Goodman describes Bly as a determined investigative reporter from Pennsylvania coal country, who always sought out the most sensational news stories. Bisland, however, was a genteel, erudite, soft-spoken poet and essayist from a ruined Louisiana plantation, who derided most newspaper writing as being merely a caricature of life. “Since the two women traveled to many of the same locations, it was helpful for me as a writer that they had such different perspectives: Even when they were in the same place, it was almost as if each woman was experiencing a city different from that of the other. And without anticipating the ending of the story, I would say simply that each woman tried as hard as she could to win the race, and that in a larger sense each woman met the goals she had set out for herself at the beginning of the journey.”
Goodman is adept at recreating not only the charming personalities of his characters – with both an intriguing mix of propriety and ambition – but also the cultural tone of the 19th century, within and outside of the nation’s borders. Indeed, a youth spent roaming the aisles of the New York Public Library is evidenced in Goodman’s enthusiasm for research. He likes nothing more than sinking his literary teeth into something historically delicious – unless, of course, he’s chomping down something actually scrumptious. His first book was, after all, an encyclopedic survey of worldwide Jewish cuisine, aptly titled The World at Table.
After the release of his second non-fiction book, The Sun and the Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists and Lunar Man-Bats in 19th-Century New York, Goodman put a call out to friends and associates for new material: some juicy story out of the not-too-distant past that had been documented but not adequately dramatized for modern readers. Grinding research might be as enjoyable for him as the actual publication of his finished product: On an outing with his kids at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, he serendipitously discovered that the burial plots of Bly and Bisland are located within feet of each other. He further immersed himself and his family in Eighty Days by buying and playing an old board game based on the race. On the other hand, the release of a book opens up time and energy for this narrative historian to delve into a new subject.
“Now that the book is out, I’ve enjoyed hearing about how some readers find themselves rooting for Nellie Bly to win the race, while others root just as strongly for Elizabeth Bisland,” responds Goodman. “Of course, as the author I knew right from the beginning who really did win, so I didn’t have a rooting interest in the race. My interest was in portraying the characters as best I could, to try to make them as fascinating on the page as they were in real life. It was a great boon for me as a writer to have two main characters who, in terms of their personalities, were so different, yet each of whom was as compelling as the other.”
Neither Bly nor Bisland was able to file reports on every stretch of her travels, so avid followers of the endeavor had to wait for months for a full account. Meanwhile, their employers drummed up contests for readers and other gimmicks to keep the hoopla fresh during long weeks of the adventurers’ silence. Here’s a reading tip to position yourself soundly in the 19th century: Devour one section of Eighty Days at a time and force yourself to wait a day or so to take on the next one. This might replicate the experience of readers in the 1890s, who often consumed episodes of serial stories only once a week or even once a month.
Matthew Goodman will discuss Eighty Days at the Golden Notebook in Woodstock on Saturday, April 6 at 3 p.m. and at Oblong Books & Music in Rhinebeck on Sunday, April 7 at 4 p.m. For more information visit www.matthewgoodmanbooks.com.
