Elena Ferrante is the pseudonym for the Italian novelist responsible for the acclaimed Neapolitan Novels, a four-book series that includes My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child, which was named one of the top 10 books of 2015 by The New York Times. Ferrante's belief that "books, once they are written, have no need of their author" has led to intense speculation about her true identity.