Almost totally unknown in the U.S. today, Ethel Voynich's 1897 novel “The Gadfly” has struck a chord with everyone from IRA fighters to Xi Jinping. It's still well worth reading.

Why Every Revolutionary Needs “The Gadfly”

On January 5, 2026, Chinese president Xi Jinping hosted Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheál Martin for a bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square. Seated with delegates around an enormous table and lush-yet-understated arrangements of red cyclamen, President Xi remarked on the two countries’ common values.

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