Ten Days a Madwoman

by Deborah Noyes
Hennepin County Library hardcover 122 pages
genre: YA non-fiction, history

This story about Nellie Bly was fascinating! From helping students with this as a History Day topic, I was aware of her going "undercover" at an insane asylum. I did not realize, though, that she had a drive and perseverance that was unusual for her time. She had a tough life and was determined to take care of her mother and siblings.

I liked best her trip around the world - a "stunt" to increase readership - and her meeting with Jules Verne and Mrs. Verne in France. From page 92: "In Chicago, a cable that had missed her in San Francisco caught up with her: 'M. and Mme. Jules Verne address their sincere felicitations to Miss Nellie Bly at the moment when that intrepid young lady sets foot on the soil of America.' (The great writer was probably doubly pleased with Nellie in that she brought fresh publicity to his novel: Around the World in Eighty Days was reissued in more than ten new editions in France before Nellie even completed her journey.)"

I liked least the double-blue pages that focused on a story from Nellie's life. They seemed out-of-place in the middle of chapters where they didn't make chronological sense. Overall, though, this was a wonderful non-fiction book about an extraordinary young woman. I learned a lot!