Mary Toft was an English woman from Godalming, Surrey, who in 1726 became the subject of considerable controversy. In 1726, Toft became pregnant, but following her reported fascination with the sighting of a rabbit, she miscarried. Her claim to have given birth to various animal parts prompted the arrival of John Howard, a local surgeon, who investigated the matter. The resultant public mockery created panic within the medical profession and ruined the careers of several prominent surgeons. The affair was satirised on many occasions, not least by the pictorial satirist and social critic William Hogarth.
About Mary Toft in brief
Mary Toft was an English woman from Godalming, Surrey, who in 1726 became the subject of considerable controversy. In 1726, Toft became pregnant, but following her reported fascination with the sighting of a rabbit, she miscarried. Her claim to have given birth to various animal parts prompted the arrival of John Howard, a local surgeon, who investigated the matter. He delivered several pieces of animal flesh and duly notified other prominent physicians, which brought the case to the attention of Nathaniel St. André, surgeon to the Royal Household of King George I. By then quite famous, toft was brought to London where she was studied in detail, where under intense scrutiny and producing no more rabbits she confessed to the hoax. The resultant public mockery created panic within the medical profession and ruined the careers of several prominent surgeons. The affair was satirised on many occasions, not least by the pictorial satirist and social critic William Hogarth, who was notably critical of the medical Profession’s gullibility. The ‘poor Woman’, Mary Toft, was twenty-four or twenty-five years old. She was baptised Mary Denyer on 21 February 1703, the daughter of John and Jane Denyer. She married Joshua Toft in 1720 and together the couple had three children, Mary, Anne and James. She complained of painful complications early in the pregnancy and in early August egested several pieces Of flesh, one \”as big as my arm\”.
This may have been the result of an abnormality of the developing placenta, which would have caused the embryo to stop developing and blood clots and flesh to be ejected. Toft went into labour on 27 September. Her neighbour was called and watched as she produced several animal parts. This neighbour then showed the pieces to her mother and to herMother-in-law, who by chance was a midwife. Ann Toft sent the flesh to a Guildford-based man-midwife of thirty years’ experience. The next day, despite his reservations, he went to see Mary, but he found nothing on her. When Mary went again into labour, appearing to give birth to more animal parts, he returned to continue his investigations. According to a contemporary account of 9, over the next few days he delivered three pieces of the Back-Bone of an Eel. The guts were as a Cat’s feet and one leg of a Rabbby, and were in them were three legs of a Tabby. In all nine, they died all in bringing into the World. The woman hath made Oath, that two Months ago, being working in a Field with other Women, they put up a Rabbit, who running from them, they pursued it, but to no Purpose: This created in her such a Longing to it, that she was taken ill and miscarried, and from that Time she hath not been able to avoid thinking of Rabbits. People after all, differ much in their Opinion about this Matter, and say, that if it be a Fact, a Veil should be drawn over it.
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This page is based on the article Mary Toft published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 15, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
