Based On A Harrowing Experience
ABOUT THE BOOK
- Published Date: Aug 23, 2022
- Pages: 304
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Based on a true story, a spellbinding historical novel about the world’s first female investigative journalist, Nellie Bly.
In 1887, young Nellie Bly sets out for New York and a career in journalism, determined to make her way as a serious reporter, whatever that may take.
But life in the city is tougher than she imagined. Down to her last dime and desperate to prove her worth, she comes up with a dangerous plan: to fake insanity and have herself committed to the asylum on Blackwell’s Island. There, she will work undercover to expose the asylum’s wretched conditions.
But when the asylum door swings shut behind her, she finds herself in a place of horrors, governed by a cruelty she could never have imagined. Cold, isolated and starving, her days of terror reawaken the traumatic events of her childhood. She entered the asylum of her own free will – but will she ever get out?
An extraordinary portrait of a woman ahead of her time, Madwoman is the story of a quest for the truth that changed the world.
Information from Wikipedia
Born: May 5, 1864, Cochrans Mills, PA
Died: January 27, 1922, New York, NY
Full name: Elizabeth Jane Cochran
Hall of fame induction: 1998
Place of burial: Woodlawn Cemetery • Crematory • Conservancy, New York, NY
Education: Indiana University of Pennsylvania
My Thoughts
This is the second book I’ve read about Nellie Bly, but it still managed to interest me with this incredible journey into an appalling place on Blackwell’s Island.
Strong-willed and determined to prove her worth as a journalist, Nellie Bly, an alias for Elizabeth Cochran, convinces two men at the New York World newspaper to support her attempt to go undercover and get a story.
The conditions she encountered in New York’s mental hospital were deplorable. But the days she spent posing as a mental patient opened the door for change. Not only in the asylum but the ability for a woman to enter the world of journalism.
The beginning of the book felt slow and not as engaging as I would have liked. In fact, at times I felt like the sentences and facts were more like a middle-grade biography. And though I do enjoy books in that age group, it’s not what I expected.
As Nellie reached New York and entered the asylum, the story definitely picked up.
Though all of the information presented was informative, and I love historical fiction, I didn’t discover anything that made this stand out.
My Concerns
At times the book felt more like the presentation of facts rather than engaging historical fiction. I was left with a nice introduction to Nellie Bly, but the interior workings and emotions of each character didn’t shine through.
While Nellie is a woman to admire, nothing about this book caused it to stand out and the ending definitely felt too abrupt.
Final Thoughts
While the subject matter is worth reading, the presentation lacked for me, especially in the first half of the book.
Would I still recommend it? Sure! It’s an informative, easy-read story, and a strong lady definitely worth learning about.
My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for an early copy of this book and the ability to post my thoughts without any stipulations.
About the Author
Louisa Treger, a classical violinist, studied at the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and worked as a freelance orchestral player and teacher. She subsequently turned to literature, earning a Ph.D. in English at University College London, where she focused on early-twentieth-century women’s writing and was awarded the West Scholarship and the Rosa Morison Scholarship “for distinguished work in the study of English Language and Literature”. Louisa’s first novel, The Lodger, was published by Macmillan in 2014. She lives in London.
Categories:
Crime, Thriller & Mystery, Historical Fiction
Author of:
The Dragon Lady, The Lodger, Madwoman
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