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In the autumn of 1726, Mary Toft of Godalming, in Surrey, appeared to give birth to rabbit after rabbit, and eminent surgeons, including one who served the king, vouched for the miracle. Taken to London and watched closely, she confessed to the hoax within weeks.

Godalming, Surrey, 1726

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The story behind the card

Toft, a young working woman, had recently lost a pregnancy. A local man-midwife, John Howard, spread word of the births, and in mid-November Nathaniel St André, surgeon-anatomist to King George I, arrived and declared them genuine. Another royal surgeon, Cyriacus Ahlers, came on 20 November and grew suspicious when he found cut marks on the animal remains and straw and grain in their droppings. In London, under constant watch and threatened with a painful operation, Toft confessed on 7 December that she had placed the animal parts inside herself. She was held at Tothill Fields Bridewell and released in April 1727, as no one could decide what to charge her with. William Hogarth mocked the doctors in his print 'Cunicularii'.

Türkçe oku
1726 sonbaharında Surrey'deki Godalming kasabasından Mary Toft art arda tavşan doğuruyormuş gibi göründü; aralarında kralın hizmetindeki bir cerrahın da bulunduğu saygın hekimler bu mucizeye kefil oldu. Londra'ya getirilip yakından izlenen Toft, birkaç hafta içinde hileyi itiraf etti.
Godalming, Surrey, 1726

Toft yoksul, genç bir kadındı ve kısa süre önce bebeğini düşürmüştü. Doğum işlerine bakan yerel cerrah John Howard doğumları duyurdu; Kasım ortasında Kral I. George'un cerrahı ve anatomi uzmanı Nathaniel St André gelip bunların gerçek olduğunu ilan etti. Kralın bir başka cerrahı Cyriacus Ahlers 20 Kasım'da geldi. Tavşan kalıntılarında bıçak izleri, dışkılarında da saman ve tahıl bulunca kuşkulandı. Londra'da sürekli gözetim altında tutulan ve acılı bir ameliyatla korkutulan Toft, 7 Aralık'ta hayvan parçalarını kendi bedenine yerleştirdiğini itiraf etti. Tothill Fields Bridewell hapishanesinde tutuldu, ama hangi suçla yargılanacağına karar verilemediği için Nisan 1727'de serbest bırakıldı. William Hogarth, “Cunicularii” adlı gravüründe olaya kanan hekimlerle alay etti.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Mary Toft
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