The novel "Gadfly" written by Ethel Lillian Voynich Boole was enormously popular in the Soviet Union after the second world war.
This is the story of revolt and revolution, the story of love and betrayal, dark secrets and atonement. All these themes are finely incorporated in author’s controversial theme of the criticism of the church. With all this the book became one of the best political novels of the world literature.
The novel set in Italy in the 1800’s within the Italian Risorgimento. The author consulted with the Marucelliana Library of Florence and the State Archives & Civic Museum of Bologna during writing the book.
She was close friend of Sidney Rosenblum, his girlfriend. With the last money of him they moved to Italy. There under the influence of bright Mediterranean sun, southern hot climate, memories of his childhood and powerful Catholic religion, he gave a full background, remembering and conjuring up the memories of the past. He was not angry learning about she published his story. And the story turned out to be a great success, it touched people’s mind amazingly.
Later Ethel Lilian Voynich wrote some other books, but no one of them gave her such success, as the novel “Gadfly”, which has become a specimen of political novel with love, betrayals and the final but unfortunately late insight into the truth.