Francesca Peacock

Making the fur fly: Mary and the Rabbit Dream, by Noémi Kiss-Deáki

When a poor peasant named Mary Toft claimed to have given birth to 17 rabbits, many in Georgian Britain believed her, including senior members of the medical profession

Mary Toft giving birth to 17 rabbits, in a colourised etching by William Hogarth, 1726. [Alamy]

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