Why Chinese Revolutionaries Loved The Gadfly

Most of us learned about The Gadfly in Adam Curtis’ recent documentary, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” He talked about how the book was popular with maoist revolutionaries in China. The book, published in 1897 was not popular at the time but both Soviet and Chinese young people sought the author at her home in New York because her book had been so inspirational to them and their revolutionary ideas. Couched in…