Ethel Lilian Voynich

Ethel Lilian Voynich, née Boole (11 May 1864 – 27 July 1960) was an Irish-born novelist and musician, and a supporter of several revolutionary causes. She was born in Cork, but grew up in Lancashire, England. Voynich was a significant figure, not only on the late Victorian literary scene, but also in Russian émigré circles. She is best known for her novel The Gadfly, which became hugely popular in her lifetime, especially in Soviet Union. Biography Ethel Lilian Boole was born on 11 May 1864, at Lichfield Cottage, Blackrock, Ballintemple, Cork, the youngest daughter of English parents, mathematician George Boole (father of Boolean logic), and mathematician and educationalist Mary Everest, who was the niece of George Everest and a writer for Crank, an early-20th-century periodical. Her father died six months after she was born. Her mother returned to her native England with her daughters, and was able to live off a small government pension until she was appointed librarian at Queen's College, London. When she was eight, Ethel contracted erysipelas, a disease associated with poor sanitation. Her mother decided to send her to live in Lancashire with her brother, who was manager of a coal mine, believing that it would be good for her health. Described as "a religious fanatic and sadist", who regularly beat his children, he apparently forced Ethel to play the piano for hours on end. Ethel returned to London at the age of ten. She became withdrawn, dressing in black and calling herself "Lily". At the age of eighteen, she gained access to a legacy. This allowed her to study piano and musical composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, which she attended between 1882 and 1885. During this period, she became increasingly attracted to revolutionary politics. Back in London she learned Russian from Sergei Kravchinski, known as Stepniak who encouraged her to go to Russia. From 1887 to 1889, she worked as a governess in St. Petersburg, where she stayed with Kravchinski's sister-in-law, Preskovia Karauloff. Through her, she became associated with the revolutionary Narodniks. After her return to the UK, she settled in London, where she became involved in pro-Revolutionary activity. With Kravchinski she founded the Society of Friends of Russian Freedom, and helped to edit Free Russia, the Narodniks's English-language journal. In 1890, she met Michał Habdank-Wojnicz, a Polish revolutionary who had escaped from Siberia.