Ethel Voynich facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ethel Lilian Voynich
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| Born | Ethel Lilian Boole 11 May 1864 Ballintemple, Cork, County Cork, Ireland |
| Died | 27 July 1960 (aged 96) New York City, United States |
| Occupation | Novelist, musician |
| Notable works | The Gadfly |
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| Relatives | George Boole (father) Mary Everest (mother) |
Ethel Lilian Voynich, born Ethel Lilian Boole on May 11, 1864, was an Irish writer and musician. She was also a strong supporter of groups working for big social changes. Ethel was born in Cork, Ireland. However, she grew up in Lancashire, England.
She was an important person in the late Victorian writing world. She was also well-known among Russian people who had left their home country. Ethel is best known for her novel The Gadfly. This book became hugely popular during her lifetime. It was especially loved in the Soviet Union.
Contents
Her Life Story
Ethel Lilian Boole was born on May 11, 1864. She was the youngest daughter of English parents. Her father, George Boole, was a famous mathematician. Her mother, Mary Everest, was also a mathematician and teacher.
Ethel's father died when she was only six months old. Her mother moved back to England with her daughters. When Ethel was eight, she became sick. Her mother sent her to live in Lancashire with her brother. He was a coal mine manager. Her brother was very strict and made Ethel play the piano for many hours.
Ethel returned to London when she was ten. She became quiet and often wore black clothes. She even started calling herself "Lily".
Becoming a Musician and Activist
At age eighteen, Ethel received some money from a family inheritance. This allowed her to study piano and music in Berlin, Germany. She attended the Hochschule für Musik from 1882 to 1885. During this time, she became very interested in political movements that wanted big changes.
Back in London, she learned Russian from Sergei Kravchinski. He was known as Stepniak. He encouraged her to visit Russia. From 1887 to 1889, she worked as a governess in St. Petersburg. There, she met people from a revolutionary group called the Narodniks.
After returning to the UK, she settled in London. She became very involved in supporting revolutionary causes. With Kravchinski, she helped start the Society of Friends of Russian Freedom. She also helped edit Free Russia, which was the Narodniks' English-language newspaper.
In 1890, she met Michał Habdank-Wojnicz. He was a Polish revolutionary who had escaped from Siberia. He soon became Ethel Boole's partner. They started living together by 1895, and she began calling herself Mrs. Voynich. They officially married in 1902. In 1904, he changed his name to Wilfrid Michael Voynich. He became a dealer in old books. The famous Voynich manuscript is named after him.
Later Life and Recognition
In 1920, the Voyniches moved to the United States. Wilfrid had moved his main book business to New York. Ethel then focused more on music. She worked in a music school. She also continued her writing career by translating books. She translated from Russian, Polish, and French. Her last novel, Put off thy Shoes, was published in 1945.
Ethel Voynich did not know how popular The Gadfly was in the Soviet Union. In 1955, a Russian diplomat visited her in New York. He told her how much she was admired in his country. The next year, she received money from the book's sales.
Ethel Lilian Voynich passed away on July 27, 1960, at the age of 96. Her body was cremated. Her ashes were spread over Central Park in New York City.
Connection to Sidney Reilly
Some people believe that Sidney Reilly, a British secret agent, met Ethel Voynich in London in 1895. It is said that Reilly shared stories of his spy work with her. After this, Voynich published The Gadfly. The main character, Arthur Burton, is thought to be based on Reilly.
Her Works
The Gadfly
Ethel Voynich is most famous for her first novel, The Gadfly. It was published in 1897. The book is about a revolutionary in Italy. This character was loosely based on Giuseppe Mazzini.
The Gadfly became very popular in the Soviet Union. It was a top bestseller and required reading there. People saw it as a book that supported their ideas. It was also popular in China for similar reasons. By the time Voynich died, The Gadfly had sold about 2.5 million copies in the Soviet Union. It was also made into two Russian movies. The first was Krazana in 1928, and another in 1955.
Historian Mark Mazower described The Gadfly as a "radical English novel." Its dramatic story was seen as a symbol for the fight for freedom in Russia. It was popular among socialists in Russia. It also appealed to people with new ideas in other places, including Britain.
The 1955 film version of the novel is famous for its music. The composer Dmitri Shostakovich wrote the score. A part of this music, called the Romance movement, became very well-known. Shostakovich's Gadfly music was also used in the 1980s BBC TV series Reilly, Ace of Spies. The novel has also been adapted into operas and ballets.
Other Novels
Voynich wrote four other novels. However, none of them became as famous as The Gadfly. Two of these books added more to the story of The Gadfly. An Interrupted Friendship (1910) tells more about the main character's past. Put Off Thy Shoes (1945) was her last novel. It focused on the lives of the main character's family from the 18th century.
Her second novel was Jack Raymond (1901). Her third was Olive Latham (1904). After these, Voynich took a break from writing for nearly ten years. She focused on her music during this time.
Her Music
Ethel Voynich started composing music around 1910. She joined the Society of Women Musicians during World War I. After moving to New York, she spent much more time on music. She created many new versions of existing musical works. In 1931, she published a book of Chopin's letters.
From 1933 to 1943, she worked at the Pius X School of Liturgical Music in Manhattan. There, she wrote several long musical pieces called cantatas. These included Babylon, Jerusalem, and The Submerged City. She also studied the history of music. Most of her music has not been published. It is kept at the Library of Congress.
Legacy
A minor planet called 2032 Ethel was discovered in 1970. It was named after Ethel Lilian Voynich by a Soviet astronomer.
Works
- Stories from Garshin (1893)
- The Gadfly (1897)
- Jack Raymond (1901)
- Olive Latham (1904)
- An Interrupted Friendship (Russian "Овод в изгнании" (meaning "The Gadfly in exile") (1910)
- Put Off Thy Shoes (1945)
See also
- Krazana, a 1928 Georgian black-and-white silent film directed by Kote Marjanishvili
- The Gadfly, a 1955 film by Soviet director Aleksandr Fajntsimmer
- The Gadfly Suite, composed by Dmitri Shostakovich for the 1955 film adaptation
- The Gadfly, 1958 opera by Soviet composer Antonio Spadavecchia
- The Gadfly, a 1980 TV miniseries
