Ten Days in a Madhouse
05/07/20 • 22 min
Nellie Bly, known for her book Ten Days in a Madhouse, was born in 1864 just outside of Pittsburgh. She would become a true suffragette and leader in women's voices. Nellie grew up living a typical life of domestic womanhood like many in those days, but she had a voice that needed to be heard. In 1885, she wrote to the Pittsburg Dispatch, going against an article that said the only purpose for women was to clean house and take care of children and that they had no business working outside the home. In her letter, she evoked a woman's God-given abilities to work and do other jobs well, despite what society thought. Her passionate rebuke landed her a job with the Dispatch for $5 a week. But women weren't respected in journalism. Women were allowed to write about food, gardening, household topics, and fashion. But Nellie wanted to be a real journalist. This is her fascinating story.
Music by Kevin MacLeod and Epidemic Sound (paid licenses).
Music by Katie Coughran.
📩 Substack Newsletter
📚 Vanessa’s Books
🖥️ Website
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Nellie Bly, known for her book Ten Days in a Madhouse, was born in 1864 just outside of Pittsburgh. She would become a true suffragette and leader in women's voices. Nellie grew up living a typical life of domestic womanhood like many in those days, but she had a voice that needed to be heard. In 1885, she wrote to the Pittsburg Dispatch, going against an article that said the only purpose for women was to clean house and take care of children and that they had no business working outside the home. In her letter, she evoked a woman's God-given abilities to work and do other jobs well, despite what society thought. Her passionate rebuke landed her a job with the Dispatch for $5 a week. But women weren't respected in journalism. Women were allowed to write about food, gardening, household topics, and fashion. But Nellie wanted to be a real journalist. This is her fascinating story.
Music by Kevin MacLeod and Epidemic Sound (paid licenses).
Music by Katie Coughran.
📩 Substack Newsletter
📚 Vanessa’s Books
🖥️ Website
🎥 YouTube
👥 Facebook Group
📸 Instagram
Previous Episode
Haunted Eufaula: Southern Ghost Stories
Small town living in the South is full of history and haunts. These dying southern towns fill the country roads in the southeast, speckling the path from big city to big city. They're the heart of the southern people, where so many reside. The small city of Eufaula, AL, is an excellent example of days long ago, with a picturesque Antebellum landscape. And it's here... in these quaint, quiet settings that you just may have a terrifying ghostly encounter.
Music by Kevin MacLeod and Epidemic Sound (paid licenses).
Music by Katie Coughran.
📩 Substack Newsletter
📚 Vanessa’s Books
🖥️ Website
🎥 YouTube
👥 Facebook Group
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Next Episode
The Witches of Fife
Tales of witchcraft have been the source of entertainment for centuries, but when the tales jump into reality, a new type of wickedness emerges. Such was the case in the Scottish witch trials. The witches of Fife serve as a reminder that the stories we watch for entertainment on television have a dark, and deeply painful past.
What’s even more mysterious than the history itself is the stories these women spun surrounding their supposed confessions. It seems, they are still bewitching us... after all these years.
Music by Kevin MacLeod and Epidemic Sound (paid licenses).
Written and narrated by Vanessa K. Eccles.
Research assistance by Whitney Zahar.
Promo: Haunted Happenstance.
Music by Katie Coughran.
📩 Substack Newsletter
📚 Vanessa’s Books
🖥️ Website
🎥 YouTube
👥 Facebook Group
📸 Instagram
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