GETTING THE REAL STORY: Nellie Bly &...

GETTING THE REAL STORY: Nellie Bly & Ida B. Wells by Sue Davidson (Seal Press: $8.95, illustrated). Davidson’s fictionalized biographies of two pioneering female journalists, one white, one black, inaugurate the “Women Who Dared” series for juvenile readers. Elizabeth Cochran (1864-1922) began writing for the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1884, but moved to Joseph Pulitzer’s prestigious New York World three years later. At a time when most women newspaper writers were restricted to domestic subjects, Cochran had herself committed to Blackwell’s insane asylum, and wrote a devastating expose of the abuses of the inmates. In 1889/90, she beat Phileas Fogg’s 80-day trip around the world in a highly publicized series of articles. Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) was even more daring: One of the first African-American women to pursue a career in journalism, she lead an effective anti-lynching crusade, writing and lecturing in Great Britain as well as the United States. A dedicated social activist, she successfully sued a Tennessee railroad for discrimination, and helped found the NAACP. Davidson’s prose often seems melodramatic, but the series represents a valuable addition to juvenile literature.