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silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.5
I was interested to read a first hand historical account of how badly mental health issues were handled during this era, because I've seen a lot of mud flung online and in historical fiction, and wanted to see if it was all based in fact. (Spoiler, yes the conditions were as bad as you think and maybe worse. It's less clear on whether relatives intentionally landed the inmates in these conditions as a matter of course, or if it was usually through ignorance.)
I was very pleasantly surprised by how engaging Nellie Bly's writing style was, and have added her novels to my TBR because I pretty much want to read everything she's written now.
I was very pleasantly surprised by how engaging Nellie Bly's writing style was, and have added her novels to my TBR because I pretty much want to read everything she's written now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness
Minor: Child death
ninakeller's review against another edition
4.0
In 1887, an intriguing work of investigative journalism was published, chronicling the experiences of Nellie Bly (pen name), who had deliberately admitted herself to a women's insane asylum as part of her reporting assignment. Her resulting exposé shed light on the appalling conditions within the asylum, and became a part of a larger body of literature that criticized the societal expectations that pathologized and marginalized those who did not conform to narrow standards of normalcy.
mhmissey's review against another edition
4.0
Very well done, the drawings really drive home the writing
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
4.0
My LibriVox book was the true story of the courageous young journalists attempt to see the underside of New York City's mental health system by becoming a patient at the infamous Blackwell's Island Lunatic Asylum. I remember one of our reading books in elementary school had a story about Nellie Bly, the fearless young woman who proved that women could be journalists too.
In this expose she pretends to be a poor crazy girl long enough to have herself committed to the charity asylum at Blackwell's Island. This long story was really quite a head trip as Nellie discovers more and more of the women labeled crazy aren't actually insane, while the treatment by the purportedly sane nurses is not just neglectful but cruel and unusual to the degree that they turn one seemingly sane girl into a lunatic, and even Miss Bly has to struggle to keep her wits about her in the deplorable conditions. Her bright tone, though, somehow manages to keep this peace hopeful as she follows up her visit to Blackwell's Island with testimony to a grand jury and a visit to the much improved (but still not great) island.
In this expose she pretends to be a poor crazy girl long enough to have herself committed to the charity asylum at Blackwell's Island. This long story was really quite a head trip as Nellie discovers more and more of the women labeled crazy aren't actually insane, while the treatment by the purportedly sane nurses is not just neglectful but cruel and unusual to the degree that they turn one seemingly sane girl into a lunatic, and even Miss Bly has to struggle to keep her wits about her in the deplorable conditions. Her bright tone, though, somehow manages to keep this peace hopeful as she follows up her visit to Blackwell's Island with testimony to a grand jury and a visit to the much improved (but still not great) island.
kotep's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
2.75
Forms the basis of American horror story; asylum
babibartolucci's review against another edition
4.0
Davvero bello e ben scritto, mi dispiace solo sia così breve!
draculaura21's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.25
No real surprises here. Conditions at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island (now Roosevelt Island) in 1887 are exactly what you'd expect. No heat, bad food, physical and verbal abuse by staff, and abhorrently loose definitions of "insane." At least the Grand Jury investigation that resulted from this publication yielded an $850,000 budget increase. Straitjacket silver lining, I suppose.
The real interest here is Nellie Bly herself. A pioneer in the field of investigative journalism, she even took a solo trip around the world to turn "Around the World in Eighty Days" into fact. She did it in 72. Sounds like one heck of a lady.
The real interest here is Nellie Bly herself. A pioneer in the field of investigative journalism, she even took a solo trip around the world to turn "Around the World in Eighty Days" into fact. She did it in 72. Sounds like one heck of a lady.