‘Around the World in 80 Days’: Actual race was run by women
Brooklyn BookBeat: Brooklyn's narrative historian tells the real Nellie Bly story
“In Brooklyn, where I live, many older residents remember the late, lamented Nellie Bly Amusement Park (in Bath Beach, right off the Belt Parkway) but little about Bly herself, and even less about the race around the world that made her, for a while, among the most famous women in America. I, too, only vaguely knew who Nellie Bly was when I happened upon a reference to her celebrated race; and I knew nothing at all about her rival Elizabeth Bisland, other than the fact that on that November day in 1889 she had set off around the world as well. Four years ago, I decided to write a book about these two young travelers. It has been, for me, a fascinating and enjoyable journey, and I am deeply grateful to the many people who helped me complete the trip.”
Matthew Goodman’s previous book, “The Sun and the Moon,” followed a widely circulated story in a New York newspaper that convinced readers to believe in the existence of lunar life. To write his latest book, “Eighty Days,” Matthew Goodman returned to Gotham’s newspapers in the 19th century for inspiration. Goodman, a resident of Bay Ridge, wrote the nonfiction book in his characteristic narrative style.