Interesting likely first work of undercover investigative journalism by a female. I have read enough of the era and the supposed "treatment" of persons with alleged mental illness not to be shocked. Bly's commitment and motivation to succeed as a female journalist outside of the society pages was groundbreaking. I had selected this book to satisfy a reading challenge requiring me to read a non-fiction book dealing with feminism or feminist themes; I admit I felt I was stretching it a bit, but in two "post scripts" Bly also went undercover at an agency for domestics and a factory to report on treatment of women in the workforce, so in the end, I am quite comfortable with my choice. I have a funny feeling though that a lot of historical fiction authors must use her work as one their research points....