Clever Girl

by David Blixt

"Tell a story to catch a story." - Nellie Bly

Nellie Bly sets out to trap the greatest villain she has ever encountered: the King of the Lobby!

March 1888. A blizzard has frozen all of New York, and Nellie Bly is going stir-crazy, stuck at home with her mother and her detestable brother Albert. When a political speech inspires her, she and Colonel Cockerill plot out her most daring undercover assignment since she emerged from the Blackwell's Island insane asylum: she's going to trap the most crooked man in politics, Edward R. Phelps, the self-styled "King" of the Albany lobby.

But catching a fox as wily as Phelps will take all her nerve, and she's learning that her meteoric rise has left her with few allies in the newspaper world. On her own, she must first trap Phelps, then confront him before a jury of his allies: the state senators of New York.

Based on the real-life events and her own reporting, Clever Girl shows Nellie Bly at her furious best!

Genres: Historical Fiction, Novella

252 pages, ebook

Published March 30, 2020

Reviews

[Davida Chazan · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Author David Blixt's third installment of his Nellie Bly books, he tells the story of how she exposed a corrupt lobbyist in New York. My #bookreview is here https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2020/05/0...

[Vicky Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only Suffrage education American children receive in school centers in the early 20th century and rarely mentions the violence involved in the movement. We never hear about Suffrage for women in other countries or the early suffragettes in the late 19th century who set the stage for future success. Elizabeth Cochrane or Nellie Bly as she comes to be known as is a beautiful role model for women. She faced discrimination as a woman wanting to have a career instead of a homemaker and as a reporter, a nearly exclusively men's domain. She put herself into dangerous situations to get the stories no man could have gotten. I love her tenacity and determination. I hope to read more about her from David Blixt and others.

[Deb Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated Clever Girl four stars, but found myself thinking there is sometimes a disconnect between what the author wants to convey and readers' varying expectation. Clever Girl is loaded with proof of the scandal Blixt describes, and that very proof gives the book more "weight" for the reader to carry in condensed form that did What Girls Are Good For, with its enormous sweep, or Charity Girl, with its smaller but well lit and empathetic focus. There's a documentary in Clever Girl. Wish Good Reads offered ways to say "this is for the reader who wants the sources digested for me," and "this is for the reader who wants to evaluate sources.

[Shomeret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nellie Bly is one of my favorite historical personages, and I had time for a novella as the month of October draws to a close. I've never read David Blixt before. This book encourages me to read others. I thought that Nellie Bly's focus on political corruption should make the story line of perennial interest to readers since corruption is always part and parcel of political reality.

About half of the content of Clever Girl consists of actual newspaper articles written by either Nellie Bly or by other journalists written about the events described in this book. I would call this a docu-novella since it's heavily documented. Readers who love history will consider this a plus.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fascinating behind-the-scenes account of a Nellie Bly expose. This time she sets her eye on the most notorious lobbyist in Albany, Edward Phelps. Blixt tells the story with an appropriate amount of atmosphere and suspense. I look forward to reading more about her other adventures.

[Laura Carroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very clever to integrate a personal story into the work life of Nellie Bly. A very interesting look at a start of changes is history, both for women and in government.

Please note that this review is in exchange for a free copy of this book through Voracious Readers Only.

[T S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read three Nellie Bly books so far. This was probably my least favorite. While the story of Nellie Bly is interesting, the subject of politics for me is not. My eyes kinda glazed over.
Half the book is the news articles on the matter. I did bother reading those.

[Bethany Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read. Interesting story about Nelly Bly that I was not familiar with.

[Debra Golden · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a clever girl.
Kudos fro taking on lying lobbyists!
I raced through the story. The actual articles and transcripts took so much longer.
I'll read more of her stories as told by David.