E. L. Voynich
Ethel Lilian Voynich, born on May 11, 1864, in County Cork, Ireland, is celebrated as a notable cultural figure in Russia, particularly known for her influential novel, *The Gadfly*. She faced significant hardships in her early life, including the death of her mathematician father, George Boole, and subsequent struggles with poverty and personal trauma. Educated in music in Berlin, she developed a passion for political literature and social justice, which led her to Russia, where she became involved in revolutionary activities and met key figures such as Sergei Stepniak. Her experiences with the Russian peasantry and political prisoners fueled her literary work, culminating in *The Gadfly*, which addresses themes of individuality and moral integrity against oppressive societal norms.
The novel gained immense popularity in Russia, achieving classic status and inspiring adaptations in various art forms. After relocating to New York City in 1920, Voynich continued to impact the cultural landscape, serving as a music teacher while remaining largely unaware of her book's success until much later in her life. Ethel Lilian Voynich passed away on July 27, 1960, leaving behind a legacy as both an author and a promoter of revolutionary ideas.
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E. L. Voynich
- Born: May 11, 1864
- Birthplace: County Cork, Ireland
- Died: July 27, 1960
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
Ethel Lilian Voynich, a cultural hero in the Russia and the author of The Gadfly, was born in County Cork, Ireland, on May 11, 1864. She was seven months old when her mathematician father George Boole died, leaving the family of six in dire poverty. Her mother, Mary Everest Boole, got a job as a college librarian through her uncle. In 1872, eight-year-old Voynich was sent to live with her grandfather, a coal mine manager who allegedly beat the children who were in his care. She returned home when she was ten, having suffered a nervous breakdown while living with her grandfather.
When she was eighteen, Voynich went to Berlin to study at the Hochschule der Musik. There she began reading political literature, including works by Sergei Stepniak and Niccolo Machiavelli. After two years in Berlin, she returned to London and decided to go to Russia. While in Russia, she met Stepniak, who would influence her greatly and would write the introductions to many of her books. She later returned to Russia, where she worked as a tutor and governess and volunteered on medical care expeditions to the Russian peasantry. Her experiences there deepened her interest in the plight of the poor and of political prisoners in czarist Russia.
Voynich returned to London, and she and Stepniak established the Society of Friends of Russian Freedom. She also began to edit the monthly publication Free Russia. In 1890, she met the man whom she would marry, Wilfred Voynich, who had been a political prisoner in Warsaw, Poland, when she stopped there on her way to Russia three years earlier. She began publishing revolutionary literature for alleged shipment to Russia and translated works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. She continued to work as a translator and publisher, allegedly seeking any route possible to get information to the Russian people.
In 1895, Voynich met Russian exile Georgi Rosenblum, with whom she began an affair. On a summer trip to Italy he shared his memories of early life in Russian Poland. His stories would become the inspiration for her most famous and influential work, The Gadfly (1897). The Gadfly is both a philosophical and adventurous novel, telling the story of a man who chose his own execution rather than subscribe to his father’s hypocritical values. The book went through eight printings in four years and was published in English and in translation. It was hugely popular in Russia, where it achieved official classic status and was adapted several times into films and operas. Voynich, who had curtailed her revolutionary activities before 1917, was unaware of the book’s resounding success in Russia until a group of Soviet reporters told her about it in the 1950’s.
In 1920, Voynich moved to New York City, where her husband had moved in 1914. From 1933 to 1944, she served as a music teacher at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart. She died in New York City on July 27, 1960.