E. L. Voynich achieved instant and enduring renown with her first novel, a melodramatic philosophical adventure set during the Italian Risorgimento of the nineteenth century. The hero of The Gadfly (1897) survives political betrayal, romantic disappointment, emotional disillusionment, and physical torture. His identity disguised, the Gadfly redoubles his political efforts, transforms his cynicism into a weapon, and ultimately forces his former spiritual advisor--a priest who is also his unacknowledged father--to face the truth about himself and the corrupt Roman Catholic Church. He fights for the freedom of Italy, the love of his former sweetheart, and the soul of his father. With its suspenseful plot structure and its passion for honor and justice, The Gadfly is a combination of Nathaniel Hawthone's The Scarlet Letter (1850) and Baroness Emma Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905).

Admired by Jack London, D. H. Lawrence, and Rebecca West; adapted to the stage in 1898 by George Bernard Shaw...