The Imposteress Rabbit Breeder: Mary Toft and Eighteenth-Century England

by Karen Harvey

In October 1726, newspapers began reporting a remarkable event. In the town of Godalming in Surrey, a woman called Mary Toft had started to give birth to rabbits. Several leading doctors - some sent directly by King George I - travelled to examine the woman and she was moved to London to be closer to them. By December, she had been accused of fraud and taken into custody. Mary Toft's unusual deliveries caused a media sensation. Her rabbit births were a test case for doctors trying to further their knowledge about the processes of reproduction and pregnancy. The rabbit births prompted not just public curiosity and scientific investigation, but also a vicious backlash.

Based on extensive new archival research, this book is the first in-depth re-telling of this extraordinary story. Karen Harvey situates the rabbit-births within the troubled community of Godalming and the women who remained close to Mary Toft as the case unfolded, exploring the motivations of the medics who examined her, considering why the case attracted the attention of the King and powerful men in government, and following the case through the criminal justice system.

The case of Mary Toft exposes huge social and cultural changes in English history. Against the backdrop of an incendiary political culture, it was a time when traditional social hierarchies were shaken, relationships between men and women were redrawn, print culture acquired a new vibrancy and irreverence, and knowledge of the body was remade. But Mary Toft's story is not just a story about the past. In reconstructing Mary's physical, social and mental world, The Imposteress Rabbit Breeder allows us to reflect critically on our own ideas about pregnancy, reproduction, and the body through the lens of the past.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medical

224 pages, Hardcover

Published March 23, 2020

Reviews

[Ellen Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn’t a genre I typically read, but I had heard of the Mary Toft case and was always genuinely curious about how the hoax would have gone on the length of time that it did and how news would have traveled back then to create that kind of public outcry. Then I read an interview with the author and bought the book—it was really well researched and painted a very clear picture of all the factors that contributed to the hoax becoming the sensation it was.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, although obviously the topic is a little niche. I generally read Tudor history so the early 18C is a little outside my comfort zone and I thought Harvey did a great job of explaining a lot of the social mores of the time. The one thing I didn't like was that right at the end, she shifted into looking at Toft in a modern context and I just thought that was a step too far. But otherwise a fascinating look at both medical and social history.

[Brooke Star · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most bizarre book I have ever read. I would have never picked it up except for that it was part of my FWS required reading. I think about it from time to time. I can’t believe it is true. It is an incredibly niche topic and story, and impeccably researched.

Spoilers alerts but i think it is still worth read even with the spoilers:
Woman cannot have a baby. She is blamed for this bc it is old she’s and people do not understand fertility and anatomy well. Woman’s mother in law convinces her to shove a dead rabbit up her vagina and pretend to give birth to it. Woman makes news. Woman meets king. King and everyone finds out she did not actually give birth to rabbit. King feels offended and embarrassed that he was fooled. King sends woman to jail.

[Akura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst I find the authors writing style a bit too academic, the story it self was wonderfully fascinating. It’s of particular interest to me in the way, in it represents the transitional period of history from sceptical into that academic, which is something I never explored before. I just love the history of hoax and deceit and the way that as humans are vulnerable to stories and still are today, and it makes you think about how we view modern medicine, and the lapses in judgement and we still may have, although I doubt anyone actually believes women can birth rabbits today.

[Amanda Witt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read of a true story where a woman feigned to give birth to rabbits. It is thought to have been a grief reaction to an earlier miscarriage, but in the 18th century was also thought to be a curiosity.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far more academic than the cover suggests and does rather throw away a good story, but in those terms..... it is fascinating.

[Red Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A genuinely poignant read about a case I knew the bare facts about before reading, but this did an excellent job of focusing an refocusing the case on Mary Toft herself.

[Amanda Seamans · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting micro-history of British history.

[Madeleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant analysis of the gendered power dynamics of the family, medicine, class, and society in eighteenth century England.