Madwoman

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Madwoman by Louisa Treger, read by Laurel Lefkow.

**A HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE TIMES AND THE SUNDAY TIMES**

The extraordinary story of a woman's quest for the truth against all odds – and how her story changed the world

'A moving story' SUNDAY TIMES, Best historical fiction books of 2022
'A must read!' GILL PAUL
'Intriguing ... A fascinating read' HAZEL GAYNOR
'Remarkable' ESSIE FOX
'An astonishing tour de force' REBECCA MASCULL

In 1887 young Nellie Bly sets out for New York and a career in journalism, determined to make her way as a serious reporter, whatever that may take.

But life in the city is tougher than she imagined. Down to her last dime and desperate to prove her worth, she comes up with a dangerous plan: to fake insanity and have herself committed to the asylum that looms on Blackwell's Island. There, she will work undercover to document – and expose – the wretched conditions faced by the patients.

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?

An extraordinary portrait of a woman way ahead of her time, Madwoman is the story of a quest for the truth that changed the world.

'Madwoman is one of the best, a magnificent portrayal of Nelly Bly in all her journalistic integrity and daring' New York Journal of Books

Critics Review

Nellie Bly – what a girl! In this compelling tribute to a fearless young reporter of Victorian New York, Treger brings to vivid life the way one woman’s broken past gives her the strength to expose the many horrors faced by others left to rot in an asylum. Both a pioneering writer and early icon of sexual equality, Nellie’s true-life story is compassionately told in this remarkable read
ESSIE FOX
Treger paints a dynamic portrait of a pioneering journalist whose work sparked real change
MAIL ON SUNDAY
Treger provides a moving story, particularly powerful in its depiction of Bly’s desperate efforts to retain her sanity in the midst of institutional madness.
SUNDAY TIMES, Best historical fiction books of 2022 so far
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
Treger's finest novel to date, which is really saying something. An astonishing tour de force, the perfect amalgam of research and imagination. Nellie leaps off the page and her experiences are rendered in shocking, visceral detail. An important and shining book that brings to light a female pioneer who needs to be understood and celebrated. Brava!
Rebecca Mascull
Vivid and written with compassion, Treger illumines Bly’s risky reporting that led to radical reform
TORONTO STAR
A compelling portrait of 19th-century journalist Nellie Bly … Recommended for fans of feminist historical fiction.
Shelf Awareness
Lovers of historical fiction won’t be disappointed.
New York Journal of Books
An intimate and intriguing portrait of a fascinating and complex woman. In Madwoman, Louisa Treger combines her
talents of storytelling and imagination to bring Nellie Bly firmly out of the history books and back into the spotlight where she, and her trailblazing journalism, belong. Fabulous
HAZEL GAYNOR
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
Praise for Louisa Treger: 'A daring blend of romance, crime and history, and an intelligent exposé of the inherent injustice and consequences of all forms of oppression
Tsitsi Dangarembga
A spirited account of a flamboyant life
The Times
Madwoman is one of the best, a magnificent portrayal of Nelly Bly in all her journalistic integrity and daring
NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS

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