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"While working for Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper in 1887, Nellie Bly began an undercover investigation into the local woman's lunatic asylum on Blackwell's Island. Intent on seeing what life was like on the inside, Bly fooled trained physicians into thinking she was insane-- a task too easily achieved-- and had herself committed. In her ten days at the asylum, Bly witnessed horrifying conditions: the food was inedible, the women were forced into labor for the staff, the nurses and doctors were cruel or indifferent, and many of the women held there had no mental disorder of any kind. Now adapted into graphic form by Brad Ricca and vividly rendered with beautiful and haunting illustrations by Courtney Sieh, Bly's bold venture is given new life and meaning, as her fearless scrutiny into the living conditions at Blackwell's asylum forever changed the field of journalism. A timely reminder to take notice of forgotten populations, Then Days in a Mad-House warns us what happens when we decide to look away."--back cover.
About the author
Brad Ricca is the Edgar-nominated author of five books, including
True Raiders, Olive the Lionheart,
Mrs. Sherlock Holmes, and the award-winning
Super Boys. His independent film
Last Son won a Silver Ace Award. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
Courtney Sieh graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2016 with a BFA in illustration and an emphasis in interior architecture. Currently she is freelancing out of a swamp near Minneapolis, kept company at her drafting table by her two cats.
Nellie Bly (1864-1922), born Elizabeth Cochran Seaman, was an American journalist, industrialist, inventor, and charity worker who was widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in seventy-two days, in emulation of Jules Verne's fictional character Phileas Fogg, and an exposé in which she worked undercover to report on a mental institution from within. She was a pioneer in her field and launched a new kind of investigative journalism.
Summary
Beautifully adapted and rendered through piercing illustrations by
acclaimed creators Brad Ricca and Courtney Sieh, Nellie Bly’s complete,
true-to-life 19th-century investigation of Blackwell Asylum captures a
groundbreaking moment in history and reveals a haunting and timely glimpse at
the starting point for conversations on mental health.
“I said I
could and I would. And I did.”
While working for Joseph
Pulitzer’s newspaper in 1887, Nellie Bly began an undercover investigation
into the local Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell Island. Intent on
seeing what life was like on the inside, Bly fooled trained physicians into
thinking she was insane—a task too easily achieved—and had herself
committed. In her ten days at the asylum, Bly witnessed horrifying conditions:
the food was inedible, the women were forced into labor for the staff, the
nurses and doctors were cruel or indifferent, and many of the women held there
had no mental disorder of any kind.
Now adapted into graphic novel form
by Brad? Ricca and vividly rendered with beautiful and haunting illustrations by
Courtney Sieh, Bly’s bold venture is given new life and meaning. Her
fearless investigation into the living conditions at the Blackwell Asylum
forever changed the field of journalism. A timely reminder to take notice of
forgotten populations, Ten Days in a Mad-House warns us what happens when we
look away.
