The Gadfly

infobox Book |
name = The Gadfly
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Ethel Lilian Voynich
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = H. Holt
release_date = June, 1897
media_type = Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
pages = 373 pp (first edition hardcover)
isbn = NA
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Gadfly" is a novel by Ethel Lilian Voynich, published in 1897 (United States, June; Great Britain, September of the same year).

Set in 1840s Italy under the dominance of Austria, a time of tumultuous revolt and uprisings, the story centers on the life of the protagonist Arthur Burton as a member of the Youth movement and his antagonist Padre Montanelli. A thread of a tragic relationship between Arthur and his love Gemma simultaneously runs through the story. It is a story of faith, disillusionment, revolution, romance, and heroism.

More information about the popularity of the novel in Soviet Union and China is given under the entry Ethel Lilian Voynich.

Background

According to historian Robin Bruce Lockhart, Sidney Reilly — a Russian-born adventurer and secret agent employed by the British Secret Intelligence Service — met Ethel Voynich in London in 1895. Ethel Voynich was a significant figure not only on the late Victorian literary scene but also in Russian émigré circles. Lockhart claims that Reilly and Voynich had a sexual liaison and voyaged to Italy together. During this scenic tarriance, Reilly apparently "bared his soul to his mistress," and revealed to her the story of his strange youth in Russia. After their brief affair had concluded, Voynich published in 1897 her critically acclaimed novel, "The Gadfly", the central character of which, Arthur Burton, was allegedly based on Sidney Reilly's own early life. [Robin Bruce Lockhart, "Reilly: Ace of Spies"; 1986, Hippocrene Books, ISBN 0-88029-072-2.] However, Andrew Cook, a noted biographer of Reilly, disputes Lockhart's romanticized version of such events to be doubtful and counters instead that Reilly was perhaps informing on Voynich's radical, pro-émigré activities to William Melville of the Metropolitan Police Special Branch. [Page 39, Andrew Cook, "Ace of Spies: The True Story of Sidney Reilly", 2004, Tempus Publishing, ISBN 0-7524-2959-0.]

Film adaptations

* 1928. Soviet georgian film ("Krazana") directed by Kote Mardjanishvili.
* 1955. The Soviet director Aleksandr Fajntsimmer adapted the book into a film of the same name (Russian: Овод, "Ovod"). Dmitri Shostakovich composed the score, known as "The Gadfly Suite". The "Romance" section of this score has since become popular, and was used as the theme music for the series Reilly, Ace of Spies about master spy Sidney Reilly.
* 1980. Film of Nikolai Mashchenko with Andrei Kharitonov, Sergei Bondarchuk and Anastasiya Vertinskaya.

References

External links

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