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Informationen zum Autor Margaret Gurevich; Illustrated by Laurie A. Conley Klappentext Get ready to journey around the world with Nellie Bly--one of America's first investigative journalists. Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman had no idea that the open letter she'd written to a local newspaper in Pittsburgh in 1885 would change her life forever. The editor of the paper was so impressed with her writing, that he offered her a job! She'd later change her name to Nellie Bly and work as an investigative reporter in New York City. Known for her extraordinary and record-breaking trip around the world and her undercover investigation of a mental institution, Nellie Bly was one of the first female investigative reporters in the United States and a pioneer in the field of journalism. Leseprobe Who Was Nellie Bly? On January 25, 1890, a train rolled into Jersey City, New Jersey. Three timekeepers immediately stopped their watches. A large crowd applauded and cheered. Cannons fired. The crowd, however, was not there to see the train—-but to greet the woman inside it. “Nellie Bly!” the crowd cheered. A sunburned woman walked off the train and tipped her hat to the adoring crowd. Her fans cheered louder. After seventy--two days and twenty--two thousand miles, Nellie Bly had done what most believed was impossible—-especially for a woman. She had traveled around the world. She was in a race against time to beat the “eighty days” in the title of a famous book published less than twenty years earlier: Around the World in Eighty Days. And Nellie had done it! A ferry took Nellie to New York City. A carriage drove her across Newspaper Row—a street that was actually named Park Row, near city hall. It was called Newspaper Row because it was the home of the most important New York City newspapers. Crowds gathered and cheered and shouted her name as the carriage continued its drive to the New York World ’s headquarters. Even a rival publication, The Cosmopolitan magazine, sent Nellie roses to congratulate her. Nellie was amazed. Just three years earlier, she had no money. No one knew her name. The city’s top papers would never have considered hiring her. Now, she worked for the New York World, one of the most famous newspapers in the United States. Even newspapers in other countries published stories about Nellie Bly and her big trip around the world. Just as she had always hoped, Nellie had become the “best--known and most widely talked--of young woman on Earth . . .” Chapter 1: Early Years Elizabeth Jane Cochran was born on May 5, 1864, in Pennsylvania. Her father, Michael, was a judge and landowner who founded the town of Cochran’s Mills in the western part of the state. Both Michael and Elizabeth’s mother, Mary Jane Kennedy, were widowed when they met. Michael had ten children with his first wife and five with Mary Jane. Elizabeth was their third child together. Mary Jane wanted Elizabeth to stand out. Other children wore grays and browns. Mary Jane dressed Elizabeth in pink, frilly outfits. And because of this, people started calling Elizabeth, Pink. When Elizabeth was only six years old, her father became sick and died. Even though Judge Cochran was wealthy, Elizabeth’s mother was left with very little. This was because her father never made a will. A will is a legal document that explains who gets money and property in the case of someone’s death. Without a will, Mary Jane had no rights to Judge Cochran’s land or money. She had to figure out how to raise five children on her own. Elizabeth quickly realized life was not easy for a single mother in the 1870s. Women usually had to depend on their husbands for money. When it came time to look for a husband herself, Elizabeth had a better plan. She instead looked for a career. She promised herself she would ...
