Freaks: The Pig-Faced Lady of Manchester Square and Other Medical Marvels - Softcover

Bondeson, Jan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0752436627 ISBN 13: 9780752436623

Publisher: The History Press, 2006

Synopsis

This is the remarkable story of the lives of individuals afflicted with severe deformities and how seventeenth and eighteenth-century British society reacted to their extraordinary bodies. From hog-faced women to dog-faced boys, Jan Bondeson examines historical cases of dwarfism, extreme corpulence, giantism, conjoined twins, and extreme hairiness. He considers these individuals not as 'freaks' but as human beings born with sometimes appalling congenital deformities. Heavily illustrated with woodcuts, engravings, and oil paintings, "The Pig-Faced Lady of Manchester Square" combines a scientist's scrutiny with a humanist's wonder at the endurance of the human spirit.

About this title

About the Author:

Jan Bondeson is a senior lecturer and consultant rheumatologist at the University of Wales College of Medicine. His many critically acclaimed books include Cabinet of Medical Curiosities, The Great Pretenders and the best-selling Buried Alive: The Terrifying History of Our Most Primal Fear. His book The London Monster ('Lively and gripping' The Daily Telegraph, 'Excellent' The Independent), the tale of an eighteenth century predecessor of Jack the Ripper, is also published by Tempus.

About this edition

• Publisher: The History Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0752436627
• ISBN 13: 9780752436623
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 336