My Name Is Emilia del Valle: A Novel

Isabel Allende

May 2025 · Sold by Ballantine Books

About this ebook

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this “stunning” (People), “riveting” (Entertainment Weekly) historical novel, a young writer journeys to South America to uncover the truth about her father—and herself.

“All of Allende’s books, My Name Is Emilia del Valle included, have the epic feel of a major Hollywood film.”—Associated Press

AN NPR AND NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

In San Francisco in 1866, an Irish nun, abandoned following a torrid relationship with a Chilean aristocrat, gives birth to a daughter named Emilia del Valle. Raised by a loving stepfather, Emilia grows into an independent thinker and a self-sufficient young woman.

To pursue her passion for writing, she is willing to defy societal norms. At the age of seventeen, she begins to publish pulp fiction using a man’s pen name. When these fictional worlds can no longer satisfy her sense of adventure, she turns to journalism, convincing an editor at The Daily Examiner to hire her. There she is paired with another talented reporter, Eric Whelan.

As she proves herself, her restlessness returns, until an opportunity arises to cover a brewing civil war in Chile. She seizes it, as does Eric, and while there, she meets her estranged father and delves into the violent confrontation in the country where her roots lie. As she and Eric discover love, the war escalates and Emilia finds herself in extreme danger, fearing for her life and questioning her identity and her destiny.

A riveting tale of self-discovery and love from one of the most masterful storytellers of our time, My Name Is Emilia del Valle introduces a character who will never let hold of your heart.

Ratings and reviews

Very emotional and deeply human.

I would love to know more

awesome read

About the author

Isabel Allende, born in Peru and raised in Chile, is a novelist, feminist, and philanthropist. She is one of the most widely read authors in the world, having sold more than eighty million copies of her books across forty-two languages. She is the author of many bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including The Wind Knows My Name, Violeta, A Long Petal of the Sea, The House of the Spirits, Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, and Paula. In addition to her work as a writer, Allende devotes much of her time to human rights causes. She has received fifteen honorary doctorates, has been inducted into the California Hall of Fame, and received the PEN Center USA’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and in 2018, she received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. Allende lives in California with her husband and dogs.