TEHRAN – The Persian translation of the book “Ten Days in a Mad-House” by American journalist Nellie Bly has been released in bookstores across Iran.

 Elnaz Imani has translated the book and Qoqnoos Publishing House has brought it out in 136 pages, ILNA reported.

It was initially published as a series of articles for the New York World. Bly later compiled the articles into a book, being published by Norman Munro in New York City in 1887.

The book was based on articles written while Bly was on an undercover assignment for the New York World, feigning insanity at a women's boarding house, so as to be involuntarily committed to an insane asylum. She then investigated the reports of brutality and neglect at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island (now called Roosevelt Island).

After a night spent practicing expressions in front of a mirror, she checked into a boardinghouse. She refused to go to bed, telling the boarders that she was afraid of them and that they looked "crazy." They soon decided that she was "crazy," and the next morning summoned the police. Taken to a courtroom, she claimed to have amnesia. The judge concluded she had been drugged.

Several doctors then examined her; all declared her insane. "Positively demented," said one, "I consider it a hopeless case. She needs to be put where someone will take care of her." The head of the insane pavilion at Bellevue Hospital pronounced her "undoubtedly insane". The case of the "pretty crazy girl" attracted media attention: "Who Is This Insane Girl?" asked the New York Sun. The New York Times wrote of the "mysterious waif" with the "wild, haunted look in her eyes" and her desperate cry: "I can't remember I can't remember."

Once admitted to the asylum, Bly abandoned any pretense of mental illness and began to behave as she would normally. The hospital staff seemed unaware that she was no longer "insane" and instead began to report her ordinary actions as symptoms of her illness. Even her pleas to be released were interpreted as further signs of mental illness. Speaking with her fellow patients, Bly was convinced that some were as "sane" as she was.

Bly experienced the deplorable conditions firsthand. The nurses behaved obnoxiously and abusively, telling the patients to shut up and beating them if they did not. The food consisted of gruel broth, spoiled beef, bread that was little more than dried dough, and dirty, undrinkable water. The dangerous patients were tied together with ropes. The patients were made to sit for much of each day on hard benches with scant protection from the cold. Waste was all around the eating places. Rats crawled all around the hospital.

After ten days, The World secured Bly's release from the asylum. Her report, published in The World and later released as a book, caused a sensation and brought her lasting fame.

The question in hand was how Bly managed to convince professionals of her insanity in the first place. As revealed in her first-hand account, “Ten Days in a Mad-House,” Bly spoke of how the main physician that performed her examination was more focused on the attractive nurse that was assisting the examination than with Bly herself. While physicians and staff worked to explain how she had deceived so many professionals, Bly's report prompted a grand jury to launch its own investigation with Bly assisting. The jury's report resulted in an $850,000 increase in the budget of the Department of Public Charities and Corrections. The grand jury also ensured that future examinations were more thorough, such that only the seriously ill were committed to the asylum.

The book received widespread acclaim. The combination of her reportage and the release of her content brought her fame and led to a grand jury investigation and a financial increase in the Department of Public Charities and Corrections.

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