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

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

Debrorah Noyes

Why we picked it

This gripping book tells the story of Nellie Bly's bold undercover investigation inside a mental asylum that exposed abuse and transformed investigative journalism.

Our review

Packed with adventure and determination, this book tells the story of Nellie Bly’s bold undercover investigation that transformed journalism. It shows young readers how courage, intelligence, and compassion can expose injustice and inspire real change.

About this book

From the product listing

The compelling and true story of how one truly dedicated journalist admitted herself to an asylum to write a groundbreaking exposé. 
 
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 and 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.


Resource details

Resource type
Book
Age ranges
Elementary, Middle School
Careers
Journalist
Good for kids who are
Artistic, Investigative
Based on its careers · What is RIASEC?
Author
Debrorah Noyes