An audacious report on the hidden sources of the literary legend. This report does not reveal the true identity of the bestselling author about whom there have been many theories over the years, but is a story that incorporates and reworks details – some authentic, others imaginary – that make Elena Ferrante an event that stands out.

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A journey to the hidden sources of a literary legend that begins with Naples and the sounds, colours and reflections of a specific world and era: in the famous district at the back of the railway station in the 1950s. In following the echoes of this world, like the sound of the sea in a shell, Guadagni – a writer and journalist – explores the places, voices and lives that came together in the bestelling Quartet of My Brilliant Friend, walks through the council estates, the frightening tunnel that leads to the sea and the derelict industrial warehouses, and paints a gallery of great women who, by writing, working and fighting, formed the Italian 20th century.