TORONTO — Celebrated author Emma Donoghue admits she has long held interest in “freakish cases,” but exploring real-life tales of “fasting girls” proved particularly intriguing.
The stories, which range from the 16th to 20th century, centre on girls and women from the British Isles, western Europe and North America who supposedly survived for long periods without food.
“There (were) so many of them,” said Donoghue in a recent phone interview from London, Ont.
“If this just happened once or twice you might just say: ‘What a strange and interesting thing.’ But it’s a real phenomenon.”
Nearly 50 cases served as inspiration for Donoghue’s fictional …read more
Source: National Newswatch
