One of the most prolific Italian female writers of the twentieth century, Elsa Morante was born in 1912 in Rome. Although as a child she did not attend school, reading was her greatest passion. She started writing poems and fables for children at an early age and was soon able to support herself through private lessons and writing. In 1941 Morante married Alberto Moravia, but the couple divorced, childless, in 1962. Morante’s debut was a book for children,

Le bellissime avventure di Caterì dalla trecciolina

[The Beautiful Adventures of Caterina with a Braid] (1942), republished as

Le straordinarie avventure di Caterina

[The Extraordinary Adventures of Caterina] (1959). In addition to her novels, discussed below, her vast literary production includes two collections of poetry,

Alibi

2006 words

Citation: Liimatta-Baroncini, Katja . "Elsa Morante". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 January 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12523, accessed 12 December 2024.]

12523 Elsa Morante 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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