Women of Controversy: Mary Toft

Womanica

Acast Creative Studios

History, Society & Culture, Education

4.3 • 920 Ratings

🗓️ 25 November 2024

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Mary Toft (early 1700s–1763) was a poor English woman from outside of London who became the subject of considerable controversy when she tricked doctors into believing that she had given birth to rabbits.

For Further Reading:

This month we're talking about women who found themselves at the center of controversy -- whether deserved or not.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Hannah Bottum, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, and Vanessa Handy. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

Follow Wonder Media Network:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Before there was internet fraud and phone scams, there were always swindlers.
0:05.4	Female swindlers too.
0:07.4	Discover the stories of women from the past who not only survived, but thrived as con-artists and thieves.
0:16.6	How did they use their feminine characteristics to swindle in a world where men made the rules?
0:24.0	Join me, Lucy Worsley, historian and author, and my all-female team in ladies swindlers, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:36.9	Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica.
0:42.1	This month we're talking about women who found themselves at the center of controversy,
0:45.9	whether deserved or not.
0:48.3	Today's Wamanican was a hop, skip, and a jump away from convincing the 18th century medical community
0:53.5	that she could do
0:54.3	the impossible. She even managed to dupe the King of England. Her elaborate hoax was a
1:00.6	national sensation and turned science as people knew it on its head. Let's talk about Mary Toft.
1:08.9	Mary was born at the beginning of the 18th century and lived in a small market town about
1:13.4	40 miles outside of London. At 17 years old, she married Joshua Toft, a textile worker,
1:19.7	and the couple stayed in town to raise their children. Work was often grueling and hard to come
1:24.7	by, so the family lived in relative poverty.
1:35.0	Then one day, things took a turn. In 1726, when Mary was several weeks pregnant, she came upon a rabbit. For Mary, this was a wonderful surprise. Catching a rabbit promised a free and
1:41.2	delicious dinner. Unfortunately, when Mary chased the rabbit, it escaped and left her empty-handed.
1:49.1	After that day, Mary became obsessed with the furry creatures, constantly craving rabbit
1:53.9	stew, rabbit pie, or any other rabbit-themed dish.
1:58.1	Much to her chagrin, Mary's new obsession was too expensive to be covered by her family's
2:02.7	meager income. A few months later, rabbits came back into the picture. Despite having miscarried
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Acast Creative Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Acast Creative Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.