Neapolitan Novels

Neapolitan Novels
AuthorElena Ferrante
Original title
L'Amica Geniale, Storia del Nuovo Cognome, Storia di chi fugge e di chi resta, Storia della bambina perduta
TranslatorAnn Goldstein
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian
Publisher
Published2011–2014
Published in English2012–2015
No. of booksFour

The Neapolitan Novels, also known as the Neapolitan Quartet, are a four-part series of fiction by the pseudonymous Italian author Elena Ferrante, published originally by Edizioni e/o, translated into English by Ann Goldstein and published by Europa Editions (New York). The English-language titles of the novels are My Brilliant Friend (2012), The Story of a New Name (2013), Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014), and The Story of the Lost Child (2015). In the original Italian edition, the whole series bears the title of the first novel L'amica geniale (literally translated, "the brilliant friend"). The series has been characterized as a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story.[1] In an interview in Harper's Magazine, Elena Ferrante has stated that she considers the four books to be "a single novel" published serially for reasons of length and duration.[2] The series has sold over 10 million copies in 40 countries.[3]

The series follows the lives of two perceptive and intelligent girls, Elena (sometimes called "Lenù") Greco and Raffaella ("Lila") Cerullo, from childhood to adulthood and old age, as they try to create lives for themselves amidst the violent and stultifying culture of their home – a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Italy.[4] The novels are narrated by Elena Greco.

The series was adapted into a two-part play by April De Angelis at the Rose Theatre, Kingston, in March 2017.[5] The Rose production, starring Niamh Cusack and Catherine McCormack, transferred to the Royal National Theatre in November 2019. The series has been adapted into an HBO television series entitled My Brilliant Friend.

  1. ^ Ahmed, Fatema (28 April 2015). "Taking off the mask: Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels". The New Humanist. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  2. ^ Jenny Turner, "The Secret Sharer. Elena Ferrante's existential fiction", Harper's Magazine, October 2014.
  3. ^ "Reclusive Author Elena Ferrante Talks 'My Brilliant Friend' HBO Adaptation". The Hollywood Reporter. 16 October 2018.
  4. ^ Wood, James (21 January 2013). "Women on the Verge: The fiction of Elena Ferrante". The New Yorker. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  5. ^ Vincent, Alice (3 October 2016). "First stage adaptation of Elena Ferrante's novels announced in wake of identity scandal". The Telegraph.