A Feigned Madness

The insane asylum on Blackwells Island is a human rat trap. It is easy to get in but once there it is impossible to get out. -Nellie BlyElizabeth Cochrane has a secret. She isnt the madwoman with amnesia the doctors and inmates at Blackwells Asylum think she is.In truth shes working undercover for the New York World. When the managing editor refuses to hire her because shes a woman Elizabeth strikes a deal: in exchange for a job shell impersonate a lunatic to expose a local asylums abuses.When she arrives at the asylum Elizabeth realizes she must make a decision-is she there merely to bear witness or to intervene on behalf of the abused inmates? Can she interfere without blowing her cover? As the superintendent of the asylum grows increasingly suspicious Elizabeth knows her scheme-and her dream of becoming a journalist in New York-is in jeopardy.A Feigned Madness is a meticulously researched fictionalized account of the woman who would come to be known as daredevil reporter Nellie Bly. At a time of cutthroat journalism when newspapers battled for readers at any cost Bly emerged as one of the first to break through the gender barrier-a woman who would through her daring exploits forge a trail for women fighting for their place in the world.