Nellie Bly

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1864 — 1922

États-Unis

ExplorationLiteratureExplorateur/triceÉcrivain(e)Révolutionnaire19th Century

Révolution industrielle Féminisme Droits de l'Homme

Émotions disponibles (6)

Neutre

par défaut

Inspirée

Pensive

Surprise

Triste

Fière

Key Facts

Works & Achievements

Ten Days in a Mad-House (1887)

Account of her undercover investigation at the Blackwell's Island asylum, first published in the New York World and later as a book. This masterpiece of investigative journalism prompted immediate reform of New York's psychiatric system and remains a worldwide reference in the genre.

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days (1890)

Account of her solo around-the-world journey completed in 72 days in 1889–1890, breaking the fictional record of Phileas Fogg. The book was a phenomenal success and made Nellie Bly an international celebrity.

Six Months in Mexico (1888)

Reportage drawn from her stays in Mexico, where she investigated the living conditions of the population and the policies of Porfirio Díaz. This book reflects her early interest in international social journalism.

The Mystery of Central Park (1889)

A serialized novel published in the New York World, showing that Nellie Bly was not limited to reportage but also experimented with popular fiction.

Undercover Reports on New York's Working Women (1887-1888)

A series of undercover articles on the working conditions of women in New York's factories and workshops. These pioneering texts contributed to debates on labor law and women's rights.

Anecdotes

In 1887, Nellie Bly feigned madness in order to be committed to the Blackwell's Island asylum in New York. For ten days, she endured the mistreatment inflicted on patients: revolting food, ice-cold baths, and violent guards. Her report published in the New York World caused a national scandal and led to an immediate reform of the American psychiatric system.

In November 1889, Nellie Bly left New York with the intention of traveling around the world in fewer than 80 days, challenging the fictional hero of Jules Verne. She traveled alone, with a single bag, by ship, train, and rickshaw. She completed the journey in 72 days, 6 hours, and 11 minutes, beating the record imagined by Verne, who sent her a congratulatory telegram.

During her around-the-world journey, Nellie Bly made a detour through Amiens to meet Jules Verne in person. The writer, curious and admiring, welcomed her into his home and followed her adventure with great enthusiasm on a wall map. This meeting between the real-life journalist and the fiction novelist perfectly illustrates the permeability between dream and reality at the end of the 19th century.

Before embarking on a career in journalism, Nellie Bly — born Elizabeth Jane Cochran — sent an indignant letter to the Pittsburgh Dispatch in response to a sexist article claiming that women belonged only in the home. The editor, rather than ignoring her, offered her a job. She was 18 years old at the time and had no professional experience.

In 1914, at over 50 years of age, Nellie Bly went to cover the First World War from the Austrian front for the New York Evening Journal. She was one of the first female war correspondents in American history, filing reports from conflict zones at a time when few women dared venture so far beyond the traditional role assigned to their sex.

Primary Sources

Ten Days in a Mad-House (1887)

I said to myself that I would succeed in getting committed to the insane ward at Blackwell's Island. I had little belief in my ability to deceive the doctors, and yet I determined to try.

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days (1890)

I always have a comfortable feeling that nothing is impossible if one applies a certain amount of energy in the right direction. When I want things done, which is always at the last moment, I get them done.

Open Letter to the Pittsburgh Dispatch — 'Lonely Orphan Girl' (1885)

I have been reading your paper for some time past and have always enjoyed it very much, but I must say that your article on 'What Girls Are Good For' is a disgrace to your paper.

Report from the Blackwell's Island Asylum, New York World (1887)

The insane asylum on Blackwell's Island is a human rat-trap. It is easy to get in, but once there it is impossible to get out.

Key Places

Blackwell's Island Asylum, New York

It was in this grim psychiatric institution that Nellie Bly was forcibly committed for ten days in 1887. Her report on the conditions of confinement there permanently changed American mental health policy.

New York World Headquarters, Manhattan

At this newspaper founded by Joseph Pulitzer, Nellie Bly became one of the first great investigative journalists. It was from here that all her most famous assignments originated.

Amiens, France

During her around-the-world trip, Nellie Bly made a detour to Amiens to meet Jules Verne, whose novel had inspired her challenge. This symbolic stopover brought fiction and reality together.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

It was in this industrial city that Nellie Bly grew up and began her career at the Pittsburgh Dispatch. There she discovered the social inequalities that would fuel her entire journalistic work.

Port of Yokohama, Japan

As the Asian leg of her around-the-world journey, Nellie Bly stopped in Japan in December 1889. She observed with curiosity a radically different culture and purchased a monkey there that accompanied her all the way back to America.

Typical Objects

Notebook and fountain pen

An indispensable tool for the journalist, Nellie Bly took notes in secret during her undercover assignments, memorizing details to transcribe them in the evening. Her quick and precise handwriting was the hallmark of press correspondents of the Victorian era.

Leather travel bag

For her trip around the world, Nellie Bly took only a single small travel bag, proving that a woman could travel alone and light. This minimal luggage became a symbol of her independence and daring.

Transatlantic steamship ticket

Steam-powered ocean liners were the primary means of crossing the oceans at the end of the 19th century. Nellie Bly made extensive use of them during her trip around the world, boarding ships connecting New York, Southampton, Port Said, Colombo, Hong Kong, and San Francisco.

Copy of the New York World

Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper was the platform that made Nellie Bly famous. Her articles appeared on the front page with large sensational headlines, read by hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers every morning.

Pocket watch

During her trip around the world, every minute counted: Nellie Bly regularly checked her watch to make sure she was keeping to her connections and beating the 80-day record. Time was both her enemy and her ally.

Practical travel outfit (high-collared dress)

Nellie Bly wore functional clothing suited for travel, breaking away from the cumbersome fashion of the Victorian era. Her simple, sturdy travel dress, without excessive corsetry, illustrated her pragmatic relationship with femininity.

School Curriculum

Cycle 4 (5e-3e)Histoire

Cycle 4 (5e-3e)Anglais

LycéeHistoire

LycéeAnglais

Vocabulary & Tags

Key Vocabulary

Daily Life

Morning

Nellie Bly rose early in her New York apartment, read competing newspapers to identify untreated subjects, then headed to the newsroom of the New York World. She discussed with her editor-in-chief the investigations to pursue, often undercover missions that required meticulous preparation.

Afternoon

Her afternoons were devoted to field reporting: she slipped among factory workers, tenement immigrants, or interviewed political figures. She took discreet notes, sometimes from memory when using a notebook would have raised suspicion.

Evening

In the evening, back at the newsroom or at home, she wrote her articles by the light of a gas lamp, with a constant concern for factual accuracy and emotional impact on the reader. She revised her texts until late at night before handing them over to the typesetters.

Food

Like many middle-class New York women of the late 19th century, Nellie Bly ate simply: bread, cold meat, cooked vegetables, and strong coffee. During her travels, she adapted to local cuisines, noting with curiosity the Japanese or Indian dishes she encountered on her world tour.

Clothing

Nellie Bly wore dark wool dresses with high collars, practical and understated, avoiding the cumbersome crinolines then in fashion. For travel, she favored a single sturdy outfit that did not hinder her swift movements, breaking with the feminine dress conventions of her era.

Housing

She lived in a rented apartment in Manhattan, in the bustling Midtown neighborhood, close to the New York World newsroom. Her lodgings, modest but functional, reflected her status as an independent, salaried woman — rare for the time — without the domestic staff that bourgeois families typically employed.

Historical Timeline

1865Abolition de l'esclavage aux États-Unis — 13e amendement à la Constitution américaine.

1869Inauguration du canal de Suez, qui transforme les routes commerciales mondiales et réduit les temps de voyage.

1869Achèvement du premier chemin de fer transcontinental américain, reliant les deux côtes des États-Unis.

1872Jules Verne publie 'Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours', dont Nellie Bly s'inspirera dix-sept ans plus tard.

1879Thomas Edison met au point la première ampoule électrique à incandescence pratique.

1885Nellie Bly envoie sa lettre indignée au Pittsburgh Dispatch et débute sa carrière journalistique à 18 ans.

1887Nellie Bly s'infiltre dans l'asile de Blackwell's Island ; son reportage provoque une réforme du système psychiatrique new-yorkais.

1889Exposition universelle de Paris — inauguration de la Tour Eiffel ; Nellie Bly passe par Paris lors de son tour du monde.

1889Nellie Bly part de New York le 14 novembre pour son tour du monde, seule avec un sac de voyage.

1890Nellie Bly rentre à New York le 25 janvier, après 72 jours, 6 heures et 11 minutes — record mondial.

1893Les femmes obtiennent le droit de vote en Nouvelle-Zélande, premier pays au monde à accorder ce droit.

1898Guerre hispano-américaine — essor du 'journalisme jaune' aux États-Unis, contexte dans lequel Nellie Bly évolue.

1914Début de la Première Guerre mondiale ; Nellie Bly part couvrir le front austro-hongrois comme correspondante de guerre.

1920Le 19e amendement accorde le droit de vote aux femmes américaines — un combat que Nellie Bly avait contribué à préparer par ses reportages.

Period Vocabulary

Investigative journalism — A journalistic method involving in-depth inquiry into matters of public interest, sometimes through undercover infiltration. Nellie Bly is considered one of its founders in the United States.

Stunt journalism — A style of reporting very fashionable in the late 19th century, in which the journalist personally performs a spectacular act in order to report on it. Nellie Bly's around-the-world trip is its most iconic example.

Yellow Press — A term referring to American newspapers of the 1880s–1900s that relied on sensational headlines and dramatic reporting to sell as many copies as possible. Pulitzer's New York World was its leading force.

Alienism — A 19th-century medical term for the specialty concerned with mental illness and the institutionalization of the insane. Nellie Bly's investigation exposed the abuses of this system.

Steam ocean liner — A passenger vessel powered by steam engines that dominated transoceanic routes in the late 19th century. Nellie Bly rode several of them during her around-the-world journey.

Suffragette — An activist for women's voting rights, very active in Great Britain and the United States during the same era as Nellie Bly. Though primarily a journalist, her work contributed to the emancipation of women.

Tenement — An overcrowded apartment building in the poor neighborhoods of major American cities in the late 19th century, where immigrants were crammed together. Nellie Bly investigated the living conditions of their inhabitants.

Editor-in-chief — The person responsible for a newspaper's editorial direction, who decides which topics to cover and approves articles before publication. It was an editor who gave Nellie Bly her chance at the Pittsburgh Dispatch after her indignant letter.

Gilded Age — A term referring to the period of strong economic growth and extreme social inequality in the United States between 1870 and 1900, the context in which Nellie Bly conducted her entire career.

Gallery

Six Months in Mexico

A life's secret

Boys of the street : how to win them

A modern spiritualistic classic; scientific proofs of another life. A series of essays comprising unique lessons of daily life, written by eminent persons after passsing from mortal to spirit life

The Washington Press 1915-05-13

Nellie Bly 2

Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane), bust portrait LCCN2017657376

Nellie Bly - The Girl Puzzle

Around the World with Nellie Bly old board game

Visual Style

Esthétique victorienne tardive américaine : presse illustrée en noir et sépia, rues industrielles de New York sous les becs de gaz, voyage en paquebot sur fond de vastes horizons marins.

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AI Prompt

Late Victorian American aesthetic, 1885-1900. Illustrated newspaper front pages with bold black typography and engraved portraits. A determined young woman in a practical dark wool traveling dress, high collar, small hat, holding a leather satchel. Industrial New York cityscape: gas lamps, brick tenements, crowded lower Manhattan streets, horse-drawn trolleys. Gritty realism mixed with adventurous spirit. Palette of deep navy, sepia, charcoal, warm amber gaslight, cream newsprint. Photographic and woodcut illustration styles typical of Gilded Age press. Contrast between the institutional grey of asylum walls and the vast blue of open ocean on a steamship deck.

Sound Ambience

Ambiance sonore du New York industriel de la fin du XIXe siècle, entre le brouhaha d'une rédaction de presse et les bruits de la rue animée, ponctuée des sons d'un voyage en paquebot à vapeur.

AI Prompt

Busy late 19th century New York City newsroom: the rhythmic clatter of typewriters, urgent shouting of editors, rustling of broadsheet newspapers, distant steam whistle of a Hudson River ferry. Outside: the rumble of horse-drawn carriages on cobblestones, street vendors calling, factory bells marking the shift changes. On a transatlantic steamship: the deep throb of steam engines, creak of wooden decks, cry of seagulls, waves against the hull, animated conversations in multiple languages. In an asylum corridor: echoing footsteps on stone floors, distant moaning, metal keys jangling, a nurse's starched uniform swishing.

Portrait Source

Wikimedia Commons — domaine public — Myers, photographer — 1890