In 2003, Ferrante published her first non-fiction book, La Frantumaglia, which was translated into English, as Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey, in 2016. Once Olga begins seeing herself as, in Simone de Beauvoir's words, a woman destroyed, she begins a downward spiral that includes hallucination, terror of poison and grim sexual self-abasement with her aging neighbor.' Critic Janet Maslin, writing for The New York Times has said: 'Both the novel's emotional and carnal candor are potent. The novel was also a huge success with Italian and international critics. Olga becomes haunted by the visions of abandoned women she saw as a child.

The novel tells the story of protagonist Olga, whose life unravels when her husband of 15 years abruptly tells her he is leaving her for a younger woman. In 2002, Ferrante published her second novel, The Days of Abandonment (in the original version, I Giorni dell'Abbandono). The novel was a critical success, and won the prestigious Premio Procida-Isola di Arturo Elsa Morante. The novel follows protagonist Delia when she returns home following the mysterious death of her mother, a poor seamstress, who had been found drowned on an Italian beach, wearing nothing but a luxury bra. The story was later expanded into Ferrante's first novel, Troubling Love (in the original version, L'Amore Molesto), originally published in 1992. It narrates the movements of the title character on the day of her mother's burial, particularly her return to her safe retreat in the old elevator in the apartment building where she grew up. translated by Adria Frizzi in the anthology After the War (2004). The first appearance of her work in English was the publication of a short story, 'Delia's Elevator'.

Her knowledge of classical literature has also led critics to claim that she must have studied literature. She has claimed in interviews that she was born in Naples, the daughter of a seamstress, and that she has three sisters.

Not many facts are known about Elena Ferrante's biography, due to the author's anonymity. Time magazine called Ferrante one of the 100 most influential people in 2016. Her four-book series of Neapolitan Novels are her most widely known works. Ferrante's books, originally published in Italian, have been translated into many languages. The Days of Abandonment, Neapolitan NovelsĮlena Ferrante ( Italian pronunciation: ) is a pseudonymous Italian novelist.

Elena ferrante neapolitan novels