The Quintland Sisters A Novel

Shelley Wood's debut novel is a fictionalized, coming-of-age story centered on the devastating true tale of the Dionne Quintuplets, the world's first identical quintuplets to survive birth, in hardscrabble Northern Ontario in 1934. The story is told through the eyes of the fictional Emma Trimpany, a reluctant 17-year-old midwife in training who assists at the harrowing birth of the five tiny miracles. When the Canadian government removes the babies from their francophone parents and makes them wards of the British king, Emma signs on as their nurse. At the height of the Great Depression, the quintuplets—Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Marie, and Émilie—become an international sensation and a major tourist attraction, known as 'Quintland,' drawing over 6,000 daily visitors. Emma, who records events in her private journals, sees each girl as unique, even as the rest of the world delights in their sameness and the fight over custody and revenues becomes explosive. Torn between the fishbowl sanctuary of Quintland and the wider world teetering on the brink of war, Emma's journey is a tale of love, heartache, resilience, and enduring sisterhood.

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