*Nellie Bly was the pen name of Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, a boundary-busting American journalist born in 1864. Bly made her name through daring reporting.
She resisted editorial pressure to focus on women’s issues such as homemaking, and instead spent time as a foreign correspondent in Mexico.
She later made headlines by feigning insanity in order to write an exposé on poor conditions in a mental institution, which was eventually published in book form.
She also took on the challenge of beating Jules Verne’s fictional Around the World in 80 Days standard, ultimately making it around the globe in 72 days and briefly setting a record.
*http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/02/beach-reads-summer_n_7699708.html?ir=Women&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000046
