the miracle and tragedy of the dionne quintuplets by sarah miller

However, the mention of transgender movements and activism-in particular, contemporary issues-runs on the slim side.

Though it lacks the teen appeal and personable, conversational style of Sarah Prager’s Queer, There, and Everywhere (2017), this textbook-level survey contains a surprising amount of depth. Black-and-white illustrations or photos augment each chapter. In some cases, they quote primary sources to speculate about same-sex relationships while also reminding readers of past cultural differences in expressing strong affection between friends. Throughout, the author and adapter take care to use accurate pronouns and avoid imposing contemporary terminology onto historical figures. Cashier, and the 1951 founding of the Mattachine Society, to name a few.

Alongside watershed moments like the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the text brings to light less well-known people, places, and events: the 1625 free love colony of Merrymount, transgender Civil War hero Albert D.J.

(afterword, note on dialogue, references, notes, index)Īn adaptation for teens of the adult title A Queer History of the United States (2011).ĭivided into thematic sections, the text filters LGBTQIA+ history through key figures in each era from the 1500s to the present. Notably, she individualizes the girls by always referring to them by name rather than lumping them together.Īn altogether fresh, perceptive, well-written chronicle of this cautionary tale. Miller ( Caroline, 2017, etc.) tells the story chronologically with a succinct perceptiveness that is riveting in its detailing of well-meaning intentions turning to exploitation, and her inclusion of dialogue-drawn from contemporary materials-and photographs delivers a fresh feel. Instead of shielding the quintuplets from exploitation (one of the reasons put forward for custody), the Red Cross instead displayed them to the thousands of visitors a day who arrived, visitors who could also buy souvenirs at several shops-two owned by Oliva. Overwhelmed by publicity and in legal trouble from an ill-considered contract to display the quintuplets at the Chicago World’s Fair, Elzire and Oliva turned custody of the girls over to the Red Cross, which built a hospital/nursery for them. The combined weight of all five at birth was just 13 pounds, 6 ounces, and their struggle to survive (as copiously reported by the press, which rapidly descended on the farmhouse) captured people’s hearts in the midst of the Great Depression. On May 28, 1934, five identical girls were born to Elzire and Oliva Dionne in an Ontario farmhouse that lacked central heating, running water, or electricity. The true story of the Dionne quintuplets-the first quintuplets to survive infancy.

The miracle and tragedy of the dionne quintuplets by sarah miller