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Ten Days in a Mad-House; or, Nellie Bly's Experience on Blackwell's Island. / Feigning Insanity in Order to Reveal Asylum Horrors. The Trying Ordeal of the New York World's Girl Correspondent. — Nellie Bly

Ten Days in a Mad-House; or, Nellie Bly's Experience on Blackwell's Island. / Feigning Insanity in Order to Reveal Asylum Horrors. The Trying Ordeal of the New York World's Girl Correspondent.

Nellie Bly

  • History
  • Book language: English
  • 106 pages

Ten Days in a Mad-House is Nellie Bly's 1887 undercover reportage. To expose conditions at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island, she pretended to be insane so she could be committed and write from inside. Her clear-eyed account is an important early example of investigative journalism.

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Cover of the original edition (Project Gutenberg, public domain).

Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.

Opening of the book

TEN DAYS IN A MAD-HOUSE;

OR,

Nellie Bly’s Experience

on Blackwell’s Island.

FEIGNING INSANITY IN

ORDER TO REVEAL ASYLUM

HORRORS.

THE TRYING ORDEAL OF THE

NEW YORK WORLD’S GIRL

CORRESPONDENT.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1887, by Norman L.

Munro, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.

C.

NEW YORK:
NORMAN L. MUNRO, PUBLISHER,
24 AND 26 VANDEWATER ST.

WHY ARE

THE MADAME MORA’S CORSETS

A MARVEL OF COMFORT AND ELEGANCES

Try them, and you will Find

WHY they need no breaking in, but feel easy at once.

WHY they are liked by Ladies of full figure.

WHY they do not break down over the hips, and

WHY the celebrated French curved band prevents any wrinkling or stretching at the sides.

WHY dressmakers delight in fitting dresses over them.

WHY merchants say they give better satisfaction than any others.

WHY they take pains to recommend them.

Their popularity has induced many imitations, which are frauds, high at any price. Buy only the genuine, stamped Madame Mora’s. Sold by all leading Dealers with this

GUARANTEE:

that if not perfectly satisfactory upon trial the money will be refunded.

L. KRAUS & CO., Manufacturers, Birmingham, Conn.

INTRODUCTION.

Since my experiences in Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum were published in the World I have received hundreds of letters in regard to it. The edition containing my story long since ran out, and I have been prevailed upon to allow it to be published in book-form, to satisfy the hundreds who are yet asking for copies.

I am happy to be able to state as a result of my visit to the asylum and the exposures consequent thereon, that the City of New York has appropriated $1,000,000 more per annum than ever before for the care of the insane. So I have at least the satisfaction of knowing that the poor unfortunates will be the better cared for because of my work.

Nellie Bly

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Contents

  1. TEN DAYS IN A MAD-HOUSE; OR, Nellie Bly’s Experience on Blackwell’s Island. FEIGNING INSANITY IN ORDER TO REVEAL ASYLUM
  2. INTRODUCTION.
  3. CHAPTER I. A DELICATE MISSION.
  4. CHAPTER II. PREPARING FOR THE ORDEAL.
  5. CHAPTER III. IN THE TEMPORARY HOME.
  6. CHAPTER IV. JUDGE DUFFY AND THE POLICE.
  7. CHAPTER V. PRONOUNCED INSANE.
  8. CHAPTER VI. IN BELLEVUE HOSPITAL.
  9. CHAPTER VII. THE GOAL IN SIGHT.
  10. CHAPTER VIII. INSIDE THE MAD-HOUSE.
  11. CHAPTER IX. AN EXPERT(?) AT WORK.
  12. CHAPTER X. MY FIRST SUPPER.
  13. CHAPTER XI. IN THE BATH.
  14. CHAPTER XII. PROMENADING WITH LUNATICS.
  15. CHAPTER XIII. CHOKING AND BEATING PATIENTS.
  16. CHAPTER XIV. SOME UNFORTUNATE STORIES.
  17. CHAPTER XV. INCIDENTS OF ASYLUM LIFE.
  18. CHAPTER XVI. THE LAST GOOD-BYE.
  19. CHAPTER XVII. THE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION.
  20. Miscellaneous Sketches.
  21. TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
  22. THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE

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