It's generally accepted that, in order to achieve fame and fortune, one must be prepared to sell one's soul. But Elena Ferrante did it without giving up so much as her name. In less than a decade, the anonymous Italian author has become a global phenomenon, with her four-part "Neapolitan" novel series ensnaring millions of readers in their decades-spanning, emotionally raw chronicle of a female friendship.

Ferrante has become literary royalty in spite, or perhaps because, of her steadfast refusal to identify herself to the public. As one subject in the Italian documentary Ferrante Fever notes, it's the purest possible form of letting the work speak for itself.