Someone told me once that Marx was largely unread until long after his death. Is that true?
Assumedly there were lots of other leftists in the late 19th century, lots of other people talking about radical equality and criticizing the economic system. At what point did Marx's writings become the dominant leftist ideology? What was Marx's appeal to 19th century readers? What was so awesome about his writings that no one else was talking about at the time?
The International Workingmen's Association was the dominant leftist organisation in Europe during the late 19th century, with millions of members in various countries. On the day it formed, Marx was nominated to its leading council. This represents just how well-respected he was in socialist circles at the time. After all, it was he and Engels who were chosen to write the manifesto of the Communist League. His book A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, a simplified precursor to Capital, was a sensation and sold a very large number of copies for a book of that type. In the months following his death, Marx's daughters received stacks of letters from unions and political parties praising their father, and Engels was inundated with questions about his unfinished manuscripts.
So no, it's not quite accurate that Marx was largely unread during his lifetime. He wasn't a household name and wasn't taught in schools, but he was universally known in his field.