Madwoman: Nellie Bly
Madwoman is a powerhouse novel about a powerhouse woman who defied the odds to become a legend: Nellie Bly. The book details Nellie’s early life, the loss of her father, and the disruption of her childhood, which led to her determination to support her family with her writing.
Nellie’s stay in the asylum on Blackwell’s Island posing as a ‘madwoman’ reads like a thriller, as she battles vindictive nurses, cruel treatments, cold, hunger and her own demons. Her exposé fuelled a much-needed debate about the harsh conditions faced by the women in the asylum and turned Nellie into a star reporter. Treger’s book, however, focuses on the changes Nellie herself goes through and is a fantastic study in character. The detail throughout is meticulous, capturing the despair that poverty can cause, the determination of Nellie to get ahead and the bravery that it took for her to pose as mad. The harsh reality faced by many women in the 1880s is highlighted as Nellie learns the stories of the various women she befriends, young and old: unwanted relatives, barren wives, unruly girls, many of whom are driven to madness by the treatments meted out to them. Louisa Treger captures the atmosphere and the era wonderfully.
A must-read for fans of Essie Fox, Sarah Waters, Hazel Gaynor, or Rebecca Mascull.
