By: Trisha Winters

1942 Isabel was born on August 2 nd in Lima, Peru. She lived with her grandparents after her parents Tomás (Chilean government representative) and Francisca Allende divorced when she was two years old. Her grandmother was a great storyteller and they both left a noticeable imprint on her imagination, development, and future writing. Allende

This is a cathedral in Lima, Peru, Allende’s birth place.

1962 Isabel marries her first husband, Miguel Frias, and has two children, Paula and Nicolas. She also worked for the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization in Santiago as a secretary at this time for a few years, and later became a journalist, editor, and advice columnist for the magazine Paula. Additionally, she worked on newsreels and as a television interviewer. An/Allende-Isabel.html Allende -allende/

Logo of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, a company in which Allende worked for a few years.

1973 Isabel’s uncle, the Chilean president Salvador Allende, was assassinated as part of a military coup against socialist government. She joined efforts of church sponsored groups in providing for the needy families. She also helped many compatriots escape military persecution and violence, transporting them to safety. When it was clear that she was being targeted and it was too dangerous to stay in Chile, she fled with her husband and two children to Venezuela in It was these experiences that she incorporated into her first novel. Allende

This is Salvador Allende, Isabel’s uncle.

1982 Isabel was nominated for the Quality Paperback Book Club New Voice Award for her debut novel, La Casa de los Espíritus (The House of the Spirits). She became an international success after this debut novel, and has since published four novels, a collection of short stories, an autobiography, and a book of recipes and stories. All of her books that have translated into different languages were best- sellers in the countries that they were sold in. Allende

The House of the Spirits, Allende’s first novel.

1984 Allende wrote De amor y sombras (Of Love and Shadows). This novel was based on the experiences she had during the military coup in Chile. She writes in a new dimension than her other novel, writing from a journalistic tone. m

Allende’s second novel, Of Love and Shadows.

1988 While Isabel was on a lecture tour in San Jose, California promoting Of Love and Shadows, she met a lawyer named William Gordon. He admired her work and she fell in love with him. They married in 1988 and have lived in Marin, California ever since. Isabel.html Isabel.html Allende

This is a picture of San Jose, California, where Allende met William Gordon.

1991 Cuentos de Eva Luna (The Stories of Eva Luna) was written and published. This was the sequel to her third novel Eva Luna, which was voted by Library Journal as One of the Year’s Best Books. Both of these books received much praise. Isabel.html Isabel.html Allende

Isabel’s follow up novel to Eva Luna, The Stories of Eva Luna.

1993 Isabel wrote and published El Plan Infinito (The Infinite Plan). It received much less praise than her other books. It was also her first novel after moving to America. An/Allende-Isabel.html An/Allende-Isabel.html Allende allende/ allende/

Allende’s first novel written in America, The Infinite Plan.

1995 She wrote and published Paula. It was based on the illness and death of her daughter in Publishers Weekly said that only a writer as skilled and passionate as Allende could write about her tragedy and still please readers. It was the first non fiction book written by Allende. Allende

Allende’s first non-fiction novel, Paula.