In 1726, in the town of Godalming, England, a woman confounded the
nation's medical community by giving birth to seventeen rabbits. This
astonishing true story is the basis for Dexter Palmer's stunning,
powerfully evocative new novel.
Surgeon's apprentice Zachary Walsh knows that his master, John Howard,
prides himself on his rationality. But John cannot explain how or why
Mary Toft, the wife of a local journeyman, has managed to give birth to
a dead rabbit. When this singular event becomes a regular occurrence,
John and Zachary realize that nothing in their experience as rural
physicians has prepared them to deal with a situation like
this--strange, troubling, and possibly miraculous. John contacts several
of London's finest surgeons, three of whom soon arrive in Godalming to
observe, argue, and perhaps use the case to cultivate their own fame.
When King George I learns of Mary's plight, she and her doctors are
summoned to London, where Zachary experiences a world far removed from
his small-town existence and is exposed to some of the darkest corners
of the human soul. All the while Mary lies in bed, as doubts begin to
blossom among her caretakers and a growing group of onlookers waits with
impatience for another birth, another miracle.
