Allende’s book Of Love and Shadows (1984) also became a 1994 movie, again starring Antonio Banderas. The book later became a play in London in 1993, as well as a movie, starring Winona Ryder, Vanessa Redgrave, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, and Antonio Banderas. This letter would go on to influence her manuscript for the novel The House of Spirits, published in Spanish in 1982 and in English in 1985. In 1981, she learned that her grandfather was dying and wrote him a letter. During their thirteen years in Venezuela, Allende wrote for the newspaper El Nacional and worked as a school administrator. Because of her outspokenness, she was blacklisted by the government, and so in 1975, she and her family emigrated to Venezuela. Isabel Allende became an advocate for and supporter of people suffering under the new government regime. But in 1972, General Augusto Pinochet led a military coup to overthrow the government. In 1970, Allende’s cousin Salvador was elected president of Chile.

In addition, Allende published two children’s books, La abuela Panchita and Lauchas y lauchones. During this time, she also wrote a play called El Embajador, which was performed in Chile, and she wrote for a children’s magazine called Mampato, later becoming the editor-in-chief. From 1970–1975, Allende hosted a popular television show that included humor and interviews. There, she co-founded the magazine Paula, for which she wrote informational articles and satirical columns. The family traveled throughout Europe, living in Switzerland and Belgium.Īllende and her family returned to Chile in 1966. In 1962, she married, and a year later gave birth to her daughter Paula. From 1959–1965, she worked for the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Santiago.

After attending school in Bolivia and Lebanon, Allende returned to Chile to complete college. When Allende was three years old, her mother moved the family to Santiago, Chile, where Allende spent several years of her youth.

Her writing can be categorized as realistic, inspired by her upbringing and real-life events. Isabel Allende is a Latina writer who was born in Lima, Peru on August 2, 1942.

The house of spirits allende