Prodigies and Monsters: Mary Toft, the Rabbit Breeder!

This talk is part of the museum's Georgian Medicine Series and focusses on the hilarious story of Mary Toft, a woman who gave birth to several bunnies with the help of surgeon Jon Howard. Obviously Toft was a fraud and had not been impregnated with any fluffy friends, but she did manage to grip the nation with her story and have some very important surgeons and physicians believe it to be true. Kirsty Chilton, assistant curator at the museum will unpick the unlikely tale and share medical theories which have tried to explain the births of monsters and prodigies throughout history. Tickets should be booked in advance.