The Gadfly
Author | Ethel Voynich |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Novel |
Publisher | H. Holt |
Publication date | June 1897 |
Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
Pages | 373 pp (first edition hardcover) |
The Gadfly is a novel by Irish-born British writer Ethel 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.[1] The story centres on the life of the protagonist, Arthur Burton. A thread of a tragic relationship between Arthur and his love, Gemma, simultaneously runs through the story. It is a tale of faith, disillusionment, revolution, romance, and heroism.
Themes
The book, set during the Italian
Plot
Arthur Burton, an
It is debatable to what extent an allegorical comparison can be drawn between the Gadfly and Jesus. [citation needed]
Background
According to historian
Popularity
With the central theme of the book being the nature of a true
The Russian composer Mikhail Zhukov turned the book into an opera The Gadfly (Овод, 1928). In 1955, the Soviet director Aleksandr Faintsimmer adapted the novel into a film of the same title (Russian: Ovod) for which Dmitri Shostakovich wrote the score. The Gadfly Suite is an arrangement of selections from Shostakovich's score by the composer Levon Atovmian. A second opera The Gadfly was composed by Soviet composer Antonio Spadavecchia.
On the other hand, in Italy, where the plot takes place during the
Theatre adaptations
- 1898. The Gadfly or the Son of the Cardinal by George Bernard Shaw. This version was created at Voynich's request to forestall other dramatisations.[9]
- 1899. The Gadfly by Edward E. Rose, commissioned by Stuart Robson. Voynich described this version as an "illiterate melodrama", and tried to get an injunction to stop it being performed.[10]
- 1906. Zhertva svobody by L. Avrian (in Russian).
- 1916. Ovod by V. Zolotarëv (in Russian).
- 1940. Ovod by A. Zhelyabuzhsky (in Russian).
- 1947. Ovid by Yaroslav Halan (in Ukrainian).
- 1974. Zekthi by Esat Oktrova (Teledrama; in Albanian).
Radio adaptation
- 1989. The Gadfly, BBC Radio 4, Saturday Night Theatre.[11]
Opera, ballet, musical adaptations
- 1923. Prokofiev(opera) (in Russian).
- 1928. Ovod by Mikhail Zhukov (opera) (in Russian).
- 1930. Ovod, opera in 4 acts by Alexander Ziks (opera) (in Russian).
- 1958. Ovod, opera in 4 acts and 7 scenes by Antonio Spadavecchia (in Russian).
- 1967. Ovod by A. Chernov (ballet).
- 1982. Rivares by Sulkhan Tsintsadze (ballet). Film version: Rivares, Soviet Georgian, by B. Chkheidze.
- 1983. Ovod by A. Kolker (rock musical) (in Russian).
Film adaptations
- 1928. Kote Mardjanishvili.
- 1955. Ovod, Soviet, by Aleksandr Faintsimmer. Shostakovich composed its film score. The Gadfly Suite, which includes the movement Romance, later becoming popular on its own right, is an arrangement of selections from Shostakovich's score by composer Levon Atovmian.
- 1980. Ovod by Nikolai Mashchenko, starring Andrey Kharitonov, Sergei Bondarchuk and Anastasiya Vertinskaya. [12] [13] [14]
- 1987. Rivares. Soviet Georgian film of B. Chkheidze.
- 2003. Niumeng, Chinese, directed by Wu Tianming[citation needed]
Other adaptations
- 1976. Bögöly (Vihar Itália felett) (The Gadfly (Storm over Italy)), a condensed comic book adaptation which concentrated on the adventurous aspects of the novel, by Tibor Cs. Horváth and Attila Fazekas; published in Polishas Szerszeń (Przygody Artura i Gemmy) (The Hornet (The Adventures of Arthur and Gemma)).
References
- ^ See Voynich, Ethel Lillian (1897). The Gadfly (1 ed.). New York: Henry Holt & Company. Retrieved 13 July 2014. via Archive.org
- ISBN 0-88029-072-2.
- ISBN 0-7524-2959-0. Page 39.
- ^ Gerry Kennedy, The Booles and the Hintons, Atrium Press, July 2016 pp 274-276
- ^ Cork City Libraries Archived 18 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine provides a downloadable PDF[dead link] of Evgeniya Taratuta's 1957 biographical pamphlet Our Friend Ethel Lilian Boole/Voynich, translated from the Russian by Séamus Ó Coigligh. The pamphlet gives some idea of the Soviet attitude toward Voynich.
- ^ Gray, Anne (2007). The World of Women in Classical Music. pp. 886–7.
- ^ O’Donnell, Peadar The Gates Flew Open (1932) Ch. 14
- ^ S. Piastra, Luoghi reali e luoghi letterari: Brisighella in The Gadfly di Ethel Lilian Voynich, “Studi Romagnoli” LVII, (2006), pp. 717–735 (in Italian); S. Piastra, Il romanzo inglese di Brisighella: nuovi dati su The Gadfly di Ethel Lilian Voynich, “Studi Romagnoli” LIX, (2008), pp. 571–583 (in Italian); A. Farsetti, S. Piastra, The Gadfly di Ethel Lilian Voynich: nuovi dati e interpretazioni, “Romagna Arte e Storia” 91, (2011), pp. 41–62 (in Italian).
- ^ Therese Bonney & R. F. Rattray, Bernard Shaw, a Chronicle, Leagrave Press, Luton, England, 1951, p.135.
- ^ Los Angeles Herald, Volume 604, Number 8, 8 October 1899, p.13
- ^ "Saturday-Night Theatre: The Gadfly". BBC Genome. BBC. 4 February 1989. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ "The Gadfly Part1". YouTube.
- ^ "The Gadfly Part2". YouTube.
- ^ "The Gadfly Part3". YouTube.
External links
- The Gadfly at Standard Ebooks
- The Gadfly at Project Gutenberg
- The Gadfly public domain audiobook at LibriVox