FromtheauthorofTheMiracle&TragedyoftheDionneQuintupletsandTheBordenMurderscomestheabsorbingandcompulsivelyreadablestoryofVioletandDaisyHilton,conjoinedtwinswhowerethesensationoftheUSsideshowcircuitsinthe1920sand1930s.OnFebruary5,1908,KateSkinner,a21-year-oldunmarriedbarmaidinBrighton,England,gavebirthtotwingirls.Theyeachhadtenfingersandtentoes,butwerejoinedbacktobackatthebaseofthespine.Freaks,monsters--that’swhattheywerecalled.MaryHilton,Kate’semployerandmidwife,adoptedVioletandDaisyandpromptlybegandisplayingthebabiesas“Brighton’sUnitedTwins.“Exhibitionsatstreetfairs,carnivals,andwaxmuseumsacrossEnglandandScotlandfollowed.At8yearsold,thegirlscametotheUnitedStates,eventuallybecomingthestarsofsideshow,vaudeville,andburlesquecircuitsinthe1920sand1930s.Inastoryloadedwithquestionsaboutidentityandexploitation,SarahMillerdeliversacompletelycompelling,empatheticportraitoftwosisterswhosebondsweresosacredthatnothing--notevendeath--wouldcompelVioletandDaisytobreakthem.
