Lauren Elkin is writing a book about women walking in cities, called Flâneuse, which will be published by Chatto & Windus in 2015. She lives in Paris.

Walking Tour

Strolling the streets of Naples, a fan of Ferrante’s magisterial quartet of novels about the lifelong friendship of two women discovers how the city itself is a major character.

Scenic Routes

Maps of places you’ve never been, maps of paper routes, maps of desktops: artists and writers conjure directions for heretofore uncharted Xanadus.

This Way and That

Everyone else’s dreams are boring, but for a writer like Georges Perec his dreams can be a way to understand his other writing. Lauren Elkin journeys into Neverland with the Oulipian writer.

Fan Fiction

There have been numerous novels inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but Jo Baker’s depiction of what happens below stairs with the servants is the most intriguing yet. Lauren Elkin on a smart fan fiction.

'The Art of Joy'

Usually if a book was controversial or never published, we think it worthy of rescuing from the literary dustbin. But a sexually charged Italian novel leaves Lauren Elkin wondering if some novels are best left to history. Read her earlier essay on the opposite case.

Twice-Told Tales

What makes an old, forgotten book worth saving and reissuing? What literature stands the test of time to emerge from obscurity? Lauren Elkin reads two recently rediscovered books. Part One: Muriel Rukeyser’s novel about the Spanish Civil War, Savage Coast.

Rebecca Solnit

From a history of walking to post-disaster stories, Rebecca Solnit has had one of the most varied literary careers. She talks punk, textual pleasure, Iceland, and her new book, The Faraway Nearby, with Lauren Elkin.

Olivia Manning

Underrated and underread British novelist Olivia Manning didn’t know she would be devoting her life to dramatizing WWII. By Lauren Elkin.