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As a movie, The Lost Daughter has the satisfyingly melancholy feel of a rained-out vacation in a dream destination. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut is a prickly examination of ambivalence towards motherhood, with an emotional heft that belies its coastal Italian setting. More than picturesque set dressing, the locale is a nod to the source ma...

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In an earlier period, Western medieval literary texts were anonymous. Stories and tales were not meant to have an author; they would circulate anonymously. Even centuries later, several writers had their books published under a pen name or still anonymously. For instance, the founder of the historical novel genre, Sir Walter Scott, wrote Waverley (...

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Elena Ferrante has been awarded the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence. The literary award to the mysterious writer of the saga of the "Amica geniale" was presented this morning during a special event of the Cheltenham Literary Festival, one of the most important literary festivals in the United Kingdom, which took place in the Town Hall of...

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Netflix is moving forward with its Elena Ferrante series adaptation, “The Lying Life of Adults,” which will start shooting in Naples in October with Neapolitan helmer Edoardo De Angelis (“Indivisible”) directing and Valeria Golino playing a prominent role. “Lying Life of Adults” leads a slate of Netflix Italian original series projects — several of...

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Maggie Gyllenhaal may come from a family of filmmakers, yet she never let herself dream about directing until recently. Things changed very quickly and very profoundly for Gyllenhaal when she found herself writing to Elena Ferrante, asking for permission to adapt her 2008 novel “The Lost Daughter.” Ferrante said yes, she could have the rights, but...

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Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet belongs to the literary canon of women’s literature, telling a bildungsroman of friendship and feminism. The four books are narrated by Elena (Lenù) Greco and follow her and her best friend Raffaella (Lila) Cerullo, beginning with their adolescence in Naples and following them through the divergent paths they tak...

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When Claudio Gatti published an investigation into Elena Ferrante’s identity, a few years ago, he raised an outcry both in Italy and abroad. He had pried into the author’s privacy, violated her right to remain anonymous. It was unfair, it was irrelevant, we didn’t want to know. Didn’t we? Yes and no. There was one conclusion that mattered in Gatti’...

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In the Neapolitan Quartet, Elena Ferrante sketches a genealogical cycle that extends from the 1950s to the first decade of the new millennium and challenges notions of nationhood, progress, revolution, and even feminism. This conversation between Laura Benedetti (Georgetown University) and Tiziana de Rogatis (Università per Stranieri di Siena) tack...

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What a relief it is when an author who has written a masterpiece returns to prove the gift intact. Was it ever in question for Elena Ferrante, the pseudonymous Italian author whose four-volume novel known as the Neapolitan quartet made her one of the most celebrated writers alive? Maybe not, but success has a way of spoiling things. Since the 2002...

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Marisa Tomei is lending her voice for Elena Ferrante's upcoming novel, The Lying Life of Adults. The Academy-Award winning actress is making her debut in the audiobook world with the narration of the novel set to be released on Sept. 1, it was announced Monday. Tomei describes recording Ferrante's audiobook as “very emotional at times."  "As a devo...

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