Mysterious Italian author Elena Ferrante will soon release a new novel — her first since 2014, when she published the last instalment of the four Neapolitan novels that made her a global literary star.

That quartet, which followed two girls growing up in a poor neighbourhood of Naples during the 20th century, was praised by critics for its striking insights into female friendship and for its artful weaving of personal stories with national political histories. The books won a devoted following, selling some 2 million copies in North America alone and helping to spark a vogue for translated fiction in English-speaking countries.