Book excerpt: Victorian Race Around the World: Two women reporters try to beat Jules Verne's record. New York City, November 14, 1889. Young newspaper reporter Nellie Bly sets sail on the Augusta Victoria for a trip around the world. She plans to beat Jules Verne's fictional record from the novel Around the World in Eighty Days. She thinks she can circumnavigate the globe in under seventy-five days, and prove that a woman can do what no man has even tried. Hours later, and unbeknownst to Nellie, another writer, Elizabeth Bisland boards a train going in the opposite direction attempting to beat Nellie back to New York. Elizabeth is a reluctant player in this high-stakes publicity stunt, but financial needs outweigh her pride. Neither woman is prepared for what will happen on this trip, or how the race will change her. This fascinating novel covers these historical topics and more: - early women reporters - travel during Victorian times - includes Nellie Bly's visit with Jules Verne, himself