The Race Around the World

by Nellie Bly, Elizabeth Bisland, Matthew Goodman (Editor)

The Race Around the World (The Lakeside Classics) by Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland. Edited by Matthew Goodman. 2015 hardcover published by R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company. Illustrated.

346 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2015

About the author

Nellie Bly (1864-1922) was the pen name of pioneer female journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochran. She remains notable for two feats: a record-breaking trip around the world, in emulation of Jules Verne's character Phileas Fogg (Bly completed the trip in seventy-two days) and an exposé, in which she faked insanity to study a mental institution from within. In addition to her writing, she was also an industrialist and charity worker. Bly died of pneumonia at St. Mark's Hospital in New York City in 1922 aged 57.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nellie Bly, the journalist who went undercover to report on the conditions in the mental institutions of the 19th century, did many other stories that are not as well known. This is one of them - and the other woman is someone I had never heard of at all! Not long after Jules Verne wrote the fictional tale "80 Days around the World", Bly proposed to her editor that she try the trip herself but the offer was refused. About a year later, however, when a good story was needed, and one that would keep circulation numbers up for a long time, her offer was reconsidered and she was given 2 days to prepare for a 2 1/2 month journey around the world! Unbeknownst to her, a rival newsline heard about this and asked another reporter, Elizabeth Bisland to do the same journey, but traveling west to east instead of east to west. The women could not have been more different. Bly packed just one bag while Bisland had multiple trunks. Their writing style is also totally opposite. Bly is constantly referring to "the race" and one feels the frenetic energy in her words. She is forthright and direct. Bisland is almost poetical and lyrical in her descriptions. She always refers to "the trip" or "the journey" and never once to "the race" although she feels just as much pressure to return to the starting point and compete the excursion.

I found both accounts absolutely fascinating to read. However, the language of the time was also extremely racist and offensive - so be prepared.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic slice of life from the late 19th century and frankly far more enjoyable to read the words of Bly and Bisland than words about them. Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland both circumnavigate the globe in an effort to beat Jules Verne's fictional trip of 80 days. But this is a glimpse into a colonial world, a world of primitive racist beliefs and a world in the midst of a technological revolution. It was fascinating and I thoroughly enjoyed it!