Full Answer
How many years of women in asylums does the book cover?
It covered 100 years of women in asylums and the way the book was organized was fantastic. Each time period had a historical introduction of women's lives and the psychiatric establishment. Then there was a small introduction before diving into excerpts from asylum patients' journals and publications.
What is this book about asylums all about?
This book features excerpts from publications written by women who had been institutionalised in insane asylums over a hundred year period, with each time period preceded by a short introduction giving an overview of the general state of mental healthcare at the time. All of the stories are brutal.
What is the conclusion of women of the asylum?
In Women of the Asylum, Geller and Harris have presented a far-reaching and well-researched account, which has been introduced in a wise and lucid manner by Phyllis Chesler. The concluding message seems to be this: 'Whether they were rebels, social misfits, visionaries or madwomen is left for the reader to decide'.
What was the first reporter to go undercover at an asylum?
Although other writers had reported on conditions at the asylum (notably Charles Dickens, in 1842, who described its “listless, madhouse air” as “very painful”), Bly was the first reporter to go undercover. What she found exceeded her worst expectations.
What really happened to Nellie Bly in the asylum?
After pretending to have amnesia, Bly was committed to the asylum. Inside the asylum, she found other patients who had been committed when they were also healthy. Many of these patients could not speak fluent English, so they could not convince the nurses that they were actually sane.
Is the woman they could not silence based on a true story?
“The Woman They Could Not Silence” tells the true story of a woman whose husband had her committed to the Illinois State Hospital — then called an insane asylum — in Jacksonville, not because she had mental health issues but because he didn't approve of her behavior.
Is 10 Days in a Madhouse a true story?
10 days in a Madhouse is a 2015 American biographical film about undercover journalist Nellie Bly, a reporter for Joseph Pulitzer's New York World who had herself committed to the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island to write an exposé on abuses in the institution.
What problem did Nellie Bly expose?
In 1887, 23-year-old reporter Nellie Bly had herself committed to a New York City asylum to expose the horrific conditions for 19th-century mental patients. In 1887, 23-year-old reporter Nellie Bly had herself committed to a New York City asylum to expose the horrific conditions for 19th-century mental patients.
What is the woman they could not silence about?
Kate Moore Of 'The Radium Girls' Has New Book 'The Woman They Could Not Silence' In a new book, The Radium Girls author Kate Moore follows the struggles of Elizabeth Packard who, locked up by her husband in 1860 for having opinions and voicing them, finds she's not the only one.
Who is Kate Moore BlackRock?
Kate Moore, Managing Director, is Chief Equity Strategist – Americas for BlackRock and is a member of the BlackRock Investment Institute. She is responsible for developing equity market insights and actionable investment advice, as well as for representing BlackRock's market views to clients.
What happened Blackwell asylum?
Like most of the original buildings on Blackwell's Island, the asylum fell to ruin. Damaged by exposure to the elements and fire, Blackwell's once-expansive network of prison and medical buildings are now unrecognizable. The asylum is marked by an octagonal tower.
Why was it so difficult for Bly to sleep at night?
Bly tells her inquisitors that she's been having a terrible headache, which made her forget everything. To further enact her role of a “poor loon,” as the other women had quickly come to call her, she refused to go to sleep that first night, forcing herself to stay awake.
Was Nellie Bly real?
Elizabeth Cochran Seaman (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran; May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922), better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was an American journalist, industrialist, inventor, and charity worker who was widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days, in emulation of Jules Verne's fictional ...
What are 3 important facts about Nellie Bly?
10 Facts About Nellie BlyShe was one of 15 children. ... She changed her name three times. ... Her celebrated journalism career started with a letter to the editor. ... She was penniless and desperate when she landed the job that made her famous. ... She endured 10 days inside a psychiatric hospital.More items...•
How old was Nellie Bly when she died?
57 years (1864–1922)Nellie Bly / Age at death
What fears did Nellie have about her family?
Answer: she realized how her husband every year was in need of money to pay the interest for the mortgage to the bank. she even saw her children: the everlasting apprehension of colds, fever, and bad marks at school...
From Library Journal
A collaborative effort between psychiatrist Geller and Harris, a clinical psychologist, feminist, and author of Women and Madness (1972), this compilation of excerpts from 26 firsthand accounts written between 1840 and 1945 by women confined in asylums are a testament to human endurance.
From Booklist
In four sections corresponding to consecutive chronological periods within their 105-year overall coverage, editors Geller and Harris present excerpts from 26 accounts of asylum stays of from six weeks to 28 years. They preface each section with an explanation of the role of women and the general state of psychiatry during the period covered.
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I am disapointed,as i have only just received this book 10/01/2015, so late.
Who wrote the women of the asylum?
In Women of the Asylum, Geller and Harris have presented a far-reaching and well-researched account, which has been introduced in a wise and lucid manner by Phyllis Chesler. The concluding message seems to be this: 'Whether they were rebels, social misfits, visionaries or madwomen is left for the reader to decide'. If you can get your hands on this important and invaluable piece of literary gold dust, I would urge you to read it.
When was Women of the Asylum written?
Women of the Asylum: Voices from Behind the Walls, 1840-1945 has proved a difficult book to get hold of. I eventually sourced an inter-library loan which came all the way to my University's library from Cardiff. Jeffrey L. Geller and Maxine Harris have presented one of the first books of its kind here, bringing together the voice of women who were incarcerated in American institutions against their will over a 105-year period, and giving them 'the opportunity to speak for themselves'. Twenty-six
Why were women locked away in the asylum?
In the beginning of the time periods covered, the women were locked away not the reasons of insanity, but usually for disagreeing with their husbands (and it seems in almost every case it was a husband signing their life away) on domestic, or more usually, religious matters. The treatment the women underwent was abhorrent - no real medical or mental health care, revolting food, revolting conditions.
How many first hand accounts of women who were considered insane?
The book features 26 first hand accounts of different women considered mad or insane, spanning two centuries, from 1840-1945. (If there is a more modern account, covering the last half of the 20th century into the 21st, I need to find it.)
What is Goodreads for?
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Is it interesting to read essays from women about time spent in asylums?
Reading essays from women about time spent in asylums is not nearly as interesting as spending time in asylums yourself .
Is it fascinating to watch the asylum change?
It's horribly fascinating watching the shape of the asylum changing. In the beginning
What was the first installment of Bly's story?
Two days later, the paper ran the first installment of Bly’s story, entitled “Behind Asylum Bars.” The psychiatric doctors who’d been fooled offered apologies, excuses and defenses. The story traveled across the country, with papers lauding Bly’s courageous achievement. Almost overnight, she became a star journalist.
What did Nellie Bly do in 1887?
In 1887, intrepid reporter Nellie Bly pretended she was crazy and got herself committed, all to help improve conditions in a New York City mental institution. “The insane asylum on Blackwell’s Island is a human rat-trap. It is easy to get in, but once there it is impossible to get out.”.
What was the first mental hospital in America?
The Lonely Island. Opened as America’s first municipal mental hospital in 1839, Blackwell’s Island (known today as Roosevelt Island) was meant to be a state-of-the-art institution committed to moral, humane rehabilitation of its patients. But when funding got cut, the progressive plans went out the window. It ended up as a scary asylum, staffed in ...
Where did Bly go to hospital?
The police hauled Bly off, and within a matter of days, she bounced from court to Bellevue Hospital’s psychiatric ward. When she professed to not remembering how she ended up in New York, the chief doctor diagnosed her as “delusional and undoubtedly insane.”.
Who wrote "It is easy to get in but once there it is impossible to get out"?
Those words, describing New York City’s most notorious mental institution, were written by journalist Nellie Bly in 1887. It was no mere armchair observation, because Bly got herself committed to Blackwell’s and wrote a shocking exposé called Ten Days In A Madhouse. ...
Who was Nellie Bly?
Into the fray came the plucky 23-year Nellie Bly (born Elizabeth Cochrane, she renamed herself after a popular Stephen Foster song). At a time when most female writers were confined to newspapers’ society ...
Who was the first reporter to go undercover?
Although other writers had reported on conditions at the asylum (notably Charles Dickens, in 1842, who described its “listless, madhouse air” as “very painful”), Bly was the first reporter to go undercover. What she found exceeded her worst expectations. There were “oblivious doctors” and “coarse, massive” orderlies who “choked, ...
Why was the Illinois State Asylum and Hospital for the Insane built?
The Illinois State Asylum and Hospital for the Insane, as it was originally called, was built in 1851 in Jacksonville at the urging of social reformer Dorothea Dix as a place to help the mentally ill. But as Moore's nonfiction book points out, it also became a storehouse for women who disagreed with their husbands, who had "ungovernable personalities" or who suffered from "moral insanity." Moore's search of asylum records uncovered the case of a 15-year-old girl committed because she had become "greatly addicted to novel reading." The law in 1860 allowed men to commit their wives or other female relatives without as much as a trial.
Will Kate Moore's new book be silenced?
Readers of Kate Moore's new book will not be silenced.
How long did Bly stay in the asylum?
Committed to the asylum, Bly experienced the deplorable conditions firsthand. After ten days , the asylum released Bly at The World ' s behest. Her report, later published in book form as Ten Days in a Mad-House, caused a sensation, prompted the asylum to implement reforms, and brought her lasting fame.
What was Eva Hamilton's first book based on?
The first chapters of Eva The Adventuress, based on the real-life trial of Eva Hamilton, appeared in print before Bly returned to New York.
What was the purpose of the photograph Bly took?
A publicity photograph taken by the New York World newspaper to promote Bly's around-the-world voyage. In 1888, Bly suggested to her editor at the New York World that she take a trip around the world, attempting to turn the fictional Around the World in Eighty Days (1873) into fact for the first time.
What was Nellie Bly's first job?
Pittsburgh Dispatch. As a writer, Nellie Bly focused her early work for the Pittsburgh Dispatch on the lives of working women, writing a series of investigative articles on women factory workers. However, the newspaper soon received complaints from factory owners about her writing, and she was reassigned to women's pages to cover fashion, society, ...
Who played Nellie Bly in the 1960s?
Anne Helm appeared as Nellie Bly in the November 21, 1960, Tales of Wells Fargo TV episode "The Killing of Johnny Lash". Julia Duffy appeared as Bly in the July 10, 1983 Voyagers! episode "Jack's Back".
Who won the Girl Puzzle?
The winning proposal, The Girl Puzzle by Amanda Matthews, was announced on October 16, 2019. The New York Press Club confers an annual Nellie Bly Cub Reporter journalism award to acknowledge the best journalistic effort by an individual with three years or less professional experience.
Who is Nelly Bly?
The editor chose "Nellie Bly", after the African-American title character in the popular song "Nelly Bly" by Stephen Foster. Cochrane originally intended that her pseudonym be "Nelly Bly", but her editor wrote "Nellie" by mistake, and the error stuck.
When she went undercover in a New York City insane asylum in 1887, was Nellie Bly?
0. When she went undercover in a New York City insane asylum in 1887, Nellie Bly was surrounded by a world of grim horror. “Nearly all night long I listened to a woman cry about the cold and beg for God to let her die.
How long did it take for Bly to be released from the asylum?
Exhausted and starving, Bly was relieved when, 10 days after her entry into the asylum, lawyers from the New York World arranged for her release. Though sorry to leave the suffering women, Bly was eager to write about what she had seen.
What is the name of the song that Nellie Bly wrote?
Writing as Nellie Bly, a pen name taken from a Stephen Foster song, she was a courageous crusader to let herself be committed into an insane asylum with no guarantee that she’d be able to leave, said Brooke Kroeger, author of “Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist,” in an interview.
How did Nellie Bly die?
She died of pneumonia in 1922 at age 57. But her groundbreaking “Ten Days in a Mad-House” ushered in a new age of newspaper writing.
What were the clothes that Bly and the other inmates were given?
Despite the autumn chill, Bly and the other inmates were given threadbare dresses with poorly fitted undergarments after the frigid baths.
What is the book Ten Days in a Mad House about?
Bly established her reputation as a “stunt girl” with a social justice bent. She went on to write exposés of baby-selling rackets and harsh conditions for factory workers, Kroeger writes. Advertisement.
How much did Kroeger add to the asylum?
But despite the coverup, the grand jury believed what Bly had written. Shortly after the visit, officials added nearly $1 million to the asylum’s budget, an enormous amount for 1887, according to Kroeger’s book.
What did Bly discover about the asylum?
Bly was shocked to discover that many of the inmates were not insane at all. They were recent immigrants, mostly women, caught up in a law-enforcement system in which they were unable to communicate. Others that Bly met at Blackwell’s, and Bellevue Hospital before, had fallen through the cracks of a society with few social safety nets, ending up committed simply for being poor, with no family to support them. To her horror, Bly quickly realized that while many of these inmates were not suffering from mental illnesses before they arrived at the asylum, their treatments inflicted grave psychological damage on them.
Why did Nellie Bly go to the asylum?
In 1887, 23-year-old reporter Nellie Bly had herself committed to a New York City asylum to expose the horrific conditions for 19th-century mental patients.
How old was Nellie Bly in 10 Days in a Madhouse?
Inside Nellie Bly’s 10 Days in a Madhouse. In 1887, 23-year-old reporter Nellie Bly had herself committed to a New York City asylum to expose the horrific conditions for 19th-century mental patients. In 1887, 23-year-old reporter Nellie Bly had herself committed to a New York City asylum to expose the horrific conditions for 19th-century mental ...
How long did Bly go to the asylum?
Bly’s editor suggested she have herself committed to the asylum for 10 days to expose the real conditions, and Bly immediately agreed. Working under an assumed name, she took a room in a boarding house and set out to prove herself insane.
What is the name of the Cuban immigrant who was sent to Bellevue Hospital?
Bly now claimed to be a Cuban immigrant, suffering from amnesia. A perplexed judge sent Bly to Bellevue Hospital, where she got a taste of the suffering to come, as hospital inmates were forced to eat spoiled food and live in squalid conditions.
What was Bly's diagnosis?
A perplexed judge sent Bly to Bellevue Hospital, where she got a taste of the suffering to come, as hospital inmates were forced to eat spoiled food and live in squalid conditions. When Bly was diagnosed with dementia and other psychological illnesses, she was sent by ferry to Blackwell’s Island, in the East River.
How long did the prisoners in the prisons stay in wet clothes?
They were forced to sit still on benches, without speaking or moving, for stints lasting 12 hours or more .
