WONDERS OF GOD

In the 19th century, numerous young women on both sides of the Atlantic were alleged to be forgoing food and surviving on faith alone. Felicity Day uncovers the secrets of the so-called fasting girls”, whose stories have inspired a new Netflix drama

- Felicity Day

In December 1869, a treacherous experiment was underway in a small village in Wales. Sarah Jacob, her parents claimed, had survived without a single scrap of food crossing her lips for two years. Now, in the face of scorn from the scientific community, they were attempting to prove that their daughter really was a "miraculous faster". But six days into the two-week round-the-clock watch, things weren't going to plan. The nurses, keen eyes primed to detect any attempts at deceit, were growing worried about the 12-year-old. She was getting weaker and colder. In fact, it looked like she was starving to death.

Though newspapers across the nation were avidly following the "extraordinary case", Sarah was not the first so-called "fasting girl" Britain had seen, nor was she the first to submit to such a perilous test. Europe had a long tradition of these miraculous maidens: young women who appeared to eat almost nothing at all, despite being otherwise in good health. Taking their lead from the devout Catholics of the medieval period, whose anorexia mirabilis was rooted in their deep piety, fasting girls had been attracting attention since at least the 16th century, their abstinence bringing them fame and fortune.

FEATHERS AND RAISINS

Even early on, they had divided opinion. To some, they were a "wonder of God" evidence of his miraculous powers, and worthy of the crowds who flocked to gaze on them. Others were cynical: early modern physicians might not be able to state with any certainty how long a person could survive without eating, but at a time when famine was a bleak reality, the necessity of nourishment for the preservation of life was well-understood.