In November 1726 a woman called Mary Toft appeared to give birth to 17 fully-grown rabbits. This strange and baffling occurrence caused something of a sensation and ever more distinguished mid-wives and doctors were sent to examine her. Eventually Mary was exposed as a fraud.
Lucy Moore is the author of Con Men and Cutpurses. Anna McNamee went to meet her to find out more about some of the most notorious criminals of the day.
Lucy Moore's Con Men and Cutpurses: Scenes from the Hogarthian Underworld is published by Penguin Books, ISBN 0141003464
