‘Ten Days in a Madhouse’ is written by a reporter who got herself declared insane in order to get into the asylum on Blackwell’s Island in New York City so that she could report on the treatment of patients there. I can’t tell if this woman was driven by an ideological agenda.

If we go by her report, a person might be thought insane based on nothing but appearance; and declared so by doctors on very little to go on. Many girls there, thinks the author, were perfectly sane, which I do not doubt. I think that she may have exaggerated the conditions in this asylum, though, for she seems, in her report, to be reaching for bad things to say about it. Her mention of mistreatment to the point of death seems to allude to only one instance, and not too convincingly.

The best parts of Nellie Bly’s ‘Ten Days in a Madhouse’ are her sympathetic reflections. “What a mysterious thing madness is! I have watched patients whose lips are forever sealed in perpetual silence. They live, breathe, eat. The human form is there. But that something, which the body can live without, but which cannot exist without the body, was missing. I have wondered if behind those sealed lips there were dreams….”

The reader of this book is Alys Attewater. She reads clearly and expressively. The impression is even left that the book is being read by its actual author. What more do we want from a reader than to be left with this impression?

Heart wrenching story of what it really was like in many asylums in the past. A read you will not soon forget.

Shocking true story by the amazing and intrepid Nellie Bly!

In 1887 she feigned insanity and was placed first in Belleview hospital and then in the insane asylum on Blackwell's Island in New York City. Her expose of the brutal treatment of the inmates was published in the NY Daily World and led to reforms.

The following year, 1888, she made an around the world journey in imitation of Jules Verne's Around The World In 80 Days, and she published this in a book called *Around the World in Seventy-Two Days* (of which an excellent reading is here on Librivox).

Nellie Bly (t/n Elizabeth Jane Cochrane)was an extraordinary person, and beautiful too. More about her here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Bly

The reader of this book is also terrific, Alys AtteWater - and why are some of the very best readers shy about giving their names!?

This was an interesting story and the narration was very good. The reader made me truly believe she was Nelly Blye herself. Well done.

Official Blurb

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 mistreatement of the patients. Partially as a result of her reporting, more money was allocated to the asylum and reforms were put into place.

My Review

As the blurb has told you, this is not fiction. It is presented as an extended essay ( book length ). The style in which it is written is captivating and the expose side of it makes it more alluring to the ear.

The discoveries made by Nellie are staggering and horrorific. Hard to believe that we were so ignorant in the past, but here is the truth its distasteful harsh glare.

The reader, a young lady herself, seems perfect for the reading. She comes over as a forceful and determined lady and fits the character of Nellie perfectly.

Reading = 3/3
Production = 2/3
Story = 2/3

more of my review can be found at http://freeaudioreview.blogspot.com/