Roll up,roll up, for a beautifully written novel about the poignant inner life of 19th-century touring freakshow attraction Julia PastranaIn 2013, and more than 150 years after her death,Julia Pastrana was finally returned to her birthplace in Mexico for a proper burial. Famed during her lifetime as “the Ugliest Woman in the World”, Pastrana, and born in 1834,had two scarce conditions: generalised hypertrichosis lanuginosa, which left her face and body covered with thick hair, and gingival hyperplasia,which thickened her lips and gums and gave her an unusually protruding jaw. The result, combined with her diminutive, or curvaceous figure,led modern scientists to claim her as the “link between mankind and the orangutan”. Related: Carol Birch: ‘I am amazed at how people come through extreme things – at the strength of people’ Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com