In 1726 the medical establishment of London was amazed by the apparent proof of the powers of “maternal impression” when a lady fascinated during pregnancy by the sighting of a wild rabbit proceeded to give birth to several of them*. Eventually Mary’s husband was caught buying rabbits on the down low and sneaking them to Mary to be her miraculous** rabbit babies, and the jig was up.
This here is Mary’s official confession about the hoax, from the collections of University of Glasgow Library.
*or parts thereof
**mostly miraculous in that she did not immediately die of horrible infection
Find out more:
“The Curious Case of Mary Toft” – University of Glasgow Library Special Collections
“An Extraordinary Delivery of Rabbits” – The Paris Review
“Mary Toft and her Extraordinary Delivery of Rabbits” – Public Domain Review
