Product Description

This is the astonishing tale of June and Jennifer Gibbons, identical twins whose silent, antisocial exterior hid a rich, vast, creative life. From their early childhood through their twenties, they spoke only to each other in a secret language, building an elaborated fantasy life. From their self-imposed isolation, they were catapulted into the hormonal havoc of adolescence - plunging into a wild spree that ultimately led to their incarceration in a hospital for the criminally insane.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1292868 in Books
• Published on: 1992-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback

About the Author
Marjorie Wallace is an award-winning journalist, author, playwright and broadcaster, and has won nine major awards for her journalism, books and plays. She is currently Chief Executive of SANE, the mental health charity, which she helped to found. Marjorie Wallace (Countess Skarbeck) is married and lives in London with her three sons, Sacha, Stefan and Justin, and daughter, Sophia Augusta.

Customer Reviews

"Their only crime was silence"
I bought this book as it had been the inspiration behind Nicky Wires' lyrics for 'Tsunami' - which was a massive hit for Manic Street Preachers. In the past I've been disappointed with some recommended books, but this one by Marjorie Wallace is truly brilliant.

It gives a vivid insight into the lives of June & Jennifer Gibbons, identical twins from South Wales who were sent to Broadmoor at the age of 19. Their crime really was that they chose not to speak. They were clever girls who could not face the tedious boredom of real life and so made up their own little fantasy world.

Unfortunately they were drawn into a life of petty crime and eventually ended up in prison for their crimes.

The author gives an extraordinary insight into the lives of the twins and the way in which society treats people who are "different" from the norm. It is graphic and shocking in parts but honest. I couldn't put the book down and I would highly recommend it highly.

One of those books that stays with you long after you've finished reading it.

Funny Peculiar and (unfortunately) HaHa
If Emily Bronte had written the Secret Diary of Adrian Mole then I suspect it would have read something like this.

The book centres on the autobiographical scribblings and creative efforts of the twins in question - efforts which saw me burst out laughing on numerous occasions. I assume this was unintentional. I didn't feel good about it either. Sad but true indeed.

In fact, the twins' exaggerated prose style seems to have unduly influenced Marjorie Wallace's own input. She gave me a few good laughs as well with her peculiar turns of phrase and biased blather.

Otherwise, it's a depressing read about twin social misfits - Jenny and June. In the main, they are allowed to tell their own story through extracts from their voluminous diaries. Consequently, the only conclusion I could draw was that they were delusional on every level. Jenny, it is implied throughout, was the evil twin though its not particularly supported by the evidence on display and is perhaps a consequence of the fact that June survived and, therefore, will have been more involved in the "artistic" process.

Objective it is not. Out of print it is. I'm not surprised.

the social point of view
As far as I'm a student of sociology I`ve read this book from a social point of view,an I think that's a very strange case which can happen in every family of today unless the parents socialiced their children in a good way. I'd like to contact other people who read this book in order to look fro the place in which they are now. Good reccomendations for new readers. Please, excuse my english , I'm not an english reader.