Isabel Allende

b. 1942

13 standalone books

Isabel Angélica Allende Llona was born on 2 August 1942 in Lima, Peru. She is a Chilean writer with American nationality, of Hispanic-Portuguese descent. Since 2004, she has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She received the National Literature Prize of her country in 2010. Her books have sold 73 million copies and have been translated into 42 languages. She is considered the most widely read Spanish-language author in the world. She is the niece and goddaughter of Salvador Allende, the former president of Chile from 1970 to 1973. She began her literary career as a journalist. After her uncle's assassination and the overthrow of the Chilean government in 1973, she left Chile and sought refuge in Venezuela. Her first novel, La casa de los espíritus (1985), emerged directly from her exile and became a worldwide bestseller and critical success. She often combines elements of myth and realism, or magic realism. Her novels sometimes draw on her own childhood and life experiences.

Born

1942