Isabel Allende
For the Chilean politician and daughter of Salvador Allende, see Isabel Allende Bussi.
Isabel Allende Llona (born
August 2,
1942) is a Chilean-American writer, who is considered one of the most popular novelists in the world today. She has sold over 35 million copies and her work has been translated in 27 different languages.
Allende was born in
Lima to diplomat
Tomás Allende who was a Chilean ambassador there. She is the niece of
Salvador Allende, the President of
Chile from
1970 to
73. In 1945, her parents separated, and her mother relocated with their three children to Chile, where they lived until
1953.
The family later moved to
Bolivia and then to
Lebanon. While in Bolivia, Allende attended an
American private school, and while in Lebanon she attended a
British private school in
Beirut. She returned to
Chile in
1958 to complete her secondary education, and there she met her first husband,
Miguel Frías, whom she married in
1962.
From
1959 to
1965, Allende worked with the
United Nations's
Food and Agriculture Organization in
Santiago, and later in
Brussels, Belgium, and elsewhere in
Europe. Her daughter Paula was born in
1963. In
1966, Allende returned to
Chile, and her son Nicolás was born there that year.
Beginning in
1967, Allende was on the editorial staff for
Paula magazine, and from 1973 to 1974 for the children's magazine
Mampato. She published two children's stories, "La Abuela Panchita" and "Lauchas y Lauchones," as well as a collection of articles,
Civilice a Su Troglodita. She also worked in Chilean television production for channels 7 and 13.
In
1973, Allende's play
El Embajador debuted in Santiago. On
September 11 of that same year, her uncle,
Salvador Allende, was overthrown in the wake of a violent coup and during the capture of
La Moneda (the seat of the presidency of Chile). In 1975, Isabel Allende went into exile in
Venezuela. While there, she worked for the
Caracas newspaper
El Nacional and as a teacher in a secondary school.
In
1981, Allende learned that her grandfather, age 99, was on his deathbed. She started writing him a letter that later evolved into a book manuscript,
The House of Spirits (1982). The book was a great success and was later made into a film (
The House of the Spirits, 1993) by
Danish director
Bille August. The movie starred
Jeremy Irons,
Meryl Streep,
Winona Ryder,
Glenn Close and
Antonio Banderas.
During a visit to
California in
1988, Allende met her current husband,
Willie Gordon, a lawyer, and has lived in
San Rafael since then. In
2003 she obtained
U.S. citizenship.
In 2006, she was one of the eight flag bearers at the
Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics.
Allende's books are known for their vivid storytelling. Allende uses emotive words and phrases. This style of writing is a trademark of Allende's work, and she is known to be a master of it.
Allende's book
Paula (1994) is a stirring memoir of her childhood in
Santiago, and her years in exile. It was written in the form of a letter to her daughter Paula, who lay in a coma in the hospital (she died of
porphyria in 1992). In addition to
The House of Spirits and
Paula, her books include:
La gorda de porcelana (1984)
Of Love and Shadows (1985)
Eva Luna (1987)
The Stories of Eva Luna (1989)
The Infinite Plan (1991)
Paula (1995)
Afrodite (1997)
Daughter of Fortune (1999).
Portrait in Sepia (2000)
City of the Beasts (2002)
My Invented Country (2003)
Kingdom of the Golden Dragon (2004)
Forest of the Pygmies (2005)
Zorro (2005)
*
Isabel Allende's Official Website*
Guardian Books "Author Page", with profile and links to further articles.
*
Lavin Agency "Speaker Page", with speaker profile
*
Memories, Fight and t the Hand of the Great Superhero of the Spanish Narrative - Isabel Allende in interview
