Welcome to “The New Colossus” blog, featuring the great Nellie Bly, her investigation of the mysterious death of poet and activist Emma Lazarus, and some of the colorful and formidable people Nellie encountered along the way. I especially wanted to launch the blog now because this fall marks the 125th anniversary of Nellie going around the world in 72 days, beating Jules Verne (and Phileas Fogg’s) mark. We’ll track her journey as a single woman traveling by herself around the globe in 1889, and her race against both Verne (and Fogg) and a competitor from “Cosmopolitan” magazine. I also want to mark some other events devotees of the era might want to discuss: the 145th anniversary of Jay Gould cornering the U.S. gold market, or Emma’s organizing the boycott of A.T. Stewart Department store and driving it into bankruptcy. Please check in every so often and jump in with comments or questions whenever you feel like it.
Nellie’s adventures as she circumnavigated the globe are magical! I dipped in on certain sections of her trip. Amazing!