Ernesto Ferrero ( 6 May 1938 – 31 October 2023) was an Italian writer, literary critic and translator.
Ernesto Ferrero
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| Born | 6 May 1938 (1938-05-06) |
| Died | 31 October 2023 (2023-11-01) (aged 85)
Turin, Italy
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Born in Turin, in 1963 Ferrero started his career as a press officer for the Einaudi publishing house.[1] He made his literary debut with a dictionary of Italian slang (I gerghi del male dal ’400 a oggi, 1972),[1] which won the Viareggio Prize for First Work.[2]
Ferrero is best known for the novel N, a reconstruction of Napoleon's stay on Elba through the diary of his librarian; the book was translated in numerous foreign languages, won the Strega Prize and was freely adapted by Paolo Virzì into a film, Napoleon and Me.[1][2][3] His 2011 biographical novel about Emilio Salgari Disegnare il vento ("Drawing the Wind") won the Premio Selezione Campiello.[2] His last book was Album di famiglia ("Family album", 2022), a collection of intimate portraits of literary authors.[1][2]
Ferrero directed the Turin International Book Fair from 1998 to 2016.[1][2] He translated works of Gustave Flaubert, Louis-Ferdinand Céline and Georges Perec.[4] He also wrote critical essays and collaborated with various newspapers and television programmes.[3] He died on 31 October 2023, at the age of 85.[2]
