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Madwoman

Louisa Treger

Published: 30th March 2023 In 1887 young Nellie Bly sets out for New York and a career in journalism, determined to make her way as a serious reporter, whatever that may take. But life in the city is tougher than she imagined. Down to her last dime and desperate to prove her worth, she comes up with a dangerous plan: to fake insanity and have herself committed to the asylum that looms on Blackwell's Island. There, she will work undercover to document - and expose - the wretched conditions faced by the patients. But when the asylum door swings shut behind her, she finds herself in a place of horrors, governed by a harshness and cruelty she could never have imagined. Cold, isolated and starving, her days of terror reawaken the traumatic events of her childhood. She entered the asylum of her own free will - but will she ever get out? An extraordinary portrait of a woman way ahead of her time, Madwoman is the story of a quest for the truth that changed the world. Publisher: Bloomsbury ISBN: 9781448218028

Our Curators said...

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This thrilling novel is based on a true story, following the worlds first female investigative journalist Nellie Bly. This triumph of historical fiction is perfect for fans of Frances Quinn and Sally Gardner

The LoveMyRead Team

- LoveMyRead

What the Critics are Saying

Treger's finest novel to date, which is really saying something. An astonishing tour de force, the perfect amalgam of research and imagination. Nellie leaps off the page and her experiences are rendered in shocking, visceral detail. An important and shining book that brings to light a female pioneer who needs to be understood and celebrated. Brava!

Rebecca Mascull

Louisa Treger takes us deep inside the mind of an extraordinary woman, whose ambition to succeed in a male world leads her to the very brink of madness. It's a moving, absorbing, and beautifully written story, and a terrifying portrait of the fate many women suffered in the late nineteenth century. A must read!