Brave and extravagant Lady Sensation: journalism guru and women's rights activist Nellie Bly (12 photos)

Remember the episode in American Horror Story where journalist Lana Winters becomes a psychiatric patient asylums to find out her secrets? The story was real and very a brave woman who did something similar. And she went around characters of Jules Verne and revealed many human vices.





Elizabeth Jane Cochran went down in history under the pseudonym Nellie Bligh. The girl was born in Pennsylvania in 1864. And from an early age faced difficulties. The father died when the baby was only 6 years old. The mother had a hard time with a dozen children. And Elizabeth dreamed of learning and become a teacher to help the family.



Dreams shattered against cruel reality: women at that time considered solely as a labor force for domestic affairs and meet the needs of men.

The indignant girl even wrote an angry letter to the editor newspapers, denouncing the lack of rights of the weaker sex. Emotionality was appreciated by the chief editor and offered Elizabeth a job. Cochran agreed and began to write under the pseudonym Nellie Bly (the character of a popular song in those years).





She burned with the ideas of exposing social inequality. But the young lady was assigned to write about all sorts of women's things like fashionable shawls and flower exhibitions.

Tired of the ladies' nonsense, Nelly quit her job and in search of sensation moved to New York. And a few months later she got a job to work for the New York World. The edition belonged to the same Joseph Pulitzer, whose name bears the prestigious award.

Seeing the aspirations and enthusiasm of a young woman, the editors entrusted her with a responsible and dangerous task. Should have been under the guise patients go to the Blackwell Island Mental Hospital, oh which the people went a lot of terrible stories. and confirm or refute them.

Undercover agent



The idea was crazy, but Nellie agreed with pleasure and began to prepare. The girl refused to take care of herself, stopped to wash and comb her hair, went in rags and worked for hours before a mirror image of a crazy woman: her eyes widened, she looked into the void with a meaningless look, mumbled, wandered around the house at night. Shelter residents for the homeless, where the undercover journalist lodged, believed in confusion and called the police.



Four of the five physicians present at the consultation confirmed the diagnosis. And the "sick" was sent to the same institution for Blackwell Island. Due to funding cuts, the hospital came to decline. Instead of orderlies, prisoners from the nearest prison worked. A most of the patients were completely ordinary women, from whom relatives got rid of for various reasons. Causing tantrums, icy baths, hunger - such orders reigned in the hospital.



Frame from the film "10 days in a madhouse"

The investigation lasted 10 days. After that on island arrived a lawyer hired by the editors. The administration tried hush up the case, but the journalist was shocked and published truthful materials about the atrocities and incompetence of the personnel.



Christina Ricci as Nellie Bly in Escape from the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story, 2019

After Bly's investigation, the hospital was put in order, improved conditions of detention, fired the main sadists. And Nellie afterwards published the book "Ten Days in a Madhouse", which became a bestseller.

Not a moment of peace



But a talented person is talented in everything. And rebellious nature Bly demanded new passions and trials. In 1888 she proposed editors a new idea: to break the record of literary characters from the book "Around the World in 80 Days" by Jules Verne.

Joseph Pulitzer supported and financed the idea. During traveling the woman even met Vern himself, who came to delight in her endeavor.



Still: she broke the record for more than a week, kept within 72 days and 6 hours. And the deputymarks of a brave traveler whom society quite rightly called Lady Sensation, regularly broadcast in edition, read by millions.

It is clear that upon returning about undercover work, you can I had to forget: Bly was known by sight not only in the USA, but all over the world. IN In 1895, she married businessman Robert Simen, but when her husband died, returned to her beloved journalism.



The life of a 57-year-old irrepressible activist was cut short by pneumonia. mass media responded to the sad event with an obituary with a telling title “Not became America's best reporter."



Sarah Paulson as journalist Lana Winters in the second season of American Horror Story

The woman became the prototype of the journalist Lana Winters from the TV series "American Horror Story". She was dedicated to the film "10 Days in crazy house." Nelly proved by her example that a woman is capable of a lot if given the chance.