Lavinia Warren was the 19th-century proportional little person who lived largely, and very lavishly. Despite being small in stature, she was huge in stardom. From her humble beginnings as a school teacher to her worldwide fame as one-half of a petite power couple with General Tom Thumb, Warren did it all—but there was a twisted side to their stardom.
Most historians believe that Warren and Thumb’s baby didn’t even belong to them. A popular theory suggests that it was all a publicity stunt, and that the couple simply borrowed babies from local orphanages while on tour and then returned them. After all, Lavinia supposedly had a deep fear of having children herself.
Lavinia felt that her small stature wouldn’t be able to handle childbirth. However, when her sister Minnie became pregnant and carried the baby to term, it seemed that Lavinia’s fears were unfounded…that is, until Minnie went into labor—and the nightmare began.
