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. On February 5, 1908, Kate Skinner, a 21-year-old unmarried barmaid in Brighton, England, gave birth to twin girls. They each had ten fingers and ten toes, but were joined back to back at the base of the spine. Freaks, monsters--that's what they were called. Mary Hilton, Kate's employer and midwife, adopted Violet and Daisy and promptly began displaying the babies as "Brighton's United Twins." Exhibitions at street fairs, carnivals, and wax museums across England and Scotland followed. At 8 years old, the girls came to the United States, eventually becoming the stars of sideshow, vaudeville, and burlesque circuits in the 1920s and 1930s. In a story loaded with questions about identity and exploitation, Sarah Miller delivers a completely compelling, empathetic portrait of two sisters whose bonds were so sacred that nothing — not even death— would compel Violet and Daisy to break them.

The lives and loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton follows the poignant life story of twin sisters who were literally joined at the hip, set against the tumultuous backdrop of America during the first half of the 20th century. Daisy and Violet and an unforgettable cast of show-business characters come alive on the pages of this carefully researched and sensitively written biography. Reviews "Jensen's book is a testament to the fickleness of the entertainment world." -Tampa Bay Tribune "It is an affecting story, gently and honestly told without frills, without sensation. In Jensen's hands, the twins are always human, individuals, never freaks joined at the hips as the world saw them after their birth in 1908. . . Here, their story is pure." -Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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. On February 5, 1908, Kate Skinner, a 21-year-old unmarried barmaid in Brighton, England, gave birth to twin girls. They each had ten fingers and ten toes, but were joined back to back at the base of the spine. Freaks, monsters--that's what they were called. Mary Hilton, Kate's employer and midwife, adopted Violet and Daisy and promptly began displaying the babies as "Brighton's United Twins." Exhibitions at street fairs, carnivals, and wax museums across England and Scotland followed. At 8 years old, the girls came to the United States, eventually becoming the stars of sideshow, vaudeville, and burlesque circuits in the 1920s and 1930s. In a story loaded with questions about identity and exploitation, Sarah Miller delivers a completely compelling, empathetic portrait of two sisters whose bonds were so sacred that nothing — not even death— would compel Violet and Daisy to break them.

Stonewall Book Award Winner Lambda Literary Award Finalist Charlotte Huck Honor Book Perfect for Valentine's Day, Love, Violet by Charlotte Sullivan Wild and Charlene Chua is a touching picture book about friendship and the courage it takes to share your feelings. Only one person makes Violet’s heart skip Of all the kids in Violet's class, only one leaves her speechless: Mira, the girl with the cheery laugh who races like the wind. If only they could adventure together! But every time Violet tries to tell Mira how she feels, Violet goes shy. As Valentine's Day approaches, Violet is determined to tell Mira just how special she is. Charlene Chua’s luminous watercolors bring to life this sweet and gentle picture book about friendship, love, and the courage it takes to share your heart.

THE MOST TALKED ABOUT BOOK OF THE YEAR ''As filthy as it is funny, you won''t be able to put it down'' Dolly Alderton ''Extremely funny, touching and wonderfully refreshing on women and sexual desire'' Marian Keyes ''You will be intoxicated by this witty and honest exploration of female desire'' Elle ''Insatiable is a story about loneliness and trying to fit in, about our desire to be loved and included, how it''s easy to confuse being wanted with being used. It''ll draw people in with the shagging, but people will stay because they''re rooting for Violet.'' Evening Standard Stuck in a dead-end job, broken-hearted, broke and estranged from her best friend: Violet''s life is nothing like she thought it would be. She wants more - better friends, better sex, a better job - and she wants it now. So, when Lottie - who looks like the woman Violet wants to be when she grows up - offers Violet the chance to join her exciting start-up, she bites. Only it soon becomes clear that Lottie and her husband Simon are not only inviting Violet into their company, they are also inviting her into their lives. Seduced by their townhouse, their expensive candles and their Friday-night sex parties, Violet cannot tear herself away from Lottie, Simon or their friends. But is this really the more Violet yearns for? Will it grant her the satisfaction she is so desperately seeking? Insatiable is about women and desire - lust, longing and the need to be loved. It is a story about being unable to tell whether you are running towards your future or simply running away from your past. The result is at once tender and sad, funny and hopeful. * ''This novel shines with dark humour, sharp intelligence, sizzling sex scenes, and a piercing portrayal of loneliness. Not even the most insatiable reader could ask for more.'' Katherine Heiny ''Filthy, funny, and raw, Insatiable is utterly addictive'' Louise O''Neill ''Come for the absolute filth and stay for the empathetic and sensitive way that Daisy Buchanan writes about all the chaos and conflict of being a young woman in a hard-edged, hard-faced world.'' Red ''A piercing insight into the unreal demands modern women place on themselves and told with real humour and energy, we love this book so much'' Stylist ''A raucous unravelling of female desire and bodily pleasures, in all their maddening complexity'' Emma Jane Unsworth ''Few books out in the early half of the year are as flat-out entertaining as Buchanan''s fizzy, filthy story of a young woman''s sexual awakening.'' i paper ''I''d call Insatiable Jilly Cooper for the Instagram generation, but that wouldn''t do this book justice'' Lauren Bravo ''Daisy brings characters to life like no other writer, pumping them full of humour, vulnerability and sexy sexy sex'' Lucy Vine ''Gloriously rude and brave about the nature of women''s desire'' Sophia Money-Coutts ''I raced through this funny, filthy and utterly compelling debut about female sexuality, ambition and vulnerability... I''m still thinking about it long after turning the final page.'' Daily Mail ''I can''t believe this is a fiction debut - she writes stories like she''s been doing it for fifty years'' Laura Jane Williams ''Insatiable is an unashamedly filthy and yet deeply sensitive exploration of female desire, aspiration and vulnerability, and Daisy is an exciting new voice in contemporary fiction.'' Hannah Beckerman ''It reminded me of Bridget Jones''s Diary - if Bridget were bisexual and Daniel Cleaver were a couple who were into group sex.'' Julie Cohen ''Erica Jong for the Instagram age.'' Keith Stuart ''Intelligent, observant prose that gives a snap-shot of life experienced by millennial women.'' Kate Sawyer ''Like going for a drink with your wisest and smuttiest friend'' Jessica Moor ''Funny, filthy ... Buchanan offers astute social observation, while the development of Violet as an ardent yet vulnerable heroine to root for makes her a millennial counterpart to Jilly Cooper''s Bella or Octavia.'' The Sunday Times

Conjoined twins have long been a subject of fantasy, fascination, and freak shows. In this first collection of its kind, Millie-Christine McKoy, African American twins born in 1851, and Daisy and Violet Hilton, English twins born in 1908, speak for themselves through memoirs that help us understand what it is like to live physically joined to someone else. Conjoined Twins in Black and White provides contemporary readers with the twins’ autobiographies, the first two “show histories” to be republished since their original appearance, a previously unpublished novella, and a nineteenth-century medical examination, each of which attempts to define these women and reveal the issues of race, gender, and the body prompted by the twins themselves. The McKoys, born slaves, were kidnapped and taken to Britain, where they worked as entertainers until they were reunited with their mother in an emotional chance encounter. The Hiltons, cast away by their horrified mother at birth, worked the carnival circuit as vaudeville performers until the WWII economy forced them to the burlesque stage. The hardships, along with the triumphs, experienced by these very different sister sets lend insight into our fascination with conjoined twins.

Get ready for an exciting fairy adventure with the no. 1 bestselling series for girls aged 5 and up. When Rachel and Kirsty meet on the ferry to Rainspell Island one summer holiday, they have no idea that such magical adventures with the fairies await them! In the last exciting book in the series, the girls must find Heather the Violet Fairy and then go with the fairies to Fairyland to make sure that all the colours have returned to the magical kingdom! 'These stories are magic; they turn children into readers!' ReadingZone.com Read all seven fairy adventures in the Rainbow Fairies set! Ruby the Red Fairy; Amber the Orange Fairy; Saffron the Yellow Fairy; Fern the Green Fairy; Sky the Blue Fairy; Izzy the Indigo Fairy and Heather the Violet Fairy If you like Rainbow Magic, check out Daisy Meadows' other series: Magic Animal Friends and Unicorn Magic!