
Tonya Mitchell
Bold Women. Dark Stories.

Phoenix Award for Best New Voice in Historical Fiction in the 2020 Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards.

Silver 2021 Reader Views Reviewer's Choice Award in Historical Fiction
"Astounding...invigorating. Will surely leave the reader breathless once the final page is turned." -Reader Views
"A Feigned Madness is a gorgeously written, powerful story of a courageous and remarkable woman."
- Historical Novel Society


WINNER of
the Book Cover of the Month Award
May 2020
"Simply addictive... A satisfying and riveting tale... Historical fiction lovers are in for a treat."
- Prairie Book Review

“An incredible journey back to the Victorian era of the late 1800s…I found it impossible not to love Elizabeth, aka Nellie, and wanted to go back in time to meet her. You will not be disappointed…a must-read.”
-Readers Favorite Book Reviews


Praise for A FEIGNED MADNESS
“Debut author Mitchell brings the courageous, determined Nellie Bly to vivid life in this fictionalized account of one of Bly’s most daring escapades: her ten days in the notorious asylum at Blackwell’s Island. Mixing known history with intriguing speculation, Mitchell depicts the horrific conditions of the asylum, Bly’s ambitious rise as a newspaperwoman, and the magnetic draw of forbidden love with equal skill.”
—Greer Macallister, USA Today best-selling author of The Magician’s Lie and The Arctic Fury
“A page-turning thrill ride through an often overlooked historical atrocity, A Feigned Madness vividly recounts the horrors of Blackwell’s Island and the mistreatment of its inmates. As a reader, I could really feel Nellie Bly’s tenacious thirst to see them have justice.”
—Nicole Evelina, USA Today best-selling author
“This vivid, enthralling novel of daredevil reporter Nellie Bly’s undercover exposé of the abuses at Blackwell’s Island Asylum for Women took me by the throat and never let go. Nellie Bly’s ambitions, talents, pugnacity, and huge heart shine throughout. A Feigned Madness is a knockout.”
—Kim Taylor Blakemore, author of The Companion and After Alice Fell
“Mitchell takes us on a journey through the gates of hell to a place as mesmerizing as it is dark. A compelling read for anyone with an interest in Victorian history.”
—Pam Lecky, author of The Lucy Lawrence Mystery Series
“A riveting tale of a female daredevil who risked all for ambition in Gilded Age New York. Mitchell’s Nellie Bly is a captivating heroine whose suspenseful story inspires even as it intrigues.”
—Ann Shortell, award-winning novelist and journalist