Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende, 2008Chilean American novelist Isabel Allende began writing her first novel, The House of the Spirits (1982), as a letter to her terminally ill grandfather. She went on to have a prolific career and is considered one of Latin America's leading contemporary authors.

Isabel Allende (born August 2, 1942, Lima, Peru) is a Chilean American writer in the magic realist tradition who is considered one of the finest contemporary novelists from Latin America. Her best-known works include The House of the Spirits (1982), Of Love and Shadows (1984), and City of the Beasts (2002).