Elizabeth Bisland Wetmore (February 11, 1861 – January 6, 1929) was an American journalist and author, perhaps now best known for her 1889–1890 race around the world against

Nellie Bly Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran; May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922), better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was an American journalist who was widely known for her record-breaking circumnavigation, trip around the world ...

, which drew worldwide attention. The majority of her writings were

literary works Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, th ...

. She published all of her works as Elizabeth Bisland.

Early career

Bisland was born on Fairfax Plantation, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, on February 11, 1861. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the family fled the homestead prior to the

Battle of Fort Bisland The Battle of Fort Bisland was fought in the American Civil War between Union army, Union Major General Nathaniel P. Banks against Confederate States Army, Confederate Major General Richard Taylor (Confederate general), Richard Taylor during Ba ...

. Life was difficult when they returned, and when she was twelve the family moved to

Natchez, Louisiana Natchez is a village in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 597 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Natchitoches Micropolitan Statistical Area. The village and parish are part of the Cane River National Herita ...

, site of her father's family home that he had inherited.Verdery, Katherine.
Elizabeth Bisland Wetmore
in ''Library of Southern Literature'', p.5767-72 (1910) She began her writing career as a teenager, sending poetry to the '' New Orleans Times Democrat'' using the pen name ''B. L. R. Dane''.Bradshaw, Jim
Acadiana Diary: St. Mary journalist competed with Bly
'' The Daily Advertiser'', April 2, 2006Bradshaw, Jim
Elizabeth Bisland raced Nellie Bly around world
'' The Daily Advertiser'', August 3, 2008 Once her writing activity was revealed to her family and the editor of the paper, she was paid for the work, and she soon went to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

to work for the paper. Around 1887, Bisland moved to New York CityBright Women These: Sketches and Portraits of Some Daughters of the South
'' The Day'', January 2, 1891 and got her first work from ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

'' newspaper. By 1889 she was doing work for a number of publications, including the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 to 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers as a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publisher Jo ...

''. Among other outlets, she later became an editor at ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

'' magazine and she also contributed to the ''

Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'' and the ''

North American Review The ''North American Review'' (''NAR'') was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale (journalist), Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which i ...

''.

Journey around the world

In November 1889, the ''

'' announced that it was sending its reporter

around the world, in a bid to beat

Phileas Fogg Phileas Fogg ( ) is the protagonist in the 1872 Jules Verne novel '' Around the World in Eighty Days''. Inspirations for the character were the American entrepreneur George Francis Train and American writer and adventurer William Perry Fogg ...

's fictitious 80-day journey in

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

's novel ''

Around the World in Eighty Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate ...

''. Catching wind of this publicity stunt,

John Brisben Walker John Brisben Walker (September 10, 1847 – July 7, 1931) was a magazine publisher and automobile entrepreneur in the United States. In his later years, he was a resident of Jefferson County, Colorado. Biography Walker was born on September ...

, who had just purchased the three-year-old and still-fledgling ''Cosmopolitan'', decided to dispatch Bisland on her own journey.Roggenkamp, Karen S.H
Dignified Sensationalism: Elizabeth Bisland, Cosmopolitan, and Trips Around the World
, ''presented at'' "Writing the Journey: A Conference on American, British, & Anglophone Writers and Writing" University of Pennsylvania, June 10–13, 1999 Ultimately, however, Bly triumphed over Bisland. Critically, while in England, Bisland was told (and apparently believed) she had missed her intended ride, the swift German steamer ''Ems'' leaving from

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, even though her publisher had bribed the shipping company to delay its departure. It is unknown whether she was intentionally deceived.Abrams, Alan
Gold among the summer's dross
''

Toledo Blade ''The Blade'', also known as the ''Toledo Blade'', is a newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, published daily online and printed Thursday and Sunday by Block Communications. The newspaper was first published on December 19, 1835. Overview The first issu ...

, September 5, 1993 She was thus forced to catch the slow-going ''Bothnia'' on January 18, departing from Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland, ensuring that Bly would prevail.Round Went Nelly
'' Daily Argus News'', January 25, 1890Arrival of Elizabeth Bisland: Although Beaten by Neille Bly She Succeeds in Lowering Phiness Fogg's Record
, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', January 31, 1890ELIZABETH BISLAND AND NELLIE BLY: The Globe-Trotting Race Between the Two Rapidly Nearing Its End
, ''

'', January 18, 1890Woman Against Woman: "Nellie Bly" and Miss Bisland go racing around the world
'' Aurora Daily Express'', November 27, 1889ALL AROUND THE WORLD.; MISS BISLAND NOW ON HER OCEAN VOYAGE TO NEW-YORK
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', January 19, 1890 Bisland's ship did not arrive in Manhattan until January 30. She completed her trip in 76 days, also well ahead of Fogg's fictional record.Miss Bisland Arrives: Her Trip Around the World in 76 days
''

'', January 31, 1890 Bisland wrote a series of articles for the ''Cosmopolitan'' on her journey, subsequently published as a book entitled, ''In Seven Stages: A Flying Trip Around The World'' (1891).Bandel, Betty
Nellie Bly's Rival (letter to editor)
''

'', February 7, 1971Marks, Jason. ''Around the World in 72 Days: The race between Pulitzer's Nellie Bly and Cosmopolitan's Elizabeth Bisland'' (Gemittarius Press 1993) ()Wong, Edlie L.
Around the World and across the Board: Nellie Bly and the Geography of Games
', in ''American literary geographies: spatial practice and cultural production, 1500–1900'', pp. 296–324 (Brückner, Martin & Hus, Hsuan L., eds.) (2007) ()

Later career

Bisland's writing was of a more literary nature than her participation in the world race might indicate (and her writings were a clear contrast from the more swashbuckling style of Bly's

writings Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

on her trip). Indeed, her 1929 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' obituary failed to even mention the journey, and she focused her writing on more serious topics after "the race". In 1906, she published the well-received ''The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn''; she had first met Hearn when both were living in New Orleans in the 1880s. She co-wrote with Anne Hoyt ''Seekers in Sicily'', which was written before, but published after, the

1908 Messina earthquake A devastating earthquake occurred on 28 December 1908 in Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy with a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). The epicentre was in the Strait of Messina which separates Sicily f ...

. Bisland's final book, ''Three Wise Men of the East'' (1930), was published posthumously. (note: abstract)

Personal life

Bisland married lawyer Charles Whitman Wetmore in 1891, (stating that Wetmore graduated from Harvard in 1875; other records show he obtained an L.L.B. as well in 1877) however, she continued to publish books under her maiden name. The couple constructed a noted summer residence called ''Applegarth'' (on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

's North Shore) in 1892. Bisland died of pneumonia near

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

on January 6, 1929, and was buried at

Woodlawn Cemetery Woodlawn Cemetery is the name of several cemeteries, including: Canada * Woodlawn Cemetery (Saskatoon) * Woodlawn Cemetery (Nova Scotia) United States ''(by state then city or town)'' * Woodlawn Cemetery (Ocala, Florida), where Isaac Rice and fa ...

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, coincidentally, in the same cemetery as Bly, who also died of pneumonia in 1922.

Selected bibliography

''In Seven Stages: A Flying Trip Around the World''
New York: Harper and Brothers, 1891 * ''A Candle of Understanding'' (1903) * ''The Secret Life: Being the Book of a Heretic'' (1906) * ''The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn'' (1906) * ''Three Wise Men of the East'' (1930)

In popular culture

Although Bisland is far less remembered than Bly,Kilmer, Paulette D
Flying Around the World in 1889 - In Search of the Archetypal Wanderer
in ''

American Journalism Mass media are the means through which information is transmitted to a large audience. This includes newspapers, television, radio, and more recently the Internet. Organizations that provide news through mass media in the United States are coll ...

'' (Spring (1999) the race between the two has been the subject of two works of

popular history Popular history, also called pop history, is a broad genre of historiography that takes a popular approach, aims at a wide readership, and usually emphasizes narrative, personality and vivid detail over scholarly analysis. The term is used in con ...

and one

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

production: * Goodman, Matthew (October 2013).
Elizabeth Bisland's Race Around the World
. ''Public Domain Review''. * Marks, Jason. ''Around the World in 72 Days: The race between Pulitzer's Nellie Bly and Cosmopolitan's Elizabeth Bisland'' (Gemittarius Press 1993) () *DiFabbio, Marialena and Jones, Susannah. ''Bisland and Bly''. Sycamore Theatre Company, 2018.

References

External links

New York: Harper and Brothers, 1891 a
A Celebration of Women Writers
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bisland, Elizabeth 1861 births 1929 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Virginia People from St. Mary Parish, Louisiana 19th-century American journalists 19th-century American women journalists Writers from Louisiana Journalists from Louisiana Writers from New York City Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)