Elena Ferrante facts for kids

Elena Ferrante is the pen name of a famous Italian writer. A pen name is like a secret identity that an author uses instead of their real name. Ferrante's books were first written in Italian. They have been translated into many languages around the world.

Her most famous works are the four books in the Neapolitan Novels series. These books are very popular. In 2016, Time magazine named Elena Ferrante one of the 100 most influential people. She has kept her real identity a secret since her first book came out in 1992. She believes that once books are written, they don't need their author to be famous.

About Elena Ferrante

Elena Ferrante keeps her true identity a secret. Because of this, not much is known about her personal life. In interviews, she has said that she was born in Naples, Italy. She also mentioned that her mother was a seamstress and that she has three sisters. Many people think she studied literature because she knows a lot about classic books.

Her Books and Stories

Early Novels

Elena Ferrante's first story published in English was "Delia's Elevator." It appeared in a collection called After the War in 2004. This story was later made into her first novel, Troubling Love, which came out in 1992. The book is about a character named Delia who returns home after her mother's mysterious death. The novel was very successful and won an important Italian award.

In 2002, Ferrante published her second novel, The Days of Abandonment. This book tells the story of Olga, whose life changes when her husband leaves her. The novel was very popular with readers and critics in Italy and other countries.

In 2003, Ferrante released her first non-fiction book, Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey. This book is a collection of her essays, letters, and interviews. It helps readers understand more about her thoughts on writing. The book was updated several times to include more content about her later novels.

Her third novel, The Lost Daughter, was published in 2006. It follows a woman named Leda who becomes interested in a family she sees on an Italian beach. This makes her think about her own experiences as a young mother. This book was later made into a movie for Netflix. In 2007, she also wrote her first children's book, The Beach at Night. It is about a doll that gets left behind on the beach.

The Famous Neapolitan Novels

The Neapolitan Novels are a series of four books published between 2011 and 2015. These books tell the story of two smart girls, Lila and Lenu. They grow up in Naples, Italy, starting in 1944. The series shows how they try to build their lives in a challenging culture.

The books in the series are:

• My Brilliant Friend (2011)
• The Story of a New Name (2013)
• Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014)
• The Story of the Lost Child (2015)

The Story of the Lost Child was nominated for important literary awards. It was also listed as one of The New York Times' 10 Best Books of 2015. In 2019, The Guardian newspaper ranked My Brilliant Friend as one of the best books since 2000. In 2024, The New York Times named it the number one book on its list of the 100 best books of the 21st century. Many writers and critics have praised the Neapolitan Novels for their honest look at life and relationships.

Recent Works

After the Neapolitan Novels, Elena Ferrante wrote The Lying Life of Adults. This novel explores the journey of a teenage girl growing up. It was translated into English in 2020.

In 2019, a collection of her columns from The Guardian newspaper was published. It was called Incidental Inventions. In 2022, her book In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing was released. This book is based on lectures she wrote for a special series at the University of Bologna.

Why She Stays Secret

Elena Ferrante has kept her identity a secret since her first novel came out in 1992. Many people have wondered who she really is. Several theories have been suggested, based on clues she has given in interviews or details from her books. However, she has always denied these guesses.

Ferrante believes that "books, once they are written, have no need of their authors." She told The Paris Review that she was shy at first. She also said that staying anonymous helps her write better. She feels that when her books are released without her real name, it gives her words more freedom.

In 2003, Ferrante published Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey. This book contains letters, essays, and interviews. It gives some hints about her background. From these writings, we know that she grew up in Naples. She has also lived outside Italy for some time. She has a degree in classical studies and has mentioned being a mother.

In 2016, an Italian reporter named Claudio Gatti published an article. He used financial records to suggest that a translator named Anita Raja was the real author. Many people in the literary world criticized this. They felt it was wrong to reveal her private information. Some compared it to "doxxing," which means publicly sharing someone's private details without their permission.

In 2017, a group of scholars used computers to analyze many Italian novels. They looked at Ferrante's books and others. They suggested that Anita Raja's husband, Domenico Starnone, might be the author. However, Ferrante has often said that questions about her gender come from the idea that female writers are "weak."

List of Works

• L'amore molesto (1992; English translation: Troubling Love, 2006)
• I giorni dell'abbandono (2002; English translation: The Days of Abandonment, 2005)
• La Frantumaglia: Carte 1991-2003 (2003; English translation Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey, 2016)
• La figlia oscura (2006; English translation: The Lost Daughter, 2008)
• La spiaggia di notte (2007; English translation: The Beach at Night, 2016)
• The Neapolitan novels:
  • L'amica geniale (2011; English translation: My Brilliant Friend, 2012)
  • Storia del nuovo cognome, L'amica geniale volume 2 (2012; English translation: The Story of a New Name, 2013)
  • Storia di chi fugge e di chi resta, L'amica geniale volume 3 (2013; English translation: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, 2014)
  • Storia della bambina perduta, L'amica geniale volume 4 (2014; English translation: The Story of the Lost Child, 2015)
• L'invenzione occasionale (2019; English translation: Incidental Inventions, 2019)
• La vita bugiarda degli adulti (2019; English translation, The Lying Life of Adults, 2020)
• I margini e il dettato (2021; English translation, In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing, 2022)

Books Made into Movies and TV Shows

Several of Elena Ferrante's novels have been adapted into films and television series.

Film Adaptations

Her novel Troubling Love was made into the film Nasty Love in 1995. The Days of Abandonment became a film with the same title in 2005. In 2021, The Lost Daughter was released as a film. It starred Olivia Colman and was directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

TV Shows

The Neapolitan Novels were turned into a TV series called My Brilliant Friend. The first two episodes were shown at the Venice Film Festival in 2018. The series, co-produced by HBO and Italian networks, began airing in November 2018. It focuses on the first book in the series. The second season aired in 2020, and the third season in early 2022.

In 2020, Netflix announced a drama series based on The Lying Life of Adults. This series was released in January 2023.

Awards and Recognitions

Elena Ferrante has received several awards and honors for her writing:

• In 2016, she was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People.
• In 2016, The Story of the Lost Child was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize.
• Also in 2016, The Story of the Lost Child won a Gold Medal for literary fiction at the Independent Publisher Book Awards.
• In 2014, The Story of a New Name was shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Award.

See also

In Spanish: Elena Ferrante para niños