Madwoman is a carefully told take on Nellie Bly’s experience uncovering the truth about the asylum on Blackwell Island. With insight into her tumultuous childhood, we see her breakthrough into journalism, and see her personal experience in the asylum close-up, which is enticing and sickening in equal measure.
The character of Nellie herself is the real strong point of the book. Rooted in her childhood, the character is well-fleshed out, determined and intelligent; a woman ahead of her time but not to the extent that would make it unrealistic. She’s a definitive and courageous figure within her field, and Treger captures that perfectly.
Treger is particularly successful in her depiction of the horrors of the asylum: the violence, starvation, and filth fall off the page. Nothing is withheld in these sections of the story – its seedy realism reflects the harrowing experience of an asylum of the time. It is honest and gruelling, which is precisely what an account such as this requires.
I was also pleased to see a note towards the beginning, accounting for the story's historical accuracy, and a short biography of Nellie's life at the end. The story is well placed within its historical context. Treger's simple but essential additions are reminders of the authentic Nellie and her very real and amazing life and career. Treger's handling of her history is careful and respectful, a piece that Nellie herself would support.
However, Madwoman, suffers in particular dialogue and descriptive choices made by Treger. Some of the dialogue feels clunky and unnatural, especially when young Nellie is speaking: ‘But now now I see that allegiance is more complicated’ That doesn’t feel like something an eleven-year-old would say. Equally, several illustrative moments were handled simplistically, stating emotions plainly, rather than sharing a more in-depth consideration. As this novel follows Nellie Bly, a renowned journalist, a more detailed account of the events of her life would have fit this persona more suitably.
As a book promising the story of Nellie and her experience at the Asylum on Blackwell Island, there is little detail on specific elements that should have been key. Nellie wishes to focus on the women of the asylum - following her career focused on working women - yet the attention those women, bar Nellie, get in this novel is limited. While there are several named inmates, their personalities and appearances are not distinct enough to warrant attention from the audience. By extension, as they play more minor roles, Nellie's motivation for having them released is not as strong or developed as it could have been, if there has been more attention given to these women. Equally, the same could be said for the various nurses, who blend into one figure. For a work that aims to tell the story of a pioneering woman working in a man's world, the lack of time spent with the other women in the story falls short of impressing. I would have preferred a shift away from the romance arc of the story, which though relevant to Nellie's story, felt out of place in the asylum. A greater dedication to the women of Blackwell Island instead of the relationship would have deepened the emotional payoff towards the end of the novel.
Overall, I found this book intriguing and recommend it to anyone interested in the subject area, or with a general interest in influential women in history. The small nitpicks did not make any of the rest of the book less readable and enjoyable. Focusing on Nellie alone, Treger does a brilliant job of developing and exploring a character, and does the excelling journalist the justice she deserves.
I look forward to whatever Louisa Treger writes next.
Abi's rating: 3.5/5
- Abi
Instagram: @abbie.besant / Twitter: @abiwritesbadly
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