Elena Ferrante is the pseudonym of the unknown Italian author of My Brilliant Friend. Very little is known about the writer, as she has purposefully kept her identity and personal history secret. In 1991, when Ferrante published her first novel, Troubling Love, she stipulated to her publisher that she would not give interviews, readings, or any other form of publicity. She would not provide any information about herself, including her real name, as she felt that "books, once they are written, have no need of their authors" (quoted in Wood).
Despite, or perhaps because of, this mystery, Ferrante has become one of the best-known and most celebrated contemporary novelists. She has published...
