FOLLOWING NELLIE BLY: HER RECORD-BREAKING RACE AROUND THE WORLD by Rosemary J. Brown will be published on May 30th 2021 by Pen and Sword History.
Nellie Bly has been one of my personal heroes for many years now, I will read anything about her that I come across. Hence why I requested FOLLOWING NELLIE BLY from NetGalley. All I needed to see was her name, I hit the request button. I was a little torn on how I felt about the book. I enjoyed reading about Nellie’s trip around the world that took her 72 days—8 days less than Jules Verne's character Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days. In 1890, Nellie traveled mostly by train and on ships. And she did it all in the same sensible dress and carrying no more than what fit in her small bag.
125 years later—while carrying more luggage and with much nicer accommodations and easier ways to travel—Rosemary J. Brown retraces parts of Nellie’s route. Traveling through the Middle East was just too dangerous, and Brown flew over most of the United States before arriving in New York. While it is clear that Brown has a passion for Bly and that she did her research, it seemed she was more on a quest to find Nellie’s ghost lingering in some of these places than she was in tracing the exact route of Nellie’s journey.
It was interesting to see how drastically things have changed since Nellie’s trip back in 1890. Along with England and France, Brown visited China, Japan, Singapore, and Ceylon/Sri Lanka. Brown sought out some of the places that Nellie visited while she waited for the next train or boat so she could continue her travels. A few of the places remain—including one hotel that Nellie stayed at. There are also a few sites that were preserved as historic monuments. But a great deal has changed—some by man and others by nature. I was fascinated by the parts that described Nellie’s journey. And I enjoyed the parts were Brown showed how the areas had changed. But quickly grew bored during some of the extended parts about her “vacation.” Overall, an interesting travelogue but not quite the book I expected based on the description.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.