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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 13,195 copies, 232 reviews
Daughter of Fortune (Author) 8,376 copies, 188 reviews
Eva Luna 4,895 copies, 70 reviews
Portrait in Sepia 4,017 copies, 72 reviews
Paula 3,802 copies, 90 reviews
City of the Beasts 3,303 copies, 71 reviews
Zorro 3,273 copies, 114 reviews
Of Love and Shadows 3,027 copies, 50 reviews
The Stories of Eva Luna 2,784 copies, 31 reviews
Inés of My Soul 2,516 copies, 87 reviews
Island Beneath the Sea 2,330 copies, 117 reviews
The Infinite Plan 2,276 copies, 42 reviews
My Invented Country: A Memoir 2,016 copies, 44 reviews
The Japanese Lover 1,842 copies, 106 reviews
Kingdom of the Golden Dragon 1,666 copies, 21 reviews
Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses 1,540 copies, 20 reviews
A Long Petal of the Sea 1,396 copies, 65 reviews
The Sum of Our Days: A Memoir 1,247 copies, 38 reviews
Forest of the Pygmies 1,227 copies, 13 reviews
Maya's Notebook 1,068 copies, 63 reviews
In the Midst of Winter 1,058 copies, 52 reviews
Ripper 964 copies, 69 reviews
Violeta 696 copies, 36 reviews
The Soul of a Woman 287 copies, 14 reviews
Journeys of Jaguar and Eagle 63 copies, 1 review
Amor 58 copies, 3 reviews
Cartas de Paula (Editor) 38 copies, 1 review
The Wind Knows My Name: A Novel 35 copies, 4 reviews
Guggenheim Lovers 21 copies, 2 reviews
Sargasso 11 copies
Two Words 5 copies
Relatos de amor 5 copies, 1 review
El sexo y yo 2 copies
The Girls 1 copy
Revenge 1 copy
Impunity 1 copy
Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent (Foreword, some editions) 2,319 copies, 39 reviews
The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (Contributor) 517 copies, 6 reviews
Black Water 2: More Tales of the Fantastic (Contributor) 148 copies, 3 reviews
Granta 21: The Story-Teller (Contributor) 148 copies, 1 review
Murder & Other Acts of Literature (Contributor) 144 copies, 2 reviews
Granta 33: What Went Wrong? (Contributor) 126 copies, 1 review
The Gates of Paradise (Contributor) 109 copies, 2 reviews
The Penguin Book of Erotic Stories by Women (Contributor) 78 copies, 1 review
Huellas de las literaturas hispanoamericanas (Contributor) 49 copies, 1 review
One World of Literature (Contributor) 23 copies
In Praise of Women (Foreword) 16 copies
Tales of Zorro (Afterword) 14 copies
Of Love and Shadows [1994 film] (Original novel) 3 copies, 1 review
Palabras de mujer (Contributor) 1 copy, 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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