The Two-Headed Boy, and Other Medical Marvels - by Jan Bondeson (Paperback)

About the Book

A successor to his popular book A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities, this new collection of essays by Jan Bondeson illustrates various anomalies of human development, the lives of the remarkable individuals concerned, and social reactions to their...

Book Synopsis

A successor to his popular book A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities, this new collection of essays by Jan Bondeson illustrates various anomalies of human development, the lives of the remarkable individuals concerned, and social reactions to their extraordinary bodies.Bondeson examines historical cases of dwarfism, extreme corpulence, giantism, conjoined twins, dicephaly, and extreme hairiness; his broader theme, however, is the infinite range of human experience. The dicephalous Tocci brothers and Lazarus Colloredo (from whose belly grew his malformed conjoined twin), the Swedish giant, and the king of Poland's dwarf--Bondeson considers these individuals not as "freaks" but as human beings born with sometimes appalling congenital deformities.He makes full use of original French, German, Dutch, Polish, and Scandinavian sources and explores elements of ethnology, literature, and cultural history in his diagnoses. Heavily illustrated with woodcuts, engravings, oil paintings, and photographs, The Two-Headed Boy and Other Medical Marvels combines a scientist's scrutiny with a humanist's wonder at the endurance of the human spirit. Contents:

The Two Inseparable Brothers, and a PrefaceThe Hairy Maid at the HarpsichordThe Stone-childThe Woman Who Laid an EggThe Strangest Miracle in the WorldSome Words about Hog-faced GentlewomenHorned HumansThe Biddenden MaidsThe Tocci Brothers, and Other DicephaliThe King of Poland's CourtDwarf Daniel Cajanus, the Swedish GiantDaniel Lambert, the Human ColossusCat-eating Englishmen and French Frog-swallowers

Review Quotes

A sober, informative disquisition on the sundry forms that humanity can assume and endure.

As Bondeson looks at the cases of the so-called hog-faced women, dog-faced boys, and people with horns throughout history, he shows an acute sensitivity to the nuances of historical interpretation and for the humanity of those whose lives and conditions he chronicles.

About the Author

Jan Bondeson is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Rheumatology, University of Wales College of Medicine. He is the author of many books, including The Feejee Mermaid and Other Essays in Natural and Unnatural History (also from Cornell), The Great Pretenders: The True Stories behind Famous Historical Mysteries, A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities, and Buried Alive.