Isabel Allende was born in Lima, Peru in 1942. Her father, Tomas Allende, was a diplomatic representative from Chile; when her parents divorced, Allende moved to Chile, where she lived with her maternal grandparents. Although Allende had little contact with her father, she remained close to his family, including her uncle and godfather, Salvador Allende, president of Chile from 1970 to 1973. Allende spent much of her adolescence in Bolivia, Europe, and the Middle East with her mother and stepfather. As an adult Allende returned to Chile and became a journalist, where she worked in television and wrote for a radical feminist magazine. When her uncle, Salvador Allende, was assassinated during the overthrow of the Chilean government, Allende was shaken, and after realizing that she, too, was in danger, she left the country, moving to Venezuela in 1974.

Allende's literary career began with a letter to her grandfather, who was...