Pitched Unfairly
Vol. I, No. 1 New York, Tuesday, November 12, 1889 A trip pitch for the editor

The Race with Time

Extra: a trip pitch by Nellie Bly

Around the world in 75 days.

One reporter, one dress, one hand-bag. Phileas Fogg's 80 days, beaten for real.

Passenger

N. Bly

From
New York
To
New York
Via
Everywhere

Baggage: 1 hand-bag

Why now

The record is 80 days, and its holder is fictional.

I asked a year ago. Sixteen years on, nobody has done it for real.

Record book Round the world

80 days

Holder
Phileas Fogg, Esq.
Club
Reform Club, London
Set
Oct. 2 to Dec. 21, 1872
Witness
Jules Verne, novelist

Fiction

The route and plan

Four steamers east, the rails home, back before Fogg.

  • Nellie Bly Eastbound, for The World Home: Jersey City, day 72
  • Elizabeth Bisland Westbound, for Cosmopolitan Queenstown to New York
  • Phileas Fogg Eastbound, in a novel New York to London
New York London Brindisi Suez Aden Colombo Hong Kong Yokohama San Francisco Day 72 of Fogg's 80 NB EB PF

£200

The budget

Gold in a pocket, notes in a bag around my neck.

English gold
In my pocket
Bank of England notes
Chamois bag, tied around my neck
American gold and paper
A test: does anyone abroad take it?
Trunks, porters, escorts
None

What's in the bag

Everything fits in one hand-bag, except the second dress.

Bag 100% Closes. Barely.

Over my arm: one silk waterproof.

Risks and the backup plan

Every objection already has a backup plan.

RiskRaised byBackup planStatus
A woman would need a protector. Business manager Passport No. 247, signed by the Secretary of State. Revolver: declined. Covered
She would carry too much baggage. Business manager One hand-bag. You just watched it close. Packed
She speaks nothing but English. Business manager English-speaking lines from London on. An interpreter at Amiens. Handled
The Pacific runs late. The weather A special train from San Francisco, chartered if we need it. Used
A rival paper races us. Park Row Then I win. Same ships, same trains, fewer trunks. Beaten

The cost of a no

Start the man, and I'll start the same day for some other newspaper and beat him.”

Nellie Bly, to the business manager of The World, 1888

TelegramPark Row, N.Y.

I believe you would.

From the office, by return

What everyone gets out of it

The paper gets a serial. The readers get a guessing match.

The World
A front page every day, by cable.
Jules Verne
A visit at Amiens, on the way past.
Me
My first rest in almost three years.

The Bly Guessing Match

She will reach New York on

Prize: a trip to Europe

About a million readers mailed one in.

How we'll know it worked

Fogg's clock runs 80 days. I stop it with a week to spare.

Left on Fogg's clock

Bly 72 d 6 h 11 m Her promise 75 days Bisland 76 and a half Verne's applause 79 days Fogg 80 days
  1. Bly72 d 6 h 11 m
  2. Her promise75 days
  3. Bisland76 and a half
  4. Verne's applause79 days
  5. Fogg80 days

The ask

Thursday, 9:40 a.m., on the Augusta Victoria. Back in 75 days.

  • Berth 1ticketAugusta Victoria, Hoboken to Southampton
  • Purse £200gold and notesAt the office, the night before
  • Papers 1passportSpecial, signed in Washington

SailsNov. 14, 1889Returns: the record, on your front page.