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Author photo. Photo by Robert Birnbaum (courtesy of the photographer)

Photo by Robert Birnbaum (courtesy of the photographer)

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Isabel Allende was born in 1942 in Lima, Peru, the daughter of a Chilean diplomat. When her parents separated, young Isabel moved with her mother to Chile, where she spent the rest of her childhood. She married at the age of 19 and had two children, Paula and Nicolas. Her uncle was Salvador Allende, the president of Chile. When he was overthrown in the coup of 1973, she fled Chile, moving to Caracas, Venezuela. While living in Venezuela, Allende began writing her novels, many of them exploring the close family bonds between women. Her first novel, The House of the Spirits, has been translated into 27 languages, and was later made into a film. She then wrote Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, and The Stories of Eva Luna, all set in Latin America. The Infinite Plan was her first novel to take place in the United States. She explores the issues of human rights and the plight of immigrants and refugees in her novel, In The Midst of Winter. In Paula, Allende wrote her memoirs in connection with her daughter's illness and death. She delved into the erotic connections between food and love in Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses. In addition to writing books, Allende has worked as a TV interviewer, magazine writer, school administrator, and a secretary at a U.N. office in Chile. She received the 1996 Harold Washington Literacy Award. She lives in California. Her title Maya's Notebook made The New York Times Best Seller List in 2013. (Bowker Author Biography) — biography from The House of the Spirits… (more)
Disambiguation Notice

Isabel Allende Llona (b. 1942), Chilean born novelist (US citizen since 2003). Do not confuse with María Isabel Allende Bussi (b. 1945), daughter of former Chilean president Salvador Allende; cousin of the novelist.

The House of the Spirits 13,465 copies, 233 reviews
Daughter of Fortune 8,503 copies, 189 reviews
Eva Luna 4,962 copies, 70 reviews
Portrait in Sepia 4,088 copies, 73 reviews
Paula 3,877 copies, 92 reviews
City of the Beasts 3,369 copies, 73 reviews
Zorro 3,325 copies, 115 reviews
Of Love and Shadows 3,093 copies, 51 reviews
The Stories of Eva Luna 2,829 copies, 31 reviews
Inés of My Soul 2,555 copies, 90 reviews
Island Beneath the Sea 2,348 copies, 114 reviews
The Infinite Plan 2,321 copies, 42 reviews
My Invented Country: A Memoir 2,044 copies, 44 reviews
The Japanese Lover 1,895 copies, 102 reviews
Kingdom of the Golden Dragon 1,706 copies, 22 reviews
Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses 1,568 copies, 22 reviews
A Long Petal of the Sea 1,501 copies, 66 reviews
The Sum of Our Days: A Memoir 1,277 copies, 38 reviews
Forest of the Pygmies 1,248 copies, 14 reviews
In the Midst of Winter 1,107 copies, 56 reviews
Maya's Notebook 1,104 copies, 64 reviews
Ripper 991 copies, 69 reviews
Violeta 832 copies, 35 reviews
The Soul of a Woman 315 copies, 14 reviews
The Wind Knows My Name 202 copies, 15 reviews
Journeys of Jaguar and Eagle 68 copies, 1 review
Amor 64 copies, 3 reviews
Cartas de Paula (Editor) 38 copies, 1 review
Guggenheim Lovers 22 copies, 2 reviews
Sargasso 11 copies
De wind kent mijn naam 7 copies, 1 review
Relatos de amor 5 copies, 1 review
Two Words 5 copies
Ödets Dotter 3 copies
El sexo y yo 2 copies
The Girls 1 copy
Impunity 1 copy
Revenge 1 copy
Ripper 1 copy
Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent (Foreword, some editions) 2,397 copies, 41 reviews
The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (Contributor) 524 copies, 6 reviews
Black Water 2: More Tales of the Fantastic (Contributor) 152 copies, 3 reviews
Granta 21: The Story-Teller (Contributor) 149 copies, 1 review
Murder & Other Acts of Literature (Contributor) 144 copies, 2 reviews
Granta 33: What Went Wrong? (Contributor) 131 copies, 1 review
The Gates of Paradise (Contributor) 111 copies, 2 reviews
The Penguin Book of Erotic Stories by Women (Contributor) 79 copies, 1 review
Huellas de las literaturas hispanoamericanas (Contributor) 51 copies, 1 review
One World of Literature (Contributor) 23 copies
In Praise of Women (Foreword) 16 copies
Tales of Zorro (Afterword) 15 copies
Of Love and Shadows [1994 film] (Original novel) 3 copies, 1 review
Palabras de mujer (Contributor) 2 copies, 1 review

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Short biography
Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende is the author of eight novels, including, most recently, Violeta, Zorro, Portrait in Sepia, and Daughter of Fortune. She has also written a collection of stories; three memoirs, including My Invented Country and Paula; and a trilogy of children's novels. Her books have been translated into more than twenty-seven languages and have become bestsellers across four continents. In 2004 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Isabel Allende lives in California.
Disambiguation notice
Isabel Allende Llona (b. 1942), Chilean born novelist (US citizen since 2003).
Do not confuse with María Isabel Allende Bussi (b. 1945), daughter of former Chilean president Salvador Allende; cousin of the novelist.

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