Publisher's Synopsis
A sardonic, feminist reimagining of the story of Mary Toft, infamous rabbit-birthing hoaxer. Mary Toft was just another eighteenth-century woman living in poverty, misery, and frequent pain. The kind of person overlooked by those with power, forgotten by historians. Mary Toft was nothing. Until, that is, Mary Toft started giving birth to rabbits… In Mary and the Rabbit Dream, the sensational debut novelist Noémi Kiss-Deáki reimagines Mary's strange and fascinating story - and how she found fame when a large swathe of England became convinced that she was the mother of rabbits. Mary and the Rabbit Dream is a story of bodily autonomy, of absurdity, of the horrors inflicted on women, of the cruel realities of poverty, and the grotesque divides between rich and poor. It's a book that matters deeply - and it's also a compelling page-turner. A story told with exquisite wit, skill, and a beautiful streak of subversive mischief. "One of those novels that seemingly arrives from nowhere, fully formed, as odd, disturbing, and lingering as the most vivid of fever dreams. To create something so playfully provocative, subversive and gripping displays a rare literary talent. I've never read anything like it." - Benjamin Myers, author of Cuddy "In Mary and the Rabbit Dream, Noémi Kiss-Deáki transforms the tale of Mary Toft into a stinging, witty critique of the oppressions heaped upon the bodies of impoverished women. This is a brave debut, one told with courage and wit, one which dissects a ruthless system of class and gender - and lays bare the concentric circles of power that still govern our world." - Selby Wynn Schwartz, author of After Sappho "I loved Mary and the Rabbit Dream - a sprightly but savage tale that re-imagines the real-life case of Mary Toft, who, in 1736, supposedly started giving birth to rabbits … It's a supple, smartly self-conscious and ingenious take on the historical novel." - Lucy Scholes
