Sally Mapp

Sarah "Crazy Sally" Mapp (died 1737) was an English lay bonesetter, who gained fame both by performing impressive bone-setting acts in Epsom and London, and by being a woman in a male-dominated profession. Bone-setting was a medical practice used to manipulate and fix musculoskeletal injuries using manual force. Mapp grew up in Wiltshire, England, and learned about the practice from her father, who was also a bone-setter. She frequently fixed horse racing injuries, but her most famous case was fixing the spinal deformity of Sir Hans Sloane's niece.

Sarah Mapp was baptized in 1706 near Wiltshire, England. She was the daughter of John and Jenny Wallin. John Wallin was a bone-setter as well, and when he was unable to conduct bone setting practices, Mapp carried on and dealt with the cases, often even better than her father. She accordingly left him and established her own practice called 'Cracked Sally - the One and Only Bone Setter'. Mapp's nickname 'Crazy Sally' came from her masculine personality and reputation for quarreling with her father and drinking. Mapp could often be found wandering the country in a drunken state and shouting obscenities, which also contributed to her nickname.

Mapp's sister Lavinia Fenton had a considerably different life. Lavinia Fenton played Polly Peachum in The Beggar's Opera in 1728 and later married Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton.

Bone-setting in the 18th century was often carried out by men, specifically farriers and blacksmiths, because it required a lot of strength. Mapp's career started out when she was a young girl. She served as the announcer at her father's booth during local races and fairs. When Mapp started helping her father's patients when he couldn't see them, she often performed amazing feats and treated them better than her father could. Mapp went on to start her own practice and her fame spread. Around 1735, Mapp's fame for fixing decade old dislocations and fractures brought her to Epsom. Epsom was home to a large number of wealthy families and horse-racing, which provided Mapp with a lot of patients. Even though Mapp was known for her masculine and sloppy appearance, her work was always very clean and precise down to the rolling of her bandages. She had a limited knowledge of anatomy, but she had the strength and innate talent for putting dislocations back into place.

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