Ten Days in a Mad-House

"Ten Days in a Mad-House" is a book written by newspaper reporter Nellie Bly and published by Norman L. Munro in New York, NY in 1887. The book comprised Bly's reportage for the "New York World" while on an undercover assignment in which she feigned insanity to investigate reports of brutality and neglect at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island.

The book's graphic depiction of conditions at the asylum caused a sensation, brought Bly lasting fame and prompted a grand jury to launch its own investigation, with Bly assisting. The jury's report resulted in an $850,000 increase in the budget of the Department of Public Charities and Corrections.

The book itself is no longer in print on paper, but is available in some public libraries and at several locations online as an e-book.

External links

* [http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/madhouse/madhouse.html University of Pennsylvania Digital Library website transcript]
* [http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.disabilitymuseum.org%2Flib%2Fdocs%2F1123card.htm&ei=RU47R62QEo78gAT50Kn_Bg&usg=AFQjCNElH10EeEDFdBwZhxqPzqjkQsH7_Q&sig2=wi2RNIe4ERUr5KMOLxih9g Disability History Museum web catalog citation]
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/21162 Project Gutenberg Audio Book]