Join us on Thursday 3rd November for our next Book Club event, this time with Louisa Treger, author of stunning historical novel, Madwoman.
This is the true story of 19th-century journalist Nellie Bly, who faked insanity to get herself committed to a New York asylum and expose its horrendous conditions.
The evening will be presented by author, broadcaster and podcast host Joe Haddow. Joe runs the Radio 2 Book Club, chairs literary events across the country and is the host of the popular Book Off! podcast.
Refreshments will be available to purchase at the bar on site and there will be an opportunity to buy a copy of Madwoman and for book signing by the author.
About Mad Woman:
In 1887, young Nellie Bly sets out for New York and a career in journalism, determined to make her way as a serious reporter, whatever that may take.
But life in the city is tougher than she imagined. Down to her last dime and desperate to prove her worth, she comes up with a dangerous plan: to fake insanity and have herself committed to the asylum that looms on Blackwell’s Island. There, she will work undercover to document – and expose – the wretched conditions faced by the patients.
But when the asylum door swings shut behind her, she finds herself in a place of horrors, governed by a harshness and cruelty she could never have imagined. Cold, isolated and starving, her days of terror reawaken the traumatic events of her childhood. She entered the asylum of her own free will – but will she ever get out?
About our speaker:
Louisa Treger, a classical violinist, studied at the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and worked as a freelance orchestral player and teacher. She subsequently turned to literature, earning a Ph.D. in English at University College London, where she focused on early-twentieth-century women’s writing and was awarded the West Scholarship and the Rosa Morison Scholarship ‘for distinguished work in the study of English Language and Literature’. She is the author of the novels The Lodger and The Dragon Lady.
Date/Time:
Ticket price:
£5.00
Venue:
St Helen's School
Eastbury Road, Northwood, HA6 1AF
In association with Chorleywood Bookshop
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