Ten Days a Madwoman: The Daring Life and Turbulent Times of the Original "Girl" Reporter, Nellie Bly

by Deborah Noyes

Work for a New York newspaper
Fall in love
Marry a millionaire
Change the world
 
Young Nellie Bly had ambitious goals, especially for a woman at the end of the nineteenth century, when the few female journalists were relegated to writing columns about cleaning or fashion. But fresh off a train from Pittsburgh, Nellie knew she was destined for more and pulled a major journalistic stunt that skyrocketed her to fame: feigning insanity, being committed to the notorious asylum on Blackwell's Island, and writing a shocking exposé of the clinic’s horrific treatment of its patients.
 
Nellie Bly became a household name as the world followed her enthralling career in “stunt” journalism that raised awareness of political corruption, poverty, and abuses of human rights. Leading an uncommonly full life, Nellie circled the globe in a record seventy-two days and brought home a pet monkey before marrying an aged millionaire and running his company after his death.
 
With its sensational (and true!) plot, Ten Days a Madwoman dares its readers to live as boldly as its remarkable heroine.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Middle Grade, Historical, Biography Memoir, Childrens

136 pages, Hardcover

First published February 23, 2016

About the author

Deb writes for adults and children and is also an editor and photographer. She lives in Massachusetts with her family.

Reviews

[Kelly]

Nellie Bly is the best.

This entire book is a fascinating, well-written, engaging account of Bly's career, from her beginnings through to the end. I loved that it followed so many pieces of history that are familiar and offered insights and interesting aspects we may not otherwise know about Bly nor the time period. There was one part about how Willa Cather wrote a scathing letter against Bly's journalism that made me so happy to see and think about because it so mirrors today's social action and movement and criticism. If anything, this time period surprisingly mirrors ours, but without the high tech aspects.

Also, Nellie had a pet monkey named McGinty, and he broke all of her dishes after their voyage around the globe.

From now on, all we need to ask is WHAT WOULD NELLIE BLY DO?

Full review here: http://stackedbooks.org/2016/10/cybil...

[Cam · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off this title is misleading... it should have been The life of Nellie Bly. It doesn’t cover as much of the mad house as I was led to believe from the cover....maybe 30 pages cover the her time in the mad house.

1890’s originally Blackwell Island , part of the city of NY, was created to house 800 inmates. Rikers Island was constructed and the prisoners were moved which left Blackwell Island to become a insane asylum for 1700 people. Nellie Bly, a journalist, went undercover and labeled insane by the courts and locked away at Blackwell Island. She met other women that were locked away for ridiculous reasons such as arguing in the work force, loving someone other than their husband, or not understanding English. They were locked away on Blackwell Island and treated as murders. Majority women of the women’s ward were immigrants.
Horrible conditions such as once a week baths that everyone shared the same water. Given food with insects in them and rancid meats. Women were drugged with morphine every night to the point that if they weren’t crazy to begin with they were by the heavy usage of drugs administered.
This is a very good look into our history and the injustices done upon women.
After her breakthrough report on the asylum her career tales off. For instance after the book Around The World in 80 Days came out, she challenged it by going around the world in 72 days. It was a big deal that she went unchaperoned or unescorted around the world. After this success she wasn’t even aloud a pay raise. With the injustices of the work force Nellie left the paper and marries a millionaire to divorce within a short period of time, which divorce was unheard of. She went back to work and again looked to writing columns to right social wrongs against women. She was a pioneer during her time.... a true trailblazer for women in journalism.

[Scott Fillner · Rating 5 out of 5]

What drew me originally to this book was the title and the topic of mental illness. But what I learned upon reading this book was the AMAZING life of Nellie Bly.

"Nellie owned her life from the beginning..." I learned this to be very true indeed! Nellie was like Indiana Jones but only greater, and had real lasting impact on social issues. She was a person SO ahead of her time.

It is people like this, and books like these that can be the catalyst for students to be that change they can see. It is Nonfiction like this that comes to students at a time of change and can help lead them on a path of discovery on their own.

I am so happy I stumbled across this book, and look forward to sharing it with students and colleagues.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its probably been over twenty years since I have read any YA non-fiction, but as soon as I opened the book sense memories of Reading and History classes in my middle school years came flooding back. Its somehow nice to know that the form and structure I had experienced as a youth still existed in a book published within the past four years. Noyes does as promised and tracks Nellie Bly’s life and times, using the standard interstitial asides to build out the larger world surround Bly at the turn of the last century. The book is also littered with primary source images and quotes, rooting the reader in the narrative.

Full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...

[Bratlingsbücher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kann man machen - muss man nicht

[AquaMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not something I would have picked up on my own (I have to read it for Battle of the Books) and I freely admit I did a good deal of skimming and skipping ahead.

For the title, there really wasn't a whole lot about Nellie's time at Blackwell's Island. Rather, this stunt (not only unprecedented for a woman of her time, but unprecedented for investigative journalism) was only the beginning of Nellie's adventures. For what it is, a nonfiction book aimed at a distinctly young audience with a distinctly short attention span, it was decent. Although I referred the author's Houdini biography.

I did find this interesting on a couple personal levels. One, because, before becoming a librarian, I spent 10 or so years as a journalist, both as a staff reporter and on a strictly freelance basis, before deciding it just wasn't for me. Because I just didn't dig the petty drama...and this was back in the late 90s, early 00s (SO glad I got out when I did, because the drama of today makes the drama of back them seem like sunshine and rainbows and unicorns building sandcastles from glitter). Another reason is the town where I live once housed a pretty notorious asylum. The buildings are no longer there and the grounds have mostly been converted into walking/biking trails, but you can still find the remnants of the old cemetery, if you know which random side trail to explore. A visit here is an experience that's creepy even in broad daylight, with the sun beating down. The place has a definite Vibe to it (These statements, I realize, imply I may have been there at night as well. And that's the truth. I have. It was years and years and years ago, and I went along with a group of friends because we were bored and it was something "exciting" to do that was safer and more acceptable than some of the other shenanigans we could have gotten up to. Of course we psyched ourselves up as we hiked out there so that, by the time we arrived, we were all thoroughly creeped out...except for Stephanie, who was bored by everything. Thoughts of dead hands clawing up through the ground and unsettled ghosts following us home... All the horror movies we'd ever seen flashing through our heads... Blue may have even cried a little, which made him the perfect target for his brother and some of The Guys calling him a highly inappropriate word that starts with "P" and is sometimes synonymous with "wimp." Yes, much immaturity ensued. Can't blame the guy, though. I recall the place being straight-up eerie in the dark, knowing we were walking over unmarked graves and, quite possibly, a mass burial pit, which, rumor has it, is out there somewhere. Although only Marcus had the gall to jump around on the spot where he claimed it to be. If anyone was getting haunted, it was him. This was the first and last time I went out there at night and, even though I know nothing ill will come of another nocturnal visit, I'm in no hurry to do it again...even all these years, and MUCH more maturity, later. ) But I digress...

Overall, an ok book. Nellie was a very interesting character and a woman very ahead of her time. This is something I would feel good about recommending to a teen or tween who has to (or wants to) read a biography of some sort.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished MADWOMAN by Louisa Treger, a fictionalized account of Nellie Bly's childhood and her undercover investigation of the insane asylum at Blackwell's Island. Since I wasn't sure exactly what parts of that book were true and which weren't, I wanted to read a non-fiction account of Bly's life to compare/contrast and learn more about this one-of-a-kind woman. TEN DAYS A MADWOMAN served that purpose well. I agree with other reviewers that the title is misleading, though, because the book covers Bly's entire life, with her asylum experience as only a small part. I appreciated this since MADWOMAN focuses almost entirely on her time on Blackwell's Island. As interesting as that is, Bly did a lot more in her life, most of which I didn't know about. TEN DAYS A MADWOMAN talks about all of it in a straightforward way that is clear, concise, and compelling. The book is written for a middle-grade audience, but it doesn't talk down to the reader. It never gets graphic, but it doesn't shy away from discussing Nellie's abusive stepfather, horrors she saw at the asylum, etc. What results is a fascinating portrait of a trailblazing woman who worked hard to achieve her goals, experienced incredible things, and pushed for reforms that benefitted women, the impoverished, the mentally ill, and the working poor. I enjoyed the quick, informative read.

[Almira Manesia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book is kind of not matching the book because this book was about Nellies life not only the asylum. I really liked the bravery Nellie had because during that time it took a lot of courage and she may have faced many challenges pulling something like this off. I mean this book is an entire biography of Nellie Bly so I could say that the title just doesn't go with the book, other than that I think this book is a great read for anyone.

[Stella Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gotta love history paper reference books 😀

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fine biography for middle grade readers. Nellie Bly was a journalist with grit and vision who used her forum to expose injustices in such places as insane asylums and factories. A fascinating and well-documented biography.

[Royonna · Rating 4 out of 5]

She wrote nearly all night long I listened to a woman cry and beg for God to let her die. Another Woman yelled murder at the top of her lungs. What she saw inside that building was filled with horror. Nelly Bly, a twenty three year old journalist went undercover to expose a New York City asylum in 1887. Nellile Bly, a nickname short for Nellie Cochran, was born in 1864. She had hazel eyes and born hair that's always put up in a bun. It was her first year as a journalist and she was eager for any assigment she could go on. On September 22nd 1887,she sat down with her editor of the New York World, the American newspaper that originated in 1860. Her editor proposed that she write an expose on Blackwell Asylum. This was going to be a huge story. ”I want to kbow everything how the patients are treated, how they’re managed what the conditions are like.” She had faith in herself that she could complete the task, but she had heard horror stories of the abuse and negligence inside Blackwell. “Well how are you going to get me out once I'm inside?” It was easy to get admitted to Blackwell, but getting out was nearly impossible. “That I don’t know, but I guess we’ll haved to reveal your identity to do so,” the editor said. He gave her a piece of paper with a different name on it Nellie Brown. He told her that last name was going to be Brown so no one would recognize it since she was a journalist and with that he left her to prepare for this assignment all by herself. That week she stayed at a boarding house for women and was assessed by a doctor who didn’t need much convincing to send her to Blackwell. Blackwell Asylum first opened as a prison in 1832 on East River Island it housed patients with diseases and physical ailments. Then it started accepting patiants with disabiltes that prevented them from taking care of themselves and turned into an asylum in 1839. One cold brisk morning as Nellile stepped out of the waggen and looked up she saw the dark crumbling stone building the stench in the air made her cover her nose. It was Blackwell Asylum. The air smelled sour and musty for some reason and just then a nurse walked over to the group Nelly was with and greeted them. Nellie, completely nervous and not knowing what to expect, walked inside. The building did in fact look like a prison. This was it. This was her first day. Once admitted to Blackwell it was extremely difficult to leave the Asylum grounds. Even if you were to prove your sanity it wouldn’t make a difference if they refused to listen which they did often. The male patients were transfored to a different facility on the isalnd but Blackwell was still crowded. It housed 300 women but it was only ment to house 200 patients in all. As Nellie kept walking deeper into the buliding she was hit with a tinge of panic. SHe had no idea how her editor was going to get her out. The dread of spending more than 10 days inside the Ayslum filled her with misery. Dr.Kinner approached the group, he would be evaluating the women who had just arrived. A woman who came with Nellie, Louise Shanze, who spoke very little English was told she’d be staying there for a wile.She was German and had a hard time understanding what the doctors and nurses were saying. She had a hard time making herself understood. Another woman named Mrs.Mayard was led away even though she kept pleading with them that she was perfectly sane, Perfectly sound. Louise, struggling to communicate,began to sob. She didn’t want to be there but they wouldn’t listen to any of them. When it was time for Nellie to be examined, She noticed the doctors and nurses paid little attention to her; they kept flirting right in front of her; they were just missing everything that Nellie was saying. “I’m not sick, I don't want to stay here,” She told them, but they looked at her as if she said the most horrifying thing in the world. Even though everything inside looked clean and orderly Nellie couldn’t help but feel that horrible things were about to happen. After the examination she heard someone yell go out into the hall and just then patients flooded the hallway. One patient came over to her that supper was about to be served, So Nellie stood up anf followed everyone else. When the group of women entered the hall Nellie and some of the others started to shiver. They were standing right in front of a door that led to the cafeteria. It was so cold they could see their breath right in front of them and when Nellie looked over at the barred window it was wide open letting in the cold damp air. They were all crowded in front of the locked door leading to the cafeteria and when Nellie looked around the group of women, some were sobbing, some were talking to themself and some had a distant expression on their faces. She felt extremely guilty and sorry for the way they were being managed. There was no care given nor any tenderness inside the walls of Blackwell. After waiting half an hour a nurse entered the hall and unlocked the door to the cafeteria. They were given marching orders to get in line two by two. Nellie obediently listened and when she looked around her those that immediately didn’t get in line were either shoved or pushed or even slapped on the ear by the attendance because they weren’t fast enough. As soon as the group entered the dining hall which was a large room with long wooden tables and backless benches there was a mad dash. On the table were cups with pink liquid in them that were supposed to be tea,five prunesnext to the cups and buttered bread. Women were fighting over the meal even taking the share of others. And when Nellie’s own food was taken from her, a woman sitting across from her offered her own meal to Nellie, but Nellie politely refused. When she asked the attendant for more food the attendant told her, “If you forgot where your home was you surely didn’t forget to eat now did you?” When Nellie took a bite of the buttered bread that was given to her she immediately spit it out. The bread was dry but moist in some places. The butter has a very sour taste to it and it was a light brown color and on the edge of the crust she saw the dried up leg that belonged to the spider. A woman that was watching her told her,”You know you can ask for unbuttered bread next time,”She said with a smile. Nellie smiled back at her and picked up the tea that tastes like warm water. She ate a few of the prunes and gave them to a woman that asked for them. After supper they were all unsherd to a cold wet bathroom down the hall. The attendant who took the women there announced that it was their bath time and that really freaked out Nellie. Nellie was the first to be forced out of her clothes even though she protested. She begged for them to take the other women away but she was just told to shut up. They told her that if she didn’t do what they asked they wouldn’t be so gentle. So in front of all the women Nellie was stripped out of her clothing by two attendents and told to get inside the tub. She jumped in as quickly as she could considering she was naked in front of the group of women that were standing in the corner watching her. The water was unbearbley ice cold and when Nellie looked at the attendant approaching her she saw the attendant was holding a discolored rag. She braced herself as the attendant started to scrub her skin ferociously. Only using a speck of soap. Nellie’s teeth started to chatter and then they dumped a bucket of ice cold water on top of her head and when Nellie looked over at the other woman they looked horrified knowing that they were next. They were given a bath once a week and that was the only time they ever saw soap. After the bath Nellie was given an itchy flannel slip that resembled a potato sack. On the back of the slip were the words: “Insanse Asylum Blackwell Islanh Hall 6” As she was putting on the slip she heard the tenants scold another patient for asking them to be more gentle. She was led to a room with six beds and when Nellie sat down on one of them another attendant rushed inside the room and dragged her out. “I heard you’re to noisy you’re going to be inside a room alone,” the attendant told her. Room 28 is where Nellie would be sleeping. The bed looked lumpy and broken the walls were bare and crumbling it was so cold inside.”Can I have a nightgown? I’m too cold in this.” Nellie said pointing to her flannel slip. The attendant looked at her and scoffed rudely. She told Nellie that they don’t provide nightgowns at this institution and when Neliile protested saying the city pays them to provide good care for their patients, the attendent looked at her and told her,” I dont care, you should be thankful for what you get here. You don’t need to expect any kindness around here because you won’t get it. I can tell you that much.” Nelile sat quietly and watched the attendant leave. She put her head against the pillow that was now damped and wondered why she took on this assignment. After an hour passed she heard loud footsteps approaching and then she heard the loud clicks of the locks to each door being turned and when the footsteps stopped right outside Nellie’s room the door opened. It was a night attendant who told her that evry night the doors were to be locked and the windows barred. There was no escape. Nellie nodded and put her head back on the pillow she tried to sleep but she couldn’t. Every hour she heard loud footsteps giggling, laughing, right outside her door heavy footsteps kept going up and down the hallway every hour. It was as if they didn’t want patients to sleep at all. If there was a fire at Blackwell there would be no way attendentds could free all the patients in time. Serveal hours had passed and Nellie noticed the sun peeking through the navy blue sky and she heared brids right outside the barred window. She hadn’t slept all night and was just getting drowsy but just then she heard her door unlock and brudt open. A nurse came in and threw a wad of clothes on the floor and yelled at Nellie to get dressed quickly. It was a scratchy cotten dresswith black stains all over it and an underskirt she got dressed and was led into the bathroomwhere the other patients were washing their faces. Only two towels were provided for the 45 women. Some had sores on their faces others did not, but they kept using the same towel one right after the other Nellie had walked over to the farthest sink in the bathroom and washed her face quickly and then she used her underskirt to wipe the water because she wasn’t going to use those towels. As she was about to leave the bathroom an attendant yelled at her to stay and wait for the combing. Confused, she stood in the corner and after 45 minutes two attendants along with a patient came in holding six combs. All 45 heads were being combed with those. Nellie tried to protest saying that her hair was fine but she was yanked down to the floor and a nurse started to comb her hair aggressively. Afterwards they were given a repulsive breakfast and those that couldn’t stand up, sit upright or fidgeted too much were given the punishment of sitting on those backless benches from six in the morning to eight at night. Those that weren’t punished were granted the permission of going outside for their daily walk in the afternoon. When it came time Nellie stepped out to the brisk cold afternoon air and she tried not to gasp. She was surrounded by groups of women from different halls that were being guarded by nurses. They were severely ill. They had vacant expressions, they kept whispering things to themselfs, and when Nellie asked who they were,she was told that they were the most violent patenits on the island. Nellie knew this wasn’t true. She heard one of the women screaming at a nurse asking her why she was being beaten by her and why the nurse wanted to kill her. She saw another woman in a stright jacket being dragged by two nurses. What little time they had inside was not ment to be enjoyed. They weren’t even allowed on the grass, they couldn’t even touch the grass. If someone picked up a leaf off the ground it was immediately confiscated. After the walk the women were led inside the sitting room where they waited for dinner. They waited hours for dinner. Throughout this article you are truly able to see how much a place can take over and have an impact on people. This article made me cry the emotion from this article you can see from miles away. Something I didn't do so much in this article was the pictures. I believe more graphic pictures could have impacted a visual representation of what was really happening. I give this article a four out of five star rating.

[DaughterOfPoseidon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, reading this book was...amazing. Just Nellie’s courage to do the things she did, and, when you’ve read the book you’ll agree with me, to just keep it cool when she gets knocked down a few pegs! I really enjoyed this book and I think that, if you like amazing biographies, this is the book for you!!!

[Clarice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is pretty good. It is a biography of Nellie Bly and follows her throughout her lifetime. The title is slightly misleading, seeing as only thirty pages of the book was dedicated to her time in the madhouse. Her trip around the world seemed to take up a larger portion of the book. Nellie Bly did do a lot in her life. She went undercover at an insane asylum, broke the world record for fastest time around the world, and ran a business that her husband left to her when he died. I would recommend this book to people who want a quick, easy, and informative read.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is extremely well-written and thought out, moving quickly between topics and events while keeping the story flowing neatly. While it is nonfiction, it is also a fascinating and fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This novel left me stunned.

[Madeline_M_706 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book. It was recomended to me a few years ago, and I am glad that I finally read it.

For homework, my quotes:

Like thousands of other young hopefuls, twenty-three-year-old Nellie Bly was on her own for the first time in her life.

Ordinary though her daughter's birthplace and circumstances were, Mary Jane Cochran soon decided-or observed-that this child, her third and her husband's thirteenth would not be ordinary.

"I think I experienced some of the sensations of a drowning person as they dragged me, gasping and shivering and quaking, from the tub. For once I did look insane."

"They inject so much morphine and chloral that the patients are made crazy. I have seen [inmates] wild for water from the effects of the drugs and the nurses refuse to give it to them."

But what had become of the patients, the many women Nellie had deemed sane and who were being held against their wills? (less)
2 minutes ago · delete
Write a comment...

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast-paced rendition of the life and times of Nellie Bly. The story is told in two threads: the first begins when she arrives in New York looking for work. The second thread is her childhood. This intertwining back-and-forth didn't bother me. The page breaks were sensible, and this approach made it seem a little more like getting to know a real person (you rarely get their whole story from beginning to end).

Nellie comes across at times as selfless and heroic, while at other times quite self-serving. In other words, she is portrayed as a real person, and her accomplishments given the late nineteenth century time period are very impressive. There are many other topics that fly in and out of the story: insane asylums, travel, World War I, strikes and workers' rights, marriage and divorce. Each of these is examined in the context of Nellie's personal history, but in such a way as to make those topics interesting, too.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nellie Bly was an awesome trailblazer with her most fantastic claim being her time in an insane asylum for that time and reporting out about the treatment, conditions, food, and "help" were phenomenally groundbreaking but also pioneering. She wanted to prove to the men in the news industry that she had what it takes. She also "went around the world" literally to report in a back-in-the-day Verne way.

I don't think the writing was the most riveting and I was bogged down by the text at times, including the intermittent inserts about certain events in her life or in those time periods, to the point where I was losing interest in a woman I didn't want to lose interest in. So as much as this is about Nellie Bly, it's about the news industry as well. A lot can be learned about how they operated then and what has led to their replacement now.

"Women also, he maintained, 'fine it impossible not to exaggerate.'"

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nellie Bly is incredibly fascinating, and Noyes is a talented writer. This would have been a great book, if she hadn't tried to get clever with her structure. The main body is written in chronological order, starting with Bly as a struggling young journalist, before hitting on the asylum stunt. But the blue text boxes describe random events from her earlier life, in no particular order. It's a little confusing, and there's no particular reason to set the book up that way. Bly is way more than interesting enough that her biography doesn't need tricks to liven it up.

[Kristin Satterlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I had read Nellie Bly's story of her time in the asylum on Blackwell's Island in her own words, and was intrigued by the back story and side notes provided by the book - but the rest of Nellie's life might have been even more extraordinary. The writing style is straightforward and readable, though it may tend more toward young adult than the middle reader it's listed as. The layout of the book helped maintain interest, with "sidebar" pages that filled in interesting details about the time period. A really fascinating read!

[Mary Havens · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best parts, for me, were her undercover work in the asylum and her war correspondence. I didn't care for the around the world adventure although that is probably what made her the most famous.
Definitely a tough lady: determined and full of grit!

[Beth Honeycutt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot in this book about Nellie Bly, an important American reporter. The info part of the book was good, but the format of the book was not well done in my opinion. The "extra" snippets about Bly were randomly placed in the middle of chapters.

[Ebon Dracula · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is pretty good but the title is misleading and the book is hard to follow.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

The version I read was combined with 3 other of Nellie's writings, so I can't speak for the quality of editing and proofreading of the version shown. However, the proofing in the combined works that I read was atrocious, making it difficult to enjoy the story to its fullest extent.

As to the contents of this true story - wow! This expose is yet another revelation of how cruel mankind can be. Women who are not in the least insane were committed to an insane asylum (this one in New York City in the 1830's) simply to get them out of the way.

Conditions were bad: thin blankets, straw pillows, no mental stimulation, terrible food the women could not even keep down. Even worse - deliberate attempts to torment the women: cold rooms, hard benches upon which they must sit every day for hours, nothing to read, no way to get warm, taunting by the staff, punishment for no reason....how can one woman treat another so badly?

Nellie Bly, a journalist, had herself committed as a way to get an inside story on the conditions inside notorious Blackwell's Island. She knew that in 10 days she could be released when her newspaper vouched for her. She suffered a very long and uncomfortable 10 days. She is extremely lucky she did not catch a disease or even die while captive. She must have been a very courageous woman.

The worst thing is - when the asylum got word that (after release) she was coming back to interview other inmates who were not insane, they were all hidden away, the place was cleaned up, the food was excellent, the place was charming - how did they manage to accomplish this on short notice? It took a lot of the oomph out of her story.

That said, as a result of her crusade the city of New York found an extra $1 Million a year to fund the asylum. One would hope that conditions inside improved from that date.

[Kim Tyo-Dickerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is captivating and refers to Nellie Bly's most famous news story, but this is actually an innovative biography of the young woman named Elizabeth Jane "Pink" Cochran who left her home in Pittsburgh at age 21 and arrived in New York City penniless with the goal to convince a big city newspaper to hire her as a reporter. Against all odds, young "plucky" Nellie convinced Joseph Pulitzer owner of the New York World newspaper to hire her to go undercover as a madwoman in a dangerous journalistic investigation into the brutal life inside one of New York's well-known insane asylums, The Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island. Her reporting there led to improvements in the care of the women in the asylum as well as making her famous. Bly eventually went on to race around the world in an exciting stunt to beat Jules Verne's famous fictional character Phileas Fogg who went Around the World in Eighty Days, as well as spending five years reporting on the evils of trench warfare during World War I. All along her path as a journalist are interspersed flashback pages in bright blue that describe the events of her early life including the death of her wealthy father, her mother's remarriage to an abusive alcoholic, and Elizabeth's determination to follow her dreams and take care of her mother, siblings, nieces and nephews whether they gave her the same dedication and financial support or not. Altogether enjoyable and sophisticated biography for grades 8 and up.

[Sophia Ochoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loooooved this book! It was a very interesting different style of writing that I don’t normally read, but once you read the first few chapters you begin to get used to it. This story is the most inspirational thing I have ever read. The main social issues of this book is gender inequality specifically in jobs and partly the inhumane treatment of women in insane asylums. At first I thought it would mainly follow Nellie in the asylum but after page 67ish it completely switches gears to the rest of her life and it never had a boring moment. I would 10/10 recommend this book!!!! I’m not normally very into literary non-fiction books, but this book was flawless and it was so inspiring. If I could meet one character in history, it would definitely be Nellie Bly lol. So if you’re looking for a quick read that will inspire you to be your best, stand up for what you believe in, and make you want to get up out of your bed and do the things you have to do. You should read this book. 🩷🩷🩷

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the title, I thought this book would focus mainly on Bly's reporting on the asylum. Instead, this book follows more the subtitle and is an out-of-order biography. Initially, I liked the nonlinear structure; it allowed us to get into the meat of the asylum story and catch up on childhood stuff here and there as it was relevant. But as the book progressed beyond the asylum to Bly's later life, the nonlinear structure made far less sense. The childhood vignettes didn't have a thematic connection to their placement, so they felt pretty random.

Bly had a fascinating life. But I was reading this hoping for a more in-depth history of mental illness and its stigma and treatment during Bly's lifetime. We didn't get much of that. I would have also liked to see more quotes from Bly herself. They pepper the novel, but I think longer and more frequent quotes from her reporting would have enriched the book.

2.5 stars

[Heidi Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nellie Bly was ahead of her time in many ways. She was a reporter know for her stunts going undercover to expose the underbelly of society. Her first big stunt was getting checked into an insane asylum for 10 days (not knowing if or when she would be able to get out).

I thoroughly enjoyed this biography. I do agree with other reviews that the title is a bit misleading. This book is about Bly’s entire life, not just her famous time undercover in an asylum. That said, I’ve been wanting to read a book about Nellie Bly for a while and this didn’t disappoint. It is written for a middle grade reader. The story pulled me in. There isn’t a lot of unnecessary detail that a middle grade reader would get bored with, so if you are looking for something with a lot of depth, this probably isn’t for you. If you want a book that gives a good overview of Bly’s life and is a fairly quick read, look no further.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ While I enjoyed the topic the writing feels clunky at times as well as redundant, but much of Nellie's life experience was repetitive. Many of the in text quotes from Nellie just felt awkward.

The teal pages that acted as asides for the reader were too frequent and sometimes in awkward places that interrupted the flow of the narrative too much. I found myself finishing the chapter or larger section and then going back to the teal pages so it didn't disrupt the narrative too much. I think this was intended to be like asides that Gail Jarrow uses in her nonfiction but the effect just doesn't work as well here.

I would love to see the topics of either stunt journalism or early asylums (Bedlam and Blackwell) and other quarantine hospitals covered by Gail Jarrow.

Overall this book does still deliver some interesting and surprising information on late 19th and early 20th centuries reporting as well as Nellie Bly.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nellie Bly is a fascinating and mostly awesome lady. I was impressed with how Noyes doesn't shy away from portraying her less than awesome qualities in the book or attempting to justify them. I didn't really know much about her before this, and now I definitely want to learn more. One small complaint-in author's note at the back, Noyes talks about how she felt like Nellie's time in the mental hospital and her expose about it was the most fascinating part of her life, so she focused the book mostly on that. I agree that it's super fascinating, and that part of the book is extremely engaging and fun to read. The rest of the book, while still interesting, suffers in comparison. I wish that the whole book had been about that experience, or that the rest of the book had been more on that level.

[Luann Habecker · Rating 1 out of 5]

the layout was distracting and bothersome with not only the white then blue pages but the back and forth of it all

and the title is misleading. thought this was going to be a detailed account of her time inside the insane asylum but seemed the trip around the world was more prominent. she also seemed quit undependable with her leaving a paper then going back then leaving...


pg 82 "having an idea, probably a wrong one, that a stick beats more ugliness into a person than it ever beats out."

pg 98 "even if her trip would not benefit science or add to our knowledge of the world. It was mainly an advertisement for the WORLD and for the daring little adventuress."

pg 101 "I meant to answer...at once but I suddenly became a victim of the most frightful depression that ever beset a mortal."