The Girl Who Lived on Air: The Mystery of Sarah Jacob: The Welsh Fasting Girl
Though not the first anorexic, Sarah Jacob, “the Welsh fasting girl,” was arguably the first to cause a national uproar when she dominated the press in 1869, becoming something of a celebrity. Despite a team of nurses from Guy’s Hospital stationed at her home in Lletherneuadd, Sarah died, and the best minds in British medicine theorized about the cause of her apparently supernatural existence: living in spite of starvation. This human story shows how Sarah was made to be the center of a lucrative and media-hungry “spin” on the 19th-century nexus of knowledge between science and superstition, folk-belief and religious asceticism. New ground is covered in examining the medical issues surrounding the case, the legal complexities, and the interpretation of a newly enacted law that reformulated serious crime, the prison life of Sarah’s parents—who were convicted of manslaughter—and the significance of folklore and superstition in an unusual and yet all-too-familiar story.
1115995398
The Girl Who Lived on Air: The Mystery of Sarah Jacob: The Welsh Fasting Girl
Though not the first anorexic, Sarah Jacob, “the Welsh fasting girl,” was arguably the first to cause a national uproar when she dominated the press in 1869, becoming something of a celebrity. Despite a team of nurses from Guy’s Hospital stationed at her home in Lletherneuadd, Sarah died, and the best minds in British medicine theorized about the cause of her apparently supernatural existence: living in spite of starvation. This human story shows how Sarah was made to be the center of a lucrative and media-hungry “spin” on the 19th-century nexus of knowledge between science and superstition, folk-belief and religious asceticism. New ground is covered in examining the medical issues surrounding the case, the legal complexities, and the interpretation of a newly enacted law that reformulated serious crime, the prison life of Sarah’s parents—who were convicted of manslaughter—and the significance of folklore and superstition in an unusual and yet all-too-familiar story.
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The Girl Who Lived on Air: The Mystery of Sarah Jacob: The Welsh Fasting Girl
180
The Girl Who Lived on Air: The Mystery of Sarah Jacob: The Welsh Fasting Girl
180
18.95
In Stock
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781781720684 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Seren |
| Publication date: | 07/01/2014 |
| Pages: | 180 |
| Product dimensions: | 8.25(w) x 13.50(h) x 0.60(d) |
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