But when the asylum door swings shut behind her, she finds herself in a place of horrors, governed by a harshness and cruelty she could never have imagined. Cold, isolated and starving, her days of terror reawaken the traumatic events of her childhood. She entered the asylum of her own free will – but will she ever get out?

I enjoyed Louisa Treger’s, The Dragon Lady, and I have been eager to read Madwoman, her latest work of historical fiction featuring Nellie Bly. I’ve read other books about Nellie Bly’s life, but this is the first I’ve read that delve deeply into the time she spent in the asylum, a place she goes of her own accord to experience first hand what was happening inside those institutions and expose the atrocities. The beginning of the book felt slow and not as engaging as I would have liked. In fact, at times I felt like the sentences and facts were more like a middle-grade biography. And though I do enjoy books in that age group, it’s not what I expected. Treger’s vivid descriptions of Nellie’s time in the asylum and her portrait of a truly extraordinary woman make for a compelling read.’ Based on a true story, a spellbinding historical novel about the world's first female investigative journalist, Nellie Bly. A stimulating and rewarding on-stage conversation; a lively informed and tolerant audience; privileged access to the great treasures of the Bodleian, and finally, wonderfully interesting dinner companions to help me conclude the best day I have enjoyed at any festival – anywhere.

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their intelligence – this makes a huge difference for a speaker. In the Oxford audience I encountered many experts in the field my book covered and even one of the ambassadors I’d quoted About the book: “Based on a true story, a spellbinding historical novel about the world's first female investigative journalist, Nellie Bly.” After getting close to another patient Bly confirms that “so, the women you’ve been telling me about are branded mad simply for rebelling against our system, which keeps them downtrodden? […] Men make up narratives that put them here”. This time in the asylum is a mix of optimism – the sense that her plan is working and the opportunity to write something big – and a place of terrible tragedy: the dispossession of women deemed “mad” or inconvenient.

A propulsive, compelling novel about the lengths one woman will go to to expose the truth about how those most in need of help are kept in danger.’ Madwoman by Louisa Treger is a historical fiction novel, set in the late 19th century America, and it’s based on a true story. I was immediately drawn to the title, cover and premise - I knew it was a perfect book for me. The story of Nellie Bly, a young woman journalist who fakes mental breakdown and goes to an asylum undercover, is fascinating and brutal. It’s about the women who were wronged by the system and the women trying to fight it. It’s also about power of words. It’s raw, but Treger wrote it with such care; she gave the women their stolen voices and showed us how those institutions were really like. What an absolutely stunning read this was and many congratulations to Louisa Treger for writing such a wonderful historical novel with such compassion and feeling .Louisa Treger takes us deep inside the mind of an extraordinary woman, whose ambition to succeed in a male world leads her to the very brink of madness. It's a moving, absorbing, and beautifully written story, and a terrifying portrait of the fate many women suffered in the late nineteenth century. A must read! -- GILL PAUL Nellie is a well-fleshed out character. We get to know her inside out. What shapes her to be who she is and what gives her fire to tread dangerous waters. She is determined to succeed, and she clearly sees it doing with articles that are personal and emotional, giving intimate glimpses into working class female workers. A propulsive, compelling novel of the lengths one woman will go to expose the truth about how those most in need of help are kept in danger * BookRiot * It’s a brutal and heartbreaking story but at the helm we have the courageous Nellie who is determined to get justice for these unfortunate people even risking her own sanity to get the truth out in the open. I was completely fascinated by Nellie her sheer determination to change the way women were treated in both the institutions and work places it shone through and she was one hell of a feisty woman.