Mary Toft: An odd claim of a woman giving birth to rabbits - Episode 102

Rabbits?  Yes, rabbits!  Plural!  As in “Mary Toft gave birth to more than one rabbit.”  Believable?  Not these days.  But in 1726, it was plausible to many, and Mary Toft, 24, of the village of Godalming, England, was convincing to many in her claim that she had just given birth to rabbits. 

Oh, and just as astonishing, those births took place after she had already given birth to Mary, Anne, and James, all human children fathered by Joshua Toft, a clothier by trade and a non-rabbit by birth. 

Here, from Volume 3 of Stories from History’s Dust Bin, comes the “rabbit tale,” if we may use that phrase, of a woman who insisted she had given birth to a “fluffle” of bunnies – a claim that made its way – all the way to the court of King George II of England before the matter could be put to rest.   

Stories from History’s Dust Bin is a 3-volume set of historical short stories. These are the nuggets of gold that had fallen by the wayside… the little known and unusual. Many of these gems were destined to be forever lost until they were collected, dusted off and brought back to life by author Wayne Winterton.

Each podcast episode features one of the over 450 stories featured in Winterton’s Award-Winning* series, narrated by either the author, his son, William Winterton, or his daughter, Jana.

If you enjoy today’s episode, please leave us 5 stars and a glowing review on iTunes! And if you don’t want to wait a whole week to hear another story from the Dust Bin, consider picking up the books on Amazon (either downloadable or good ol’ fashioned ink and paper).

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