Isabel Allende: The House of the Spirits

In 1982, Isabel Allende published her debut novel, The House of the Spirits. The characters are based on her family, and the story reflects Chile’s 20th Century history, including the 1973 military coup in which her relative, President Salvador Allende, was overthrown.

The book began as a letter to her dying grandfather, but it grew into an epic multi-generational story.

The House of the Spirits was an international bestseller and made Isabel one of the most renowned novelists in Latin America’s rich literary history. She speaks to Ben Henderson.

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(Photo: Isabel Allende in 1986. Credit: Louis Monier/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)