Elsa Morante was not a prolific writer. Beyond her two children's books and her many articles and stories that appeared in newspapers and periodicals in the early stage of her career, her work consists of four novels, two volumes of short stories, and one book of verse. However, few contemporary writers in Italy enjoyed as much success as did Morante. Ever since the Marxist critic György Lukács praised her first novel, Menzogna e sortilegio (1948; translated as The House of Liars, 1950), and called her one of the best European novelists, Morante saw her popularity rise with each subsequent book. Her death stimulated reprints of her works, literary conventions in her honor, and renewed critical interest. There is general consensus today that Morante is a major writer.

Morante's deep love for literature can be traced to her early teens when she began to write poems and...