THE MAD GIRLS OF NEW YORK by Maya Rodale

"Scoop of the Century"

The Mad Girls of New York

Posted: May 4, 2022

Nellie Bly came to New York City to become a reporter. But it’s been over a month and no newspaper will even consider giving her a job. Either they already have one female employee, or they don’t need one. After a helping hand from a woman on staff, Nellie barges her way into an interview. She hijacks the meeting and proposes an outrageous story.

She will go undercover in the worst insane asylum for women, Blackwell’s Island, and get the scoop of a century. After a few moments of negotiation, the assignment is hers. She starts preparing. It’s surprisingly easy getting to the asylum. And it’s worse than she expected.
Getting in was the easy part, now she’ll have to endure a week with rancid food, horrific care, freezing temperatures, and mindless days.

While Maya Rodale is known for her historical romances, MAD WOMEN OF NEW YORK isn’t a romance. That’s not to say there aren’t romantic elements in the story, but it’s more about the amazing Nellie Bly and the horrors she went through. She discovers horrors that go beyond the sheer disgustingness of the prison. Women need to help women – from the newspaper world to boarding houses to the insane asylum. If women can find their voice, use their voice, and be believed, then the world would be a different place. More than anything Nellie Bly desires to become independent – so she can help make the world a better place. This book showcases Nellie succeeding in man’s world with her grit, her intelligence, her bravery, and most importantly female friendship.

Book Summary

An exciting novel based on the fearless reporter Nellie Bly, who would stop at nothing to expose injustices against women in early 19th century New York, even at the risk of her own life and freedom.

In 1887 New York City, Nellie Bly has ambitions beyond writing for the ladies pages, but all the editors on Newspaper Row think women are too emotional, respectable and delicate to do the job. But then the New York World challenges her to an assignment she'd be mad to accept and mad to refuse: go undercover as a patient at Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum for Women.

For months, rumors have been swirling about deplorable conditions at Blackwell’s, but no reporter can get in—that is, until Nellie feigns insanity, gets committed and attempts to survive ten days in the madhouse. Inside, she discovers horrors beyond comprehension. It's an investigation that could make her career—if she can get out to tell it before two rival reporters scoop her story.

From USA Today bestselling author Maya Rodale comes a rollicking historical adventure series about the outrageous intrigues and bold flirtations of the most famous female reporter—and a groundbreaking rebel—of New York City’s Gilded Age.