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Ethel Lilian Voynich (Eng. Ethel Lilian Voynich; May 11, 1864, Cork, Ireland - July 27, 1960, New York, USA) - Irish and English writer, composer, daughter of a prominent English scientist and professor of mathematics George Boole, wife of Michael-Wilfred Voynich . The Voynich crater on Venus is named after her.

Ethel Lilian Voynich was born in Ireland in Cork on May 11, 1864. The father died shortly after the birth of his daughter. The mother was left with 5 children and practically without means of subsistence. Therefore, at the age of 8, Ethel was sent to her father's brother, who worked in the mine and was a very stern and religious person. At the age of 18, the girl received a small inheritance and entered the Berlin Conservatory. Also in Berlin at the university, she listened to lectures by Slavists.

Later, after moving to London, Ethel participated in meetings of political immigrants, where she met the Russian writer Sergei Kravchinsky (pseudonym - Stepnyak). After listening to his stories about the mysterious country, in 1887 she went to Russia. There she worked as a governess for two years and taught English and music to the Venevitinovs, who lived in the Voronezh province.

The girl joins the Society of Friends of Russian Freedom and the Free Russian Press Foundation, which criticized the tsarist regime in Russia. In 1895, he wrote the book "Humor of Russia", and also translated books by famous Russian poets and writers.

In 1897, a book entitled "The Gadfly" was published in England and the USA. A year later, it is translated into Russian and it has a tremendous success in Russia. Later, the book was repeatedly reprinted in many countries. It is filmed three times, plays and operas begin to be staged. The next novel, Jack Raymond, was completed by the writer in 1901.

In 1902, she married the Polish-Lithuanian revolutionary M. L. Voynich. In 1904 writes the novel "Olivia Lethem", main character whom critics associate with Ethel Voynich herself. Six years later, "Interrupted Friendship" (in Russia - "The Gadfly in Exile") comes out. In 1911 he translated six poems into English Ukrainian poet T. Shevchenko. Further, Ethel Voynich leaves literary activity for a long time, preferring to make music.

In 1931, in the USA, her translation of the letters of the Polish composer F. Chopin was published. She completed her last book, Take Off Your Shoes, at the age of 81. At the same age, after the visit of the literary critic E. Taratuta, he learns about his popularity in the USSR, large circulations"The Gadfly" and its adaptations. A little later, he receives a fee of 15,000 dollars and a copy of the film from the Central Committee of the CPSU for this.

Voynich Ethel Lillian (May 11, 1864, Cork, Ireland - July 28, 1960, New York), English writer, composer, daughter of a prominent English scientist and mathematics professor George Boole, wife of Mikhail-Wilfred Voynich.

She was friends with S. M. Stepnyak-Kravchinsky. In 1887-89 she lived in Russia. She was acquainted with F. Engels, G. V. Plekhanov. From 1920 she lived in New York. Acted as a translator of Russian literature and several poems by T. G. Shevchenko into English. The best work of Voynich is the revolutionary novel The Gadfly (1897, Russian translation, 1898), dedicated to the liberation struggle of the Italian people in the 30s and 40s. 19th century The novel became one of the favorite books of the youth in Russia; has been repeatedly used as a literary basis for performances, films, and operas.

I did my share of the work, and the death sentence is only evidence that it was done in good faith. (Gadfly)

Voynich Ethel Lilian

The revolutionary pathos that permeates the novel "The Gadfly" the best book Voynich, is also felt in some of her other works; the courage of the author in choosing "unpleasant" and sensitive topics was the reason for the conspiracy of silence of European literary critics around the name of the writer.

Ethel Lilian Voynich was born on May 11, 1864 in Ireland, the city of Cork, County Cork, in the family of the famous English mathematician George Boole (Boole). Ethel Lilian did not know her father. He died when she was only six months old. His name, as a very prominent scientist, is included in the Encyclopædia Britannica. Her mother is Mary Everest, the daughter of a professor of Greek, who helped Boole a lot in her work and left interesting memories of her husband after his death. By the way, the name Everest is also quite famous. The highest peak of our planet, located in the Himalayas, between Nepal and Tibet - Everest or Mount Everest, is named after Ethel Lilian's uncle, George Everest, who in the middle of the 19th century headed the English topographical department, and never visited Nepal, nor in Tibet, and never saw his famous "namesake".

Ethel's orphan childhood was not easy, five little girls spent all the meager funds left to her mother after George's death. Mary Bull gave them math lessons and wrote articles for newspapers and magazines to feed them. When Ethel was eight years old, she became seriously ill, but her mother could not provide the girl with good care and preferred to send her to her father's brother, who worked as a mine manager. This gloomy, fanatically religious man sacredly observed the puritanical British traditions in raising children.

In 1882, having received a small inheritance, Ethel graduated from the conservatory in Berlin, but a hand illness prevented her from becoming a musician. Simultaneously with her music studies, she listened to lectures on Slavic studies at the University of Berlin.

In her youth, she became close to political exiles who took refuge in London. Among them were Russian and Polish revolutionaries. The romance of the revolutionary struggle in those days was the most fashionable hobby of the intelligentsia. As a sign of mourning for the unfortunately unjust world order, Ethel Lilian dresses only in black. At the end of 1886, she met with an emigrant living in London - writer and revolutionary S.M. Stepnyak-Kravchinsky, author of the book Underground Russia. Acquaintance with the book prompted her to travel to this mysterious country in order to see with her own eyes the struggle of the Narodnaya Volya against the autocracy.

In the spring of 1887, the young Englishwoman went to Russia. In St. Petersburg, she immediately found herself surrounded by revolutionary-minded youth. The future writer witnessed the terrorist actions of the "Narodnaya Volya" and its defeat. Wanting to get to know Russian reality better, she agreed to take the place of a governess in the family of E.I. Venevitinova in the Novozhivotinny estate. Where, from May to August 1887, she taught the children of the owner of the estate music lessons and in English. In her own words, Ethel Lilian and her pupils could not stand each other.

Ethel Lilian Voynich- Irish and English writer, composer, daughter of a prominent English scientist and mathematics professor George Boole, wife of Mikhail - Wilfred Voynich.

She did not actually know her father, as he died shortly after her birth. Her mother, Mary Everest, was the daughter of a professor of Greek. Mary was a talented mathematician and teacher of mathematics. Their surname is quite famous in the world, because it is the name of the highest mountain peak in the Himalayas, named after Mary Everest's uncle - George Everest (Eng. Sir George Everest).

The mother raised her five daughters in need, so when the youngest, Ethel, reached the age of eight, she took her to her husband's brother, who worked as a quartermaster at the mine. He was a very religious and stern person.

In 1882, Ethel received a small inheritance and began studying music at the Berlin Conservatory as a pianist. In Berlin, she also attended Slavic lectures at the university.

Arriving in London, she attended meetings of political immigrants, among whom was the Russian writer Sergei Kravchinsky (pseudonym - Stepnyak). He told her a lot about his homeland - Russia. Ethel had a desire to visit Russia, which she realized in 1887.

She worked in Russia for two years as a governess and teacher of music and English to the Venevitinov family in the Voronezh province.

She married M.V. in 1902. Voynich, a Polish-Lithuanian revolutionary (and later, a writer and bibliophile), who moved to England after escaping from Siberian exile (he is known as the discoverer of the Voynich Manuscript).

Under the influence of communication with the Russian writer Kravchinsky, as well as the biographies of the great Italian patriots Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini, Voynich created the image and character of the hero of her book - Arthur Burton, who is also called Gadfly in the book. The famous ancient Greek philosopher Socrates had the same pseudonym. In 1897, The Gadfly was published in the USA and England. The following year, its Russian translation appeared in Russia, where it was a huge success. Later, the book was repeatedly reprinted in many languages.

Three times, in 1928, 1955 and 1980, the films "The Gadfly" based on her novel were released. Several playwrights and directors staged plays and operas in theaters.

In 1895 she wrote the book Humor of Russia.

At the same time, she translated into English many books by famous Russian prose writers and poets: Nikolai Gogol, Mikhail Lermontov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Gleb Uspensky, Vsevolod Garshin.

In 1901, the writer finished her new novel Jack Raymond. In the heroine of her other novel (1904), Olivia Latham, the character traits of Ethel Voynich herself are noticeable.

In 1910, her book "Interrupted Friendship" appeared. Her translation into Russian was entitled "The Gadfly in Exile".

Six lyric poems She also successfully translated the great Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko into English in 1911.

Later, for a long time she did not compose or translate anything, preferring to play music. She created several pieces of music, of which she considered the oratorio "Babylon" to be the best.

In 1931, in the United States, where she settled, her translation of a collection of letters from the great Polish composer Frederic Chopin from Polish and French into English was published.

In the spring of 1945 (she was then 81 years old) she finished writing her last work"Take off your shoes."

Voynich, who was forgotten in the USA, learned about her incredible popularity in the USSR, huge circulations and film adaptations of The Gadfly only at this age: she was tracked down in the USA by literary critic Yevgenia Taratuta. She began to receive letters from Soviet readers, she was visited in New York by delegations of pioneers, artists Bolshoi Theater, sailors and various other Soviet citizens who found themselves working in the United States.

Ethel Lilian Voynich died on July 27, 1960 at the age of 96. According to the will, her body was cremated, and the ashes were scattered over New York's Central Park.

Voynich Ethel Lilian (May 11, 1864, Cork, Ireland - July 28, 1960, New York), English writer, composer, daughter of a prominent English scientist and mathematics professor George Boole, wife of Mikhail-Wilfred Voynich.

The revolutionary pathos that permeates the novel The Gadfly, Voynich's best book, is felt in some of her other works; the courage of the author in choosing "unpleasant" and sensitive topics was the reason for the conspiracy of silence of European literary critics around the name of the writer.

In the spring of 1887, the young Englishwoman went to Russia. In St. Petersburg, she immediately found herself surrounded by revolutionary-minded youth. The future writer witnessed the terrorist actions of the "Narodnaya Volya" and its defeat. Wanting to get to know Russian reality better, she agreed to take the place of a governess in the family of E.I. Venevitinova in the Novozhivotinny estate. Where, from May to August 1887, she taught music and English lessons to the children of the owner of the estate. In her own words, Ethel Lilian and her pupils could not stand each other.

After a trip to Russia, E.L. Voynich began work on the novel The Gadfly. It was published in England in 1897, and at the beginning of the next year it was already translated into Russian. It was in Russia that the novel gained the greatest popularity.

In 1890, Ethel Lilian married Wilfred Voynich (Wilfred Michail Voynich), a Polish revolutionary who escaped from Siberian penal servitude. This marriage lasted only a few years, but she kept her husband's surname forever.

The reason for this is a mysterious manuscript, the so-called Voynich Manuscript, which Ethel Lilian became the owner of after her husband's death in 1931.

Wilfred Voynich acquired this manuscript in 1912 in Italy from an old second-hand book dealer. Voynich was especially interested in the fact that an old 17th-century letter accompanying the manuscript claimed that its author was the famous Roger Bacon, an English scientist, inventor, philosopher and alchemist. What is the mystery of the manuscript? The fact is that it is written in a language unknown to anyone on Earth, and many of its wonderful illustrations depict unknown plants. All attempts by the most experienced decoders to decipher the text came to nothing. Someone believes that this manuscript is a hoax, while others expect its decoding to reveal the most incredible mysteries and secrets of the Earth. Or maybe this manuscript is the creation of an alien who, by the will of fate, was forced to stay on Earth? True, Yale professor Robert Brambo, with the help of notes on the margins of a wonderful book, managed to get a little closer to unraveling the mysterious manuscript and even decipher some of the captions for the illustrations, but the main text remains a mystery behind seven seals.

According to circumstantial information that I was able to find, Wilfred Voynich did everything he could to decipher the manuscript. Ethel Lillian was the only witness who could confirm the authenticity of this find.

Apparently, she, and her secretary and close friend Anne Neill, took the most energetic part in attempts to decipher the text and publish materials. They did a lot of work in libraries, correspondence with collectors.

Ann Neill, in turn, inherited the Manuscript after the death of E. L. Voynich. She finally found a serious buyer willing to purchase this document. But, Ann Neill outlived Ethel Lillian by only a year. Now the Voynich Manuscript is kept at Yale University.

Somewhere in the late 90s of the 19th century, Ethel Lilian met a charming adventurer, the future secret agent of British intelligence, the "king of spies" Sydney Reilly - one of the most mysterious personalities of the 20th century, an ardent opponent of communist ideas. There is an assumption that it was his fate (flight from home due to a conflict with relatives, misadventures in South America) that served as a plot outline for creating the image and character of Arthur Burton.

The novel Jack Raymond was written in 1901. The restless, mischievous boy Jack, influenced by the upbringing of his uncle, the vicar, who wants to beat out of him "bad heredity" (Jack is the son of an actress, according to the vicar, a dissolute woman), becomes secretive, withdrawn, vengeful. The only person who for the first time took pity on the "inveterate" boy, believed in his sincerity and saw in him a kind and beautiful nature sympathetic to everything, was Elena, the widow of a political exile, a Pole whom the tsarist government rotted in Siberia. Only this woman, who had a chance to see with her own eyes in Siberian exile "the naked wounds of mankind", managed to understand the boy, to replace his mother.

The heroic image of a woman occupies a central place in the novel "Olivia Letham" (Olive Latham, 1904), which has, to some extent, an autobiographical character.

E.L. Voinich was also engaged in translation activities. She translated the works of N.V. Gogol, M.Yu. Lermontov, F.M. Dostoevsky, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, G.I. Uspensky, V.M. Garshina and others.

In 1910, "An Interrupted Friendship" appears - a completely spontaneous thing, to some extent written under the influence of inexplicable power literary images over the author. This book was first translated into Russian in 1926 under the title "The Gadfly in Exile" (translation edited by S.Ya. Arefin, Puchina Publishing House, Moscow)

After "Interrupted Friendship" Voynich again turns to translations and continues to acquaint the English reader with the literature of the Slavic peoples. In addition to the above-mentioned collections of translations from Russian, she also owns a translation of the song about Stepan Razin, included in the novel Olivia Letham. In 1911, she published the collection Six Lyrics from Ruthenian of Taras Shevchenko, to which she prefaces a detailed sketch of the life and work of the great Ukrainian poet. Shevchenko was almost unknown in England at the time; Voynich, who sought, in her words, to make "his immortal lyrics" accessible to Western European readers, was one of the first propagandists of his work in England. After the publication of Shevchenko's translations, Voynich moved away from literary activity and devotes himself to music.

In 1931, in the United States, where Voynich moved, a collection of Chopin's letters was published in her translations from Polish and French. Only in the mid-1940s did Voynich again appear as a novelist.

The novel "Take off your shoes" (Put off Thy Shoes, 1945) is a link in that cycle of novels, which, in the words of the writer herself, was a companion of her whole life.

Other Voynich novels are Jack Raymond (1901, Russian translation 1902), Olivia Latham (1904, Russian translation 1906), Friendship Broken (1910, Russian translation titled The Gadfly in Exile) , 1926), "Take off your shoes" (1945, Russian translation 1958) - retain the same rebellious spirit. She wrote several musical compositions, her oratorio "Babylon" (1948) is dedicated to the overthrow of the autocracy in Russia.

The writer N. Tarnovsky, who lived in America, visited E. L. Voynich in the autumn of 1956. He tells the curious story of the writing of the last novel. One day Ann Neill. who lived with Ethel Lillian, went to Washington for three weeks to work in the local libraries. When she returned, she was struck by the exhausted appearance of the writer. To her anxious inquiries, the writer replied that it was "Beatrix who haunted her," that she "talked to Beatrice," and explained that she always thinks about Arthur's ancestors and that "they are asking to be born."

“If so, then there will be a new book!” said Mrs. Neill.

Oh no! I'm old enough to write books! - answered E.L. Voynich.

However, the book has been written.

Ethel Lilian Voynich died on July 28, 1960 at the age of 96. And according to the will, she was cremated, and the ashes were scattered over the central park of New York.

Years of life: from 05/11/1864 to 07/28/1960

English writer, composer, translator. In the USSR, her novel The Gadfly, imbued with revolutionary pathos, was very popular. Today, the work of E.L. Voynich is little known outside of Russia.

Ethel Lilian Voynich was born in Ireland, the city of Cork, County Cork, in the family of the famous English mathematician George Boole. Ethel Lillian's father died when she was only six months old. Her mother, Mary Everest (Mount Everest is named after her uncle), the daughter of a professor of Greek, raised five daughters alone after her husband's death. When Ethel was eight years old, she became seriously ill, her mother could not provide the girl with good care and preferred to send her to her father's brother, who worked as a mine manager.

In 1882, having received a small inheritance, Ethel entered the Berlin Conservatory in the piano department. The writer graduated from the conservatory, but she was diagnosed with an illness - inexplicable spasms of the fingers, which put an end to musical career. During this period, Ethel became close to political émigrés who took refuge in London, including Russian and Polish revolutionaries. The romance of the revolutionary struggle captivates Ethel Lilian. At the end of 1886, she met with an emigrant living in London - writer and revolutionary S.M. Stepnyak-Kravchinsky, author of the book Underground Russia. Friendship with Kravchinsky continued until his death in 1895, the influence of this man on the fate of Voynich is truly enormous. In particular, it was under the impression of his book that Ethel decided to visit Russia, where he went in 1887. In Russia, Voynich meets with revolutionary-minded circles, turns out to be connected with the Narodnaya Volya organization, and for some time serves as a governess.

In the summer of 1889, Ethel Lilian returned to her homeland, where she took part in the "Society of Friends of Russian Freedom" created by S.M. Kravchinsky, worked in the editorial office of the emigrant magazine "Free Russia" and in the free Russian press fund. A trip to Russia makes a strong impression on Voynich, the writer begins work on the novel The Gadfly. In 1990, in the house of the same Kravchinsky, Ethel met Mikhail Wilfried Voynich, a Polish revolutionary who escaped from Siberian penal servitude. A relationship develops between them and soon Ethel marries Voynich. Continuing work on "The Gadfly", Ethel participates in the activities of Kravchisky's entourage. In 1897, the writer finishes The Gadfly. In the same year, the novel was published in England and the USA, a year later - in Russia. Abroad, the publication did not arouse significant interest, the available responses were mostly critical, while in Russia the novel turned out to be very popular. However, Ethel found out about the fate of her creation in Russia, and then in the USSR, only at the end of her life.

Continuing to work in literature, Ethel wrote the novels Jack Raymond (1901) and Olivia Letham (1904). E.L. Voynich was also actively engaged in translation activities. She translated the works of N.V. Gogol, M.Yu. Lermontov, F.M. Dostoevsky, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, G.I. Uspensky, V.M. Garshina and others. In 1910, "Interrupted Friendship" appeared (a continuation of "The Gadfly"), and then Voynich left literature for a long time, turning to music. By that time, her husband had retired from revolutionary activity and started trading in antique publications, having discovered considerable talent in this business. It was he who, in 1912, discovered the mysterious manuscript, now known as the Voynich Manuscript.

In 1920, Ethel and her husband moved to the United States. Mikhail gets a job at a book firm, and Ethel continues to work on her most significant piece of music- the oratorio "Babylon", begun after the revolution in Russia. In 1830, Mikhail Voynich died and Ethel Lillian began to lead a very secluded life. Only in the mid-40s did Voynich again act as a novelist, releasing the book "Take off your shoes", dedicated to the great-grandmother of the protagonist of "The Gadfly". In 1955, the fate of the author of The Gadfly became known in the USSR, and only then did Ethel learn about the incredible popularity of her novel. Delegations of cultural figures began to visit it, many letters came from readers. Ethel Lilian Voynich died on July 28, 1960 at the age of 96. And according to the will, she was cremated, and the ashes were scattered over the central park of New York.

In her youth, Ethel wore only black, imitating the famous Italian Carbonari Giuseppe Mazzini, who swore in his youth never to remove mourning for his oppressed homeland.

The image of the revolutionary Gadfly was influenced by the early life of the British spy Sydney Reilly, who later engaged in subversive activities in Soviet Russia.

The Voynich Manuscript or the Voynich Manuscript is a mysterious book written presumably at the beginning of the 15th century by an unknown author in an unknown language using an unknown alphabet. The authorship of the manuscript is attributed to both real-life individuals (the most popular version is Roger Bacon), and aliens, and even mythical creatures. Despite numerous attempts at decipherment, the meaning of the manuscript remains a mystery to this day. Even the very fact of the presence of this meaning is disputed, since according to one of the versions, the manuscript is a collection of incoherent signs and was created for the purpose of mystification (perhaps even by Voynich himself). Deciphering the Voynich Manuscript (or proving the impossibility of such deciphering) is one of the most interesting and most difficult problems in cryptography. Now the Voynich Manuscript is kept at Yale University.

Until 1955, when the identity and whereabouts of E.L. Voynich became known, in the USSR there were a variety of versions regarding the author of The Gadfly. Some were convinced that E.L. Voynich lived in Italy in the 1930s and was himself a member of the Young Italy organization. Others believed that Voynich was Russian. But everyone was sure that the author of the novel was a man and that he had died long ago.