Rosemary J. Brown - Following Nellie Bly: Her Record-Breaking Race Around the World

Following Nellie Bly Following

Nellie Bly, circa 1890. ( Courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-75620 )

Her Record-Breaking Race Around the World

Rosemary J. Brown

First published in Great Britain in 2021 by

Pen & Sword History

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Yorkshire Philadelphia

Copyright Rosemary J. Brown 2021

ISBN 978 1 52676 140 8

eISBN 978 1 52676 141 5

Mobi ISBN 978 1 52676 142 2

The right of Rosemary J. Brown to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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For Pauline

Title Page: SS Augusta Victoria

Chapter 1. Nellie Blys gripsack

Chapter 2. Navigation sculpture at former P&O offices, London

Chapter 3. Jules Vernes home, Amiens

Chapter 4. Calais Lighthouse

Chapter 5. Ceylonese outrigger, Colombo

Chapter 6. Temple of the Tooth, Kandy

Chapter 7. McGinty the monkey

Chapter 8. Peak Tram, Hong Kong

Chapter 9. Clepsydra of Canton

Chapter 10. Lions head water hydrant, Yokohama

Chapter 11. The Great Buddha of Kamakura

Chapter 12. Jersey City railway and ferry terminus

Chapter 13. Nellie Blys headstone, Woodlawn Cemetery

Chapter 14. Nellie Blys birthplace, Cochrans Mills

Drawings by David Stanton

Front cover: Nellie Bly in travelling ensemble, Library of Congress LC-USZ62-59923

Back cover: Nellie Bly publicity photo for The New York World

Nellie Bly in her legendary travel attire.

Nellie Bly Bids Fogg Good Bye trading card.

Authors daughter Acadia on the steps of the Maison Jules Verne in Amiens, France.

Grand Oriental Hotel, Colombo, Ceylon, circa 1890s.

Author at Full Moon Poya celebrations in Colombo, Ceylon.

The replica statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, Singapore.

Author touring temple in Singapores Little India.

Hong Kong Harbour, 1889.

Happy Valley Cemetery swamped by skyscrapers, Hong Kong.

Firing of the Noonday Gun, Hong Kong.

14th century Zhenai Tower, now Guangzhou Museum, Canton, China.

Temple of the 500 Gods, Canton, China, in Nellies time.

Todays Temple of the 500 Gods, Canton, China, now called Hualin Temple.

Tea at the Grand Hotel, Yokohama, Japan.

Sangedatsumon Gate, Zojoji Temple, Tokyo, Japan.

Lap of the Great Buddha, Kamakura, Japan.

Nellie Blys triumphant arrival and reception in Jersey City after circling the world in seventy-two days.

Shes Broken Every Record!, front page of The New York World, 26 January 1890.

Nellie Blys Round the World Game.

Staircase at the New York City insane asylum where Nellie Bly went undercover.

The New York City insane asylum in Nellie Blys day.

Author laying roses at Nellie Blys headstone.

Dolly Lackey McCoy, author, and Arnold Blystone at millstone memorial to Nellie Bly in Cochrans Mills, Pennsylvania.

Nellie Blys childhood home in Apollo, Pennsylvania with historical marker in front.

Concept Rendering by Amanda Matthews for The Girl Puzzle Installation on Roosevelt Island, NYC.

New York City

November 1888

If I could do it as quickly as Phileas Fogg did, I should go.

Nellie Bly

A clock taunts the hours, shattering the early morning silence in the apartment that journalist Nellie Bly shares with her mother in Manhattan. All day long and into the night she has scoured her brain. Sunday is her customary day for preparing story proposals for her editor at The New York World . When she finally stumbles into bed, the prospects of finding an idea are as bleak as the bitter November darkness outside. Her quilt lies on the floor, sheets escape from her mattress, her nightclothes seem to strangle her. It is 2.45 am; Monday is already here and she has nothing, not a single proposal for her meeting later that day. Frazzled by fatigue and frustration, all she wants to do is escape. I wish I was at the other end of the earth! she exclaims in the pre-dawn hours. Nellie stops to ponder her words, raising an eyebrow. And why not? she asks herself. For two years she has worked non-stop at The New York World , the leading paper of its time. Migraine headaches are setting in. I need a vacation; why not take a trip around the world? she says. One thought leads to another and by 3.00 am Nellie has a plan. She will challenge the record of Jules Vernes hero in Around the World in 80 Day s. If I could do it as quickly as Phileas Fogg did, I should go. With that Nellie drifts off to sleep, determined to discover that very day if she can circle the world in less than eighty days.

That was it! The idea, born of exhaustion, that ignited a recordbreaking journey that would define Nellies life, make her the most famous woman of her time, launch a legacy that lives on today, and make the world a little smaller. The idea that, 125 years later, would inspire me to pay tribute to Nellie by following her footsteps around the world.