Liz and Nellie

by Shonna Slayton

New York City, November 14, 1889.

Young newspaper reporter Nellie Bly sets sail on the Augusta Victoria for a trip around the world. She plans to beat Jules Verne’s fictional record from the novel Around the World in Eighty Days. She thinks she can circumnavigate the globe in under seventy-five days, and prove that a woman can do what no man has even tried.

Hours later, and unbeknownst to Nellie, another writer, Elizabeth Bisland boards a train going in the opposite direction attempting to beat Nellie back to New York. Elizabeth is a reluctant player in this high-stakes publicity stunt, but financial needs outweigh her pride.

Neither woman is prepared for what will happen on this trip, or how the race will change her.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Victorian, Young Adult

304 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2016

About the author

SHONNA SLAYTON is the author of the Fairy-Tale Inheritance Series of young adult novels, beginning with Cinderella’s Dress.

She edited curriculum for an education company before homeschooling her own children using literature-based whole book learning. She’s taught writing using fairy tales in school classrooms and workshops, as well as in public libraries as a writer in residence. Instead of seeing her in person, you can get the Lessons from Grimm Series which includes a writer’s guide and workbooks for writers to learn fiction techniques through fairy tales.

Join her email list and receive a free story as a welcome gift. Be the first to learn of new books and get behind-the-scenes info you can't read anywhere else. Sign up on her website Shonna Slayton

Reviews

[Jeremy Reppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable book. I am a fan of historical fiction and the story of two women individually racing around the world trying to beat the 80 days of Jules Verne's novel was a compelling subject. I was familiar with the name of Nellie Bly, though not her trip around the world. Elizabeth Bisland, the other reporter, was unknown to me. The author utilized the women's accounts of their journeys as much as she could, making such adjustments as necessary to keep the story flowing. Their descriptions of the people, places, and things they saw was interesting. Part of what makes the book neat is the reader gets a description of what the world was like in 1889/1890 -- the breadth and power of the English empire; the attitudes of westerners about the inhabitants of the lands of the East; attitudes towards women; what travel was like by ship and train; etc. This book is well worth the read.

[JoAnn Keeton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting historical read. Please keep in mind this author usually writes historical fantasy and this is historical fiction that reads more like a documentary. It can be slow in places. The author did a wonderful job depicting these two women and their journey around the world.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have for a very long time loved Nellie Bly and her life. So when my sister said we should read this book together I thought it would be wonderful. I was wrong... Granted this is the first book from this author, and it was self published, but it read to me like it had not been professionally edited, and if it had Slayton should ask for her money back. We hit many gamer problems, some sentences were so run on they took up half the page, and certain words were vastly overused such as naked and tiffin. If someone had the inclinations to make this a drinking game I have every confidence they would die with only these two words on the list. The story was alright, but by the end of it I was questioning my like of first person writings. Nellie and Elizabeth feel like they have the same voice, to the point where if I put down the book half way in a chapter only to take it up later I could not tell what character I was fallowing unless a side character used her name or I looked back at the chapter title to remind myself who it was. About half way finished with the book the three of us (my mom was reading it as well) were confused and looking for it to be over. with the lack of difference in voice it made the places the two women go feel repetitive, to the point we were worried we were rereading a chapter by accident. My sister has read other books from this author, and has told me they are much better. I have not read any of them, but I certainly hope that it is true and that Slayton simply struggled a little with her first go at it.

[Charity Rau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quite interesting. It tells the true story of two young women (Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland) who race around the world. This was unheard of in the Victorian era - women traveling alone, and it caused quite the stir. Both young women ran into people along their trip who already knew who they were and what they were doing.

The idea started with the paper Nellie Bly worked for. Her employers decided to send her around the world to see if she could make it in less than 80 days. After hearing about Bly's trip, The Cosmopolitan, the magazine Elizabeth worked for, decided to send Elizabeth the opposite way around the world. They hoped this would give her an edge, thus beating Nellie's time around the world.

I loved that this book read like a novel. It made for more entertaining and faster reading than if it had just been a book of facts. I also really liked that there were a lot of unique details all brought together in this book. Without this book, one would probably have to spend hours searching through multiple sources to find all the little details included in the book. It is a longer book, but it was still quite enjoyable. I would recommend it to anyone who loves travel, history, adventure, or the Victorian era.

[Jenn Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the story, but the writing read like a teen novel. Each chapter trades between Nellie's journey story and Elizabeth's, in their perspective. But Nellie's chapters are written in past tense while Liz's story is written in present tense. It's awkward transitioning. Some scenes are written while preserving some of the original author's own words. But you can often tell when we switch from the Slayton's voice into the voice of one of these characters. The flow was awkward enough I nearly stopped reading several times, BUT it is really an amazing story and very interesting. I want to go find their original accounts of these journeys now.

[Catherine Ritchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a slow read. Not because it was bad, but simply for the sheer amount of description about everything by Slayton. I found it very fitting considering the context but it still makes for slow reading. However, I did enjoy it and found the last third of it hard to put down until it was finished.

[Susanj · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great fun quick read, that inspired me to get back to seeing the world!

Have never been interested in cruises, and thanks to the book... doubt I'll ever do one.

Great to hear about so many places, and people. Learned a lot.

Fun read!
Susan

[Brianna Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a slow read, but no regrets

I adore this author so it is hard to say anything negative about her work. This book was hard for me to get through, I found myself scanning through quite a bit. I could tell the author was passionate about this story and I wanted to share her passion, but it would have been easier for me if it had either been summarized a bit more, or if the author had added her own voice to the story somehow. I am very glad I read it, though, and it left me longing to know more about these brave women ahead of their time. I am more interested in individuals, relationships and personal reflections than in travel, though, which is probably why it was a slow read for me. I would love to be able to read more of the author’s personal experience learning about these women, and to see them through her eyes more.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the story itself, and in particular learning about these two women I'd never heard of previously. The descriptions of the places visited made me want to visit, although of course they wouldn't be the same today as they were then. The only thing I didn't like about the book was what felt like similar voices for both women; I found myself having to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to remember which woman was narrating which chapter -- but to be fair, I do live in a distraction-full house with little kids, so it could be more my problem than the author's.

*I received this book as part of a goodreads giveaway.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended for anyone who loves historical fiction about amazing women. I like how this book kept the integrity of Elizabeth's and Nellie's words while "filling in gaps" with fictional additions. The heroines here felt so realistic, interesting, and funny--it was a joy to read about their extraordinary adventures from a modern perspective.

[Sheila Falkenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heroic and Heartfelt History


I never knew about this history. This I'd a charming, witty telling of this piecer of history. I would recommend it for all readers of historical fiction. These were real women who accomplished an amazing feat. Bravo!

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read!

Thoroughly enjoyable journey around the world. I would have liked footnotes, but it is a novelization after all. Google will have to do.