Available Formats
Hardback, Large Print Edition
Published: 28th June 2016
Paperback
Published: 19th May 2020
Paperback, Large Print Edition
Published: 6th July 2016
Hardback
Published: 18th November 2025
Paperback
Published: 11th October 2012
Paperback, Media tie-in
Published: 29th November 2018
My Brilliant Friend: The International No. 1 Bestseller
By (Author) Elena Ferrante
Translated by Ann Goldstein
Europa Editions (UK) Ltd
Europa Editions (UK) Ltd
29th November 2018
Media tie-in
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
853.92
Paperback
336
Width 210mm, Height 135mm
OVER 5 MILLION COPIES SOLD IN ENGLISH WORLDWIDE OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD IN THE UK 14 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES GUARDIAN 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY 58 WEEKS ON THE BOOKSELLER'S TOP 20 ORIGINAL FICTION BESTSELLERS LIST SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2015 43 INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS DEALS Now in B-format Paperback From one of Italy's most acclaimed authors, comes this ravishing and generous-hearted novel about a friendship that lasts a lifetime. The story of Elena and Lila begins in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples. Growing up on these tough streets the two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else, as their friendship, beautifully and meticulously rendered, becomes a not always perfect shelter from hardship. Ferrante has created a memorable portrait of two women, but My Brilliant Friend is also the story of a nation. Through the lives of Elena and Lila, Ferrante gives her readers the story of a city and a country undergoing momentous change. "Nothing quite like it has ever been published." - Guardian "Elena Ferrante has established herself as the foremost writer in Italy - and the world." - The Sunday Times "This is high stakes, subversive literature." - The Telegraph
Elena Ferrante is the author of The Days of Abandonment (Europa, 2005), Troubling Love (Europa, 2006), The Lost Daughter (Europa, 2008), and the four novels known as the Neapolitan Quartet (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child) which were published by Europa Editions between 2012 and 2015. My Brilliant Friend, the HBO series directed by Saverio Costanzo, premiered in 2018. Ferrante is also the author of Frantumaglia: A Writers Journey (Europa, 2016), a childrens picture book illustrated by Mara Cerri, The Beach at Night (Europa, 2016), and a collection of personal essays illustrated by Andrea Ucini entitled Incidental Inventions (Europa, 2019). The Lost Daughter was made into a feature film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Olivia Colman. Her most recent novel is The Lying Life of Adults (Europa, 2020). In the Margins, a collection of original essays on reading and writing, was published by Europa in 2022. Ann Goldstein is one of the most accomplished translators from the Italian working today. Best known for her translations of Elena Ferrantes oeuvre, she has also brought to Anglo-Saxon readers novels by Primo Levi, Pierpaolo Pasolini, Alessandro Baricco and other classic and contemporary Italian writers.