Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran, Nellie Bly (1864–1922) reported on inequalities women faced in the workplace and in the legal system, and she served as a foreign correspondent in Mexico.

Two years after her undercover work at Blackwell's Island Asylum, Bly circled the globe to test the feasibility of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days - and beat the fictional record by eight days. This new edition of her groundbreaking reports from the asylum features 17 period illustrations from the original publication.