This miracle, plus their baby cuteness, the poverty of their French Canadian parents, and the controversy over their guardianship, made them the top news story of the 1930s. They are the first known quintuplets to survive infancy, and all five of them survived to adulthood. They were born to parents Oliva and Elzire Dionne on May 28, 1934. Book of the Week: The Miracle & Tragedy of the Dio.The Dionne quintuplets gained worldwide attention after their birth in Corbeil, Ontario.Ample black-and-white photographs accompany this meticulously researched, riveting work that follows them into adulthood. Laying out facts, complexities and contradictions, Miller allows readers to draw their own conclusions about the motivations and actions of individuals and institutions that shaped the quintuplets’ lives. Through continuing challenges and fear, they relied, as always, on one another, still smiling for the camera on demand.
By the time the government returned custody to their parents, they were essential strangers to their family, as their family was to them. There was money to be made through product endorsements, appearances, tourism and souvenirs, and many benefitted from the exploitation. Put on display daily for tourists who came from across Canada and the U.S., visits with their poor, rural, French-speaking parents-offered little sympathy from the government or media-shaped public opinion-were increasingly controlled. Eventually, the government built a compound across the road from their home where the girls lived until age 9, given ample attention but little open affection from the adults who managed their regimented routine. With initial focus on the tiny babies’ survival, the village doctor and a rotating schedule of nurses were soon managing their care. The birth of Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Émilie, and Marie Dionne on May 28, 1934, in a small Ontario village shocked their unsuspecting parents and quickly captivated the world.
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