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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.

Day one. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I slowly start to recognise my surroundings: the small hole in the door and a narrow window allowing only a small chink of light. The jewellery given to me by my loving husband is gone and I am wearing someone else’s clothes. The room is exactly as the first woman described. And the second. And the third… It’s then I know, I am the fifth woman to be taken.

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?

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.

In 1887 Nellie Bly, one of the first female newspaper writers, and a young reporter who would soon go on to make a career for herself as an investigative journalist and “stunt” reporter, had herself committed to the Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum in New York. Her purpose was to discover what life was like for those who had been deemed insane. She was surprised to discover the depth of mistreatment of the patients. Partially as a result of her reporting, more money was allocated to the asylum and reforms were put into place. (Summary by Alice)

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.

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 ...

In 1887 Nellie Bly, one of the first female newspaper writers, and a young reporter who would soon go on to make a career for herself as an investigative journalist and “stunt” reporter, had herself committed to the Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum in New York. Her purpose was to discover what life was like for those who had been deemed insane. She was surprised to discover the depth of mistreatment of the patients. Partially as a result of her reporting, more money was allocated to the asylum and reforms were put into place. (Summary by Alice)