very few, very fortunate, unfortunates. Lives as human oddities. Monsters. Freaks. Cruel, hard, exhilarating lives, deeply tinged with sadness—never alone but always lonely.

From their early years of dire poverty, cruelty, exploitation, tawdriness, and imprisonment; through the halcyon decades of vertiginous wealth and fame; to the years of decline, and a return to penury and sleaze. You can’t help wishing they’d had more, had better lives. You can’t help marveling at how amazing their lives really were, all considered.

It was only seven months ago that I saw the stage musical, Side Show, for the first time, about the (unbeknown to me) at one time world famous Siamese twins, Daisy and Violet Hilton; and was hooked. I had to know more.

Reading Dean Jensen’s biography, The Lives and Loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton: A True Story of Conjoined Twins was captivating, illuminating, heart-wrenching, fascinating, and very informative—not only about the lives and times of Daisy and Violet, but also about a bygone era of show business. The era of carnival side shows, vaudeville stages, and night clubs. The Hiltons knew, among many others, Harry Houdini, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Sophie Tucker, Edgar Bergen, Eddie Cantor, Jackie Gleason, Jack Benny, …and even, at one time, had a young dance partner in their act who would grow up to be Bob Hope.

Recommendation: An absolute must read, especially for show-biz mavens.

“Those days are now over. Over forever.” (Kindle Locations 5346-5347)

“Although accounts of the twins’ deaths had appeared in newspapers across the country, not one person from the stage or cinema worlds attended their funeral or sent flowers. Sills couldn’t get over how sad it was that the world had exploited the sisters all their lives and then, when every last bit of their stage appeal was used up, rejected and forgot them.” (Kindle Locations 5590-5593)

Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony, Kindle Edition, 432 pages/6,263 Kindle Locations

[Unwisely · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not sure exactly how or why this got on my to-read list, but, seriously? Wow. It was an amazing true story of some Siamese Twins, born in Britain, but who were trained from birth (basically) to be performers. They started in carnivals, came to the US, and were apparently fairly famous as performers - apparently they were quite good in their own right. They were huge stars in the 20's, and performed with famous stars (ones even I had heard of). And the whole thing is amazing - they got around, geographically as well as metaphorically.

Easily one of the best books I've read this year. Highly, highly recommended.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the musical Side Show so I wanted to know more about the real Daisy and Violet Hilton. This was a very entertaining read, fast-paced and fascinating. It's amazing how the twins were once the toast of society but ended up forgotten and penniless in a trailer park. Definitely a worthwhile read.

[Carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quite interesting. I would say that is is more than just an account of the lives of the the Hilton sisters. It seemed to be an accurate portrayal of growing up in the early 1900s. It showed the transition from live vaudeville to motion picture movie houses, the changing trends in circus acts and how some things that were shocking became mundane (ex: not being able to obtain a marriage license then twenty years later it was a snap).
It is unfortunate that the twins did not have a financial advisor. I am left wondering that if they had saved their money instead of spending it everywhere would they have been able to retire comfortably. Or, would they have been satisfied with retiring? It seems they were forced by circumstance to retire when they were still looking for their show business break. I also wonder if they had stayed with Sir and Edith, would they be able to stay with that dysfunctional family even as they grew old or would they have been kicked out onto the street?
It was frustrating at points to read as they made poor decisions. Why did they move from this agent, who was perfectly fine and found them nice work, to another one that promised them the moon then ran off with their money? A life lesson, indeed.
I appreciate the amount of research that was put into this book. There are several notations referencing the bibliography in the book, along with photographs that the author either had in his collection or obtained from other personal collections.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always wanted to know more about the actors from the movie Freaks.
Daisy and Violet were performers and toured from birth. Started in a bar room, hit the side show circuit, vaudeville toured Europe.
They made a lot of money which was embezzled by various keepers. They thought "Freaks" would lead to a serious career in the movies.

During the twins youth they were kept "humble" by mental abuse, when they finally broke free they went wild. Having a twin attached didn't slow them down from anything. One even got pregnant but they weren't allowed to get married.

I was surprised to read they met Houdini. He told them how to tune out the other twin, it came in handy when they had dates. Bob Hope was once a dancing partner. Later the twins moved to SC and worked as cashiers.

Makes me wonder what would happen if the other Hilton's were joined at the hip?

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderfully entertaining book about siamese twins (nonfiction). It's very thorough but never boring. Anyone interested in pop culture would love this.

[Billie J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biography of Hilton Co-joined Twins

****No Spoilers***

Well researched and quite interesting story of the Hilton twins from their births in England to their deaths in the U.S. I will not share details of the book and spoil the story for others. Although I found the story bittersweet at times, there were good times as well. I did feel rather voyeristic and found myself wondering some of the same things as many who came in contact with the twins. It was well worth the read.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives the reader a horrifying look into a society where the word "freak" was acceptable in referring to almost any physical defect regardless the feelings of the individual. At a time when working in a sideshow where hundreds of people came in to stare was the only option for people like this, the Hilton sisters were unable to escape this fate.


Shunned by a Mother who couldn't bear to hold them ('monsters') and taken in by a mid-wife who know a dollar when she saw it, these girls were on the road almost all of their lives, passed down to the mid-wife's son-in-law when she died, making what might have been millions of dollars.Unfortunately,they received little of this money despite fighting in court for it.


Had they had the kind of people around them that they deserved, caring and loving ones, they would have led admirable lives and been happy.Instead they were victimized by family and management, men and society and died in poverty at age 60 of influenza.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the opposite of a Disney movie. Sad, happy then sad again. It's hard to review but here it goes. This is a great book. And terribly sad. Wonderfully written but hard to read. Perfect amount of detail without over-doing it. The book kept me up late a couple nights. I first saw Daisy and Violet Hilton in the 1932 movie Freaks. And loved the movie. I'd had this book on my "to read" for awhile and finally got it. It's an amazing book about a very sad story. My heart aches for these 2 beautiful girls. Life can be so cruel.

[Vinnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

well I saw a lot of folks seemed to not have loved this book as much as I did....I have been a fan of the Hiltons since I 1st saw them on t.v. in the film "Freaks" in high school. I was fascinated by them and was happy to read this book that hit on details of their life we may have never known.

[Patsy Bishop · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting book from a historical perspective. Seems like they made up a lot of the information. Many "events" appeared in the book more than once. Could have cut out a few pages by not repeating so much.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough that I Netflixed the movie.

[Lindsay Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched and thorough. Poignant and sad.

[Lenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very captivating biography about Daisy and Violet Hilton-Siamese twins joined at the buttocks.

[Yaaresse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seem to be following an unplanned path here that started with reading Truevine and then Freaks in short order. My only awareness of the Hilton sisters before this book wasn't by name, but as the Siamese twins in the movie Freaks, which I probably saw on some light night movie channel at least twenty years ago. They seem to have been as famous in their heyday as the Kardshians were in the 2010s--the obvious difference being the Hilton sisters, by most accounts, had talents beyond self-marketing and physical attributes. Although as Siamese twins, the Hilton's physical attributes were definitely attention-getting.

There are probably spoilers below. (Is there really such a thing as a spoiler in non-fiction?)

I won't lie: this is not a feel-good read. It's a tragic story on many levels. The subjects' physical situation aside, the sisters had some remarkable experiences and huge setbacks. That they remained as emotionally stable as they did was perhaps their greatest accomplishment.

Violet and Daisy Hilton were the first conjoined twins in British history to live beyond a couple of weeks. Their birth mother, poor and unwed, rejected them. The attending midwife took the twins, seeing them as a money-making opportunity at a time when the public was fascinated by human "freaks." While it could be argued that the twins would have had a worse life had Mary Hilton not taken them in, it cannot be denied that they had a miserable childhood, treated as property by Mary Hilton and later her son-in-law, Myer Myers. Because the twins had considerable singing and musical training/talent, they were able to make the jump from sideshows and dime museums to headliners in vaudeville here in the US. The act commanded unprecedented fees, all of which went directly into Myers' coffers. Among those who performed with or opened for them were George Burns/Gracie Allen, Bob Hope, Harry Houdini, and Jack Benny.

The sisters were able to gain their freedom from Myers. Their careers were a roller coaster ride, often spurred to its highs and lows due to their own naivete about business and human nature. Publicity made them famous, but it also made their lives difficult, especially when Violet's and her fiance's attempts to procure a marriage license was rejected in 21 states and when one of the twins was named as "the other woman" in a nasty divorce proceeding. Side note: I find it interesting that at least three sets of male conjoined twins in history managed to marry without the legal and public difficulties that Violet and Daisy faced. Was the difference because of the times, the locations, or their gender? Hard to say.

For nearly fifty years, the Hilton sisters were in the public light, but eventually that light faded as movies and then television replaced theater. Even side shows were no longer an income generating proposition for the twins as the public became averse to displaying humans as curiosities. (At the same time, the public wasn't squeamish at all about advocating eugenics programs. And given Daisy had an illegitimate child, it's probably only their fame and wealth that saved them from being targeted by eugenics boards in the US.) At one point, they were destitute, literally abandoned in the boondocks by an unscrupulous promoter. In the end, they shunned publicity and the spotlight, worked at a grocery, and died in a way that was all too common and still horrifying to contemplate.

To the author's credit, Jensen writes a straight-forward biography of the twins and avoid the current fad of inserting himself in the middle of it. He also manages to address public's more prurient curiosity about the twins private lives - of which there was no shortage once they became teenagers--without feeding it with salacious details. There is a much bigger story to be had than "how did they" and "what would that have been like." The book includes numerous photographs and the extensive research is evident with numerous interviews, transcripts and articles cited. If there is a fault, it is that the timelines are sometimes disjointed and the obvious typos are distracting. Also, like a lot of biographers, Jensen is enamored of his subject and that can translate into hyperbole on occasion. As an example, Jensen repeats like a mantra how uncommonly beautiful and talented the sisters were. And, yes, the photos show they were comely, but not extraordinarily so. They had lovely voices, but not particularly memorable ones.

My rating breakdown is basically this:
4 1/2 for enjoyment of content and the format of a true biography with none of that first person "look at me" nonsense by the author.
4.0 for recognition of the author's extensive research and interpretation of the documentation.
3.0 for the technical aspects of the writing.


A clip of the Hilton sisters singing, which I believe may be from their ill-conceived and ill-fated movie, can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XE4d...

[Clued-in With A Book (Elvina Ulrich) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my 180th book and my last read for 2017! What an insightful and heartrending  biography of the conjoined twins, Daisy and Violet Hilton in the early 20th century. Their lives were nothing short of struggles, dramas, heartbreaks and misfortunes.

The conjoined twins (pygopagus) were rejected by their own mother since birth. But later were adopted by Mary Hilton (the midwife who helped delivered them), who exploited them to generate lucrative steady income by exhibiting them in taverns, vaudeville shows, carnival pit shows and circus sideshows.

The twins were exposed to show business from childhood to adulthood; performed in England, Australia and America during their early chilhood; met with celebrities like Harry Houdini, Eddie Cantor, Sophie Tucker, Jack Benny, and Fanny Brice; went to trial to gain emancipation from their abusive caretakers; had two disastrous weddings; brought an illegitimate child into the world; made business decisions that wiped out their fortune; starred in two flopped movies; peddling cosmetics house-to-house; strip teasing and finally ended up at the produce department of a supermarket.

This book is rich with information (not just about the lives of the Hiltons) but about society's atttitudes toward illegitimate children in early 20th century which were unwelcoming and deemed as an insult to public morality. Under British law, the child was regarded as filius nullius - a child with no name, no parents, no kin, no right to inherit.

For desperate unmarried mothers, there was an option known as baby farm where unwanted offsprings were sent to a baby "farmer" whom will be paid a lump sum of money for the child's care and maintenance. Unfortunately there have been expose about baby farmers who practiced infanticide or letting these infants die from starvation or total abandonment.

There were also information about the entertainment industry in the early 20th century; how it was affected by the introduction of talking pictures, and World War II. Both these affected the demand of live performances. Many theaters and clubs were out of business, and as the demand of vaudeville shows also declined, so did the booking engagements of the Hiltons.

This is an intriguing and engaging read and I experienced gamut of dramatic emotions from joy to heartbroken reading this book. Yes, it was a good read!

[Ronald Koltnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daisy and Violet Skinner were born in a tenement flat in Brighton, England. The midwife who delivered the Siamese twins took them in when their mother rejected them. Mary Hilton gave Daisy and Violet her name and her home, and then exploited them as a freak show. Traveling with her daughter and later her son-in-law, Mary grew rich on the girls's earnings. Then, the son-in-law, Myer Myers, grew filthy rich on their earnings. The girls were virtual prisoners in their exploiters's home (which they had paid for). Winning emancipation, they set out to enjoy life to the fullest (for good and ill). The Hilton Sisters went from sideshows to Broadway, becoming the highest earners in Vaudeville. When their career hit the skids, and they were all but forgotten, they became strippers and eventually supermarket employees. They made millions in their short lives (they died at 60 or 61) but were left almost penniless. Dean Jensen did a phenomenal amount of research in bring the sisters's story to readers. His prose style is not the most impressive, but at times it seems that Jensen got around to interviewing everyone the sisters ever knew. This is a great show-biz rags-to-riches-to-rags tale.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of these conjoined twins before, but many decades ago they were beautiful, world-famous, made tons of money, danced in their act with a newbie named Bob Hope, were good friends with Harry Houdini, and had boyfriends and lovers galore. There were many photographs throughout the book; they were indeed movie-star pretty. Each was married at one point or another, and one of them had a baby (that had to be given up for adoption). They played many musical instruments, sang, told jokes, and danced. But what a heartbreaking story! Their birth mother refused to even touch them. Their abusive adoptive mother only took them on because she saw dollar signs and exploited them from birth. Virtually enslaved, as adults they were able to finally sue for their freedom and a portion of what they had earned, but others were only too willing to take advantage of the naive girls. Discrimination faced them at every turn. They died penniless and forgotten.

The author had a delightful vocabulary. E.g., "The encomium was not to be lightly regarded since Fleischer's talent for assaying pugilistic excellence was unerring."

[Thelma Hornsby Brinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

These two girls, Daisy and Violet, would not be of the interest today that they were in their day. Today, they would have been separated and been able to live individual normal lives. In their time, they were considered freaks, so much so that their mother, a single woman, would not even look at them and immediately gave them up to Mary Hilton. It seems Mary's only interest was in making money off these girls by showing them as freaks in carnivals, road shows, traveling circus's etc. She did, however, along with her daughter and son in law, educate and train these girls in music and they excelled.
At one time they were making $4000. a week which is phenomenal. They lived luxuriously and met many well know stars such as George Burns & Gracie Allen, Bob Hope and more. However, as they aged and more options for entertainment came along, the road shows and carnival freak shows started to fall by the wayside. They kept trying. Ultimately they had to depend on others for resources and took a job in a grocery store. At age 61 they died alone and only neighbors and store personnel came to their funeral. It was a sad ending to two brilliant girls.

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and sad. Conjoined girls are born to a mother who is horrified by how the girls look and rejects them at birth.
Then are adopted by a woman who sees them as a meal ticket and is never loving towards them even when they turn out to be beautiful girls.
Throughout their lives they are treated and exploited as freaks. They are talented, playing several instruments an dancing . Era before motion pictures and TV so live shows are very popular.
As the girls age and the picture industry develops, they fall further and further down the ladder of desirability .

[Amanda Lagerfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am obsessed with the circus lives of the past. Circus "freaks" are one of my favorite things in the world. I love the move Freaks and because of that move I read this biography. I actually read this about 10 years ago and I think about these girls and their tragic life at least once a month. From the sad beginnings to their sad tragic end and everything in between I highly recommend this book.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a tragic story from the minute of their birth to their deaths. They were exploited as soon as their unwed mother gave them up to the midwife who delivered them. They spent their lives performing and knew no other life.

As they got older, they rebelled against their caretakers and struck out on their own. Life was not as easy but they were their own bosses.

The story is sad because the era they were born in treated them as freaks and they were never accepted as "real" people.

[Jackie Jameson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a biography it is an excellent example of the genre. Extremely well researched by the author. I guess this is more of an update than a finished review. I was careless, just as the people throughout the twins lives, leaving my reading to the beginning and to the end of the book. It is still on my night table, and I plan to finish the “from riches to rags” story, but I already I know enough of their sad story to know how I can’t hold out any magical happy endings for their lives.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an interesting read. These women lived such a crazy life from beginning to end. I was sad to read that no Stars or people from their life in entertainment acknowledged their death. They are truly a part of American history that you don’t hear about. There was SO much more to their story beyond what I knew from reading articles here and there.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after performing in the musical Side Show, which is loosely based on their lives. The musical is so gripping that I wanted to learn more about its inspiration. Their lives were fascinating, and although quite different from the musical characters, the twins show so many deep layers in this book.

[Kathy Letourneau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. A story of exploitation, ups and downs of an unusual life led by conjoined twins. The media’s role is not unlike today’s…

The book lacks some details, which is understandable due to the need to recreate the story from researching information on the twins. But overall, I was captivated by these famous twins!

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daisy and Violet were conjoined twins from England. They had a rough life but became great entertainers touring the US and Europe. This book follows them through the ups and downs of their loves, performing life and retirement.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. There are a number of grammatical errors, what happened to the editor? When there are as many errors in a book as I found in this one it makes me think the author, publisher, editors just don’t care. At times I wondered if English was the first language of the author.