Elena Ferrante

The story of Elena and Lila begins in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples. Growing up on these tough streets, the two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else, as their friendship, beautifully and meticulously rendered, becomes a not-always-perfect shelter from hardship. A memorable portrait of two...

Set against the vibrant and tumultuous backdrop of the late 1960s and the 1970s, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay continues the intricate saga of the defiant and spirited Lina and her lifelong friend, the intelligent and ambitious Elena. This third instalment in Elena Ferrante’s acclaimed Neapolitan Novels, masterfully captures the evolving landscapes of personal and political upheaval, portraying...

The Story of a New Name, the second book of the Neapolitan Quartet, continues the compelling narrative of Elena and Lila, two childhood friends navigating the complexities of life in a poor neighbourhood of Naples in the 1950s and 60s. Lila has recently married Stefano and is now deeply entwined in the pressure-laden world of the family business. Her life...

The Story of the Lost Child is the captivating conclusion to Elena Ferrante's remarkable Neapolitan Novels. This mesmerising finale sees the complex relationship between two lifelong friends, Elena and Lila, reach its zenith. Now adults, their lives remain intertwined despite following vastly different paths, bound by an unbreakable bond marked by love, rivalry, and unprecedented loyalty. Elena, the reflective and...

Incendiary. - Mail on Sunday The most intense writing about the experiences and interior life of a girl on the cusp of adulthood that I have ever read. - Financial Times An astonishing, deeply moving tale. - The Guardian Modern, urgent, truthful. - The Telegraph Giovanna's pretty face has changed: it's turning into the face of an ugly, spiteful adolescent....

'Elena Ferrante has established herself as the foremost writer in Italy - and the world.' - The Sunday Times A delightful collection of essays exploring reading and writing from the internationally acclaimed author of My Brilliant Friend and The Lying Life of Adults. Ferrante's writing has been described as compulsive (The Times) and astonishing (Guardian), her novels have sold millions...

'Stunning... the raging, torrential voice of the author is something rare.' - The New York Times The Days of Abandonment is the break-out novel by the internationally acclaimed author of My Brilliant Friend. Rarely have the foundations upon which our ideas of motherhood and womanhood rest been so candidly questioned. This compelling novel tells the story of one woman's headlong...

Two years before leaving home my father said to my mother that I was very ugly. The sentence was uttered under his breath, in the apartment that my parents, newly married, had bought in Rione Alto, at the top of Via San Giacomo dei Capri. Everything - the spaces of Naples, the blue light of a very cold February, those...

When Elena Ferrante set out to write the story of Elena and Lila, she conceived it as one single work of fiction, one expansive novel that would capture the reality and ambivalence of female friendship, motherhood, marriage, class, and adolescence. 2025 marks 10 years since publication of the quartet was completed. To celebrate this anniversary, as well as honour and...

In this collection, renowned and reclusive Italian writer Elena Ferrante addresses subjects such as her choice to remain anonymous, her literary inspirations, politics and culture, and the role of the writer (and the publisher) in modern society. Ferrante's voice is ever the same; direct, penetrating, sharp, inspiring and intimate. Frantumaglia highlights the thoughts and reflections of Ferrante, who is the...

A modern masterpiece from one of Italy's most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense and generous hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante's inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship. Through the...

From the international bestselling author of MY BRILLIANT FRIEND Leda is devoted to her work as an English teacher and to her two children. When her daughters leave home to be with their father in Canada, Leda anticipates a period of loneliness and longing. Instead, slightly embarrassed by the sensation, she feels liberated, as if her life has become lighter,...

"This is my last column, after a year that has scared and inspired me." With these words, Elena Ferrante, the bestselling author of My Brilliant Friend, bid farewell to her year-long collaboration with the Guardian. For a full year, she penned short pieces, the subjects of which were suggested by editors at the Guardian, turning the writing process into a...