Showing results by author "Nellie Bly" in All Categories

In 1887, Nellie Bly had herself committed to the notorious Blackwell's Island insane asylum in New York City with the goal of discovering what life was like for its patients. While there, she experienced firsthand the shocking abuse and neglect of its inmates, from inedible food to horrifyingly unsanitary conditions. Ten Days in a Mad-House established Bly as a pioneering female journalist and remains a classic of investigative reporting.

Nellie Bly, born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864, was an American journalist, author, and charity worker who received initial renown after writing a stinging expose of the mistreatment of the mentally ill while faking insanity and living undercover at a New York mental institution. At a time when women were just beginning to break into the field of journalism, the type of undercover investigative reporting undertaken by Bly set an important precedent, allowing her to successfully pioneer working in the male dominated field of newspaper writing.

The Victorian journalist Nellie Bly (1864-1922) performed one of the most courageous acts in the history of investigative reporting by posing as an inmate at a Women’s lunatic asylum on Blackwell’s Island. Her exposé, titled "Ten Days in a Mad-House" led to a grand jury investigation, which resulted in a one million dollar increase in New York City’s budget for the care of the mentally ill. "Around the World in Seventy-Two Days" chronicles the author’s 72-day trip around the world for Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper, the New York World. 

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days, the 1890 book by Nellie Bly, chronicles her sensational 72-day trip around the world for the tabloid newspaper, New York World. On November 14, 1889, she boarded the steamer Augusta Victoria on her journey of 23,899 miles with the goal of finishing in 75 days. Her journey took her through England, France, Italy, the Suez Canal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan to San Francisco where she boarded a private chartered train which brought her to New York on January 25, 1890, 72 days and six hours after leaving.

Journalist Nellie Bly went undercover in 1887 to investigate an insane asylum on an assignment for New York World. After getting herself committed by acting deranged, Bly uncovered the dark truth about the asylum. Patients were fed rotten food, subject to filthy living conditions, and abused by staff. Not only was this no place for the mentally ill to find treatment, Bly discovered it was the kind of place that could drive even a perfectly sane woman off the edge. 

No one could protect her once she was inside. No friend would hear her if she screamed. A brilliant undercover journalist and actress, Nellie Bly is admitted into Blackwell's Island asylum in New York as a homeless "crazy" lady. What will she be in 10 days?

Nineteenth-century reformer Susan B. Anthony advocated for many causes, including limitations on alcohol access and abolition of slavery. However, she is best known for her tireless efforts as a suffragist seeking equal and civil rights for women. Nellie Bly was a courageous and feisty female reporter for Joseph Pulitzer's The World newspaper in the late 1800s. In this landmark interview, Anthony discusses her history in several areas of social reform.

In 1887 Nellie Bly had herself committed to the notorious Blackwell's Island insane asylum in New York City with the goal of discovering what life was like for its patients. While there, Bly experienced firsthand the shocking abuse and neglect of its inmates, from inedible food to horrifyingly unsanitary conditions. Ten Days in a Mad-House is Bly's exposé of the asylum.

Ten Days in a Madhouse is a book by Nellie Bly that chronicles her undercover investigation into the conditions at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island in New York City. In the late 1800s, Bly, a young journalist, pretended to be insane in order to be committed to the asylum and investigate the reported abuse and mistreatment of the patients there. Throughout the book, Bly provides a firsthand account of the shocking conditions she witnessed and the brave efforts of the patients to survive and escape. The book exposes the corrupt and inhumane practices of the asylum and brings ...