Isabel Allende's latest historical novel draws from her time at a women's magazine

Summary

NPR's Book of the Day: Isabel Allende's Latest Historical Novel

Episode: Isabel Allende's latest historical novel draws from her time at a women's magazine
Release Date: May 12, 2025

In this engaging episode of NPR's Book of the Day, host Deepa Fernandez sits down with the acclaimed Chilean author Isabel Allende to discuss her latest historical romance novel, My Name Is Emilia Del Valle. The conversation delves deep into the inspiration behind the novel, Allende's personal experiences, and the broader themes of feminism and journalism that permeate her work.

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Introducing Isabel Allende and Her Latest Work

Deepa Fernandez opens the discussion by highlighting Isabel Allende's illustrious career and her latest endeavor, My Name Is Emilia Del Valle. She emphasizes Allende’s impact, noting her bestsellers like The House of the Spirits and Eva Luna, and her receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.

Quote:
“Allende is always a cause for celebration. Her best selling works include the House of the Spirits and Eva Luna. She sold more than 80 million copies in 42 languages.” [01:36]

Inspiration Behind My Name Is Emilia Del Valle

The novel centers around Amelia, a pioneering female journalist in 19th-century Chile. Deepa inquires about the genesis of Amelia's character, to which Allende explains her intention to portray an outsider’s perspective on the 1891 Chilean Civil War.

Quote:
“I wanted to tell it from a sort of outsider's point of view, a narrator that was not in either side of the Civil War.” [02:40]

Allende discusses her creative process, emphasizing the necessity of making Amelia a woman in a male-dominated field by giving her a multicultural background and strong ties to Chile, thereby justifying her presence in the war zone as a journalist.

Character Development and Personal Echoes

Deepa draws parallels between herself and Amelia, both being journalists who strive to tell untold stories. She probes whether Amelia is an alter ego of Allende, to which Allende respectfully declines but acknowledges that elements of her own experiences subtly influence the character.

Quote:
“People who have read the book say that Emilia is my alter ego. I promise you, I wasn't thinking about that at all.” [03:53]

The Intersection of Feminism and Romance

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on how Allende harmoniously blends feminism with romance in her novel. Deepa expresses initial skepticism about combining these themes, but Allende eloquently counters by illustrating that embracing multiple facets of life—such as romance and professional ambition—does not diminish one another.

Quote:
“As a feminist, I think that I have many more choices, but I don't have limitations. I am very romantic. I use makeup. And I have been a fierce feminist all my life. I don't think they are opposites.” [05:20]

Legacy and Influence on Journalism

Deepa and Allende explore the enduring legacy of pushing boundaries in journalism. Allende reflects on her time at a pioneering feminist magazine in Chile during the late 1960s, where she learned to seek out marginalized voices and controversial topics, such as abortion and divorce, which were taboo at the time.

Quote:
“... we were pushing those boundaries, too. And I think that that's what Emilia does.” [07:34]

She underscores the importance of storytelling that goes beyond the "official story," highlighting her commitment to uncovering and amplifying the voices of the underrepresented.

Personal Impact and Reader Connection

Deepa shares a heartfelt testament to how Allende's novel, The House of the Spirits, transformed her own life, leading her to pursue a career in journalism and move to Latin America. This personal connection underscores the profound influence Allende's work has on her readers.

Quote:
“You inspire that. Isabelle, thank you. You inspired that.” [08:28]

The Role of Journalism Today and Future Hope

Addressing contemporary challenges in journalism, Allende remains optimistic about its impact despite the rise of censorship and authoritarianism. She emphasizes the critical role of collective resistance and the enduring power of truth in shaping public opinion and effecting change.

Quote:
“What is important here is the numbers. Many, many people have to stand up and oppose the authoritarian government. That takes a while because people are afraid, and fear is a very powerful tool. But it happens. It always happens.” [09:31]

Looking Ahead: Isabel Allende's Future Projects

Concluding the interview, Deepa inquires about Allende's future projects. Allende reveals her current work on a memoir, expressing a preference for fiction due to its creative freedom compared to the rigid truthfulness required in memoir writing.

Quote:
“I like to write fiction because I'm a very good liar. But a memoir requires I have to be truthful to the events and the people and the emotions of the time, and that's harder.” [10:23]

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Conclusion

Isabel Allende's My Name Is Emilia Del Valle emerges as a rich tapestry of historical narrative, feminist ideology, and romantic undertones. Through her protagonist Amelia, Allende not only transports readers to a pivotal moment in Chilean history but also inspires a continued quest for truth and representation in storytelling and journalism. This episode of NPR's Book of the Day offers listeners a profound insight into Allende's creative process, her unwavering commitment to highlighting marginalized voices, and her enduring influence on both literature and real-world journalism.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• “I wanted to tell it from a sort of outsider's point of view, a narrator that was not in either side of the Civil War.” [02:40]
• “As a feminist, I think that I have many more choices, but I don't have limitations. I am very romantic. I use makeup. And I have been a fierce feminist all my life. I don't think they are opposites.” [05:20]
• “What is important here is the numbers. Many, many people have to stand up and oppose the authoritarian government. That takes a while because people are afraid, and fear is a very powerful tool. But it happens. It always happens.” [09:31]

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the essence of the podcast episode, providing an insightful overview for those who haven't listened while preserving the depth and nuances of the original conversation.

Transcript

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[Andrew Limbong]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. Think about the one book that changed your life, the book where you can clearly see there's the person you were before reading it and after. If you could talk to that author, what would you say? For some of us, that's impossible. Like for me, Faulkner's been dead for a few decades now, so it's not like I can hit him up on Instagram. But for Here and Now's Depot Fernandez, that author was Isabel Allende, who just happens to be out with a new historical romance novel titled My Name Is Emilia Del Valle. They talk about the new book, but also about how Allende feels about changing the lives of so many people. That's ahead.

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[Deepa Fernandez]

Allende is always a cause for celebration. Her best selling works include the House of the Spirits and Eva Luna. She sold more than 80 million copies in 42 languages. In 2014. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama. And Isabel Allende's latest book, the historic novel My Name Is Amelia Del Valle, is a page turner. I can't wait to talk about it. And to welcome to our program Isabel Allende. Thank you so much for joining us.

[Isabel Allende]

Well, thank you for having me in your program. Deepa.

[Deepa Fernandez]

After many novels that have won so much acclaim, this latest book of yours, it's a historical novel and your main character, Amelia, is born in 1866 in San Francisco to an Irish wannabe nun after her aff with a Chilean aristocrat. I want to know how the idea for this novel was born. How did you cook up your protagonist, Amelia?

[Isabel Allende]

Well, I started with the event, the Civil War in Chile in 1891. And I wanted to tell it from a sort of outsider's point of view, a narrator that was not in either side of the Civil War. And so I thought, okay, I'll bring someone from California, probably a journalist, probably a war correspondent. But of course, I always want a woman. Women were not war correspondents at that time. So I needed to have a very good excuse for my protagonist. I thought, okay, she speaks Spanish. So I gave her a stepfather that is Mexican, and really he raises her. And then I gave her a biological father in Chile so that she would have an excuse to tell the newspaper, well, I have roots. I have family over there. Send me.

[Deepa Fernandez]

She, you know, has to go in and convince a daily newspaper editor to hire her. She has to write under a male pen name. So she was clearly a very pioneering journalist. And I want to ask you about you, Isabel. I understand you were a pioneering journalist, too. Tell me how you started out and how much of your story can we see in Amelia?

[Isabel Allende]

People who have read the book say that Emilia is my alter ego. I promise you, I wasn't thinking about that at all. But I think. I think all authors draw from their memory and their own experience so that who we are appears between the lines. I started as a journalist in a women's magazine that was the first feminist media in Chile in the late 60s. And in that sense, the magazine was very pioneer. I had very good other journalists that taught me the craft, but I knew nothing about any. I mean, it was just so innocent. And in a way, I think that Emilia is very innocent, too, because she goes to war thinking it's a great adventure until she finds herself in the battle with death and blood and violence and brutality, and then she realizes what she has gotten into.

[Deepa Fernandez]

Yeah. Though her feminist spirit, which is your feminist spirit, really comes through so strongly. I mean, so many of your novels, Isabelle, have strong feminist characters. And I want to talk about this novel because in addition to having Amelia pushing through boundaries to live her life as an independent, professional woman, it's also a love story. And. And I loved that. But some people might not think writing about romance and feminism go together.

[Isabel Allende]

Or war.

[Deepa Fernandez]

Or war. Right.

[Isabel Allende]

Or war. But, Deepa, we can have everything in life, can't we? As a feminist, I think that I have many more choices, but I don't have limitations. I am very romantic. I use makeup. And I have been a fierce feminist all my life. I don't think they are opposites.

[Deepa Fernandez]

Yeah. Yeah. So I just really connected with your character. Obviously, I am a journalist, too, but the stories that Amelia chooses to tell, the voices, the framing she brings to whatever story she's telling, it was not the status quo back then, but. But her stories resonated with me because I think in many ways they're still not part of the mainstream. I think Amelia would still be, you know, an anomaly today, the way she reports. And. And I have to say I related a lot to her in. In the quest to tell different sides of stories. Why, Isabel, do you think that legacy that Amelia pushed back on back then, still persists today in mainstream journalism?

[Isabel Allende]

You know, as a writer, I'm always looking for the other side of the story. There is the official story, which is always told, usually by men and by the people who win the battles or the people who are in power, but the marginal voices we never hear. And I think that as a journalist, I learned in that magazine to try to find those voices and those subjects that nobody wants to talk about. At that time in Chile, no one was researching or reporting on abortion, infidelity, divorce. There was no divorce in Chile until 2004. So there were lots of topics that were very controversial, and we got a lot of aggression for that, but we were pushing those boundaries, too. And I think that that's what Emilia does. And me as a writer now, I research a lot for a historical novel, but that's the official story. I need to find the other voices, the voices of the women, the poor, the defeated, the children, the animals. What happened to the horses and the mules in a battle. That kind of question leads me always to go deeper and deeper into the research that is not the official story.

[Deepa Fernandez]

Yeah. I want to take this opportunity to tell you, Isabel, that you single handedly changed the course of my life. I started seventh grade as a lonely, misfit teen with no friends, and I'd go to the library at lunchtime. And finally, after a couple of weeks, the sweet librarian probably realized what was going on with me, and she put a book in my hand and she told me this would help transport me to a different world. And, Isabel, that book was the House of the Spirits. And it was the first novel I ever read. And I loved it. And it made me want to go to Latin America, this mystical, faraway place, very far from Sydney, Australia, where I was growing up. And I did that when I was 19. I left home with a ticket to Mexico. I went all the way down over two years to Chile. I learned Spanish. I became a reporter.

[Isabel Allende]

You are Emilia. You realize the sense of adventure. You take risks.

[Deepa Fernandez]

You inspire that. Isabelle, thank you. You inspired that. And I want to know if you think about the people, the readers, who you inspire as you're sitting down to.

[Isabel Allende]

Write a novel, when you write A novel. It's like putting a message in a bottle and you throw it in the sea. You never know which shores it will reach, who will pick it up if they pick it up, and how they will react to the text. I can't even think about that because it would, in a way, paralyze me. I just write the best I can, and I just throw my message in a bottle in the sea.

[Deepa Fernandez]

Yeah, I mean, I love that you say you should write what should not be forgotten. And I wonder what Amelia would tell us about the times we're living in right now, where writers and journalists are under attack. We're called the fake news, threatened with lawsuits, fired even for reporting political realities that clash with powerful and more dominant narratives. Isabel, leave us with some hope. Does journalism today make a difference?

[Isabel Allende]

Of course it does. And that's why there's censorship in any authoritarian government. And I know because I have lived it. The first people that are targeted are those who have some influence on public opinion. And those are first the journalists and artists and then professors at universities, teachers, people who can really make you think and ask the questions and organize some kind of resistance. What is important here is the numbers Many, many people have to stand up and oppose the authoritarian government. That takes a while because people are afraid, and fear is a very powerful tool. But it happens. It always happens.

[Deepa Fernandez]

What is next for you? This is a brilliant novel. I'm sure it'll be eaten up like all your previous ones. Are you working on anything new after this one?

[Isabel Allende]

I am working on a memoir, which I don't like so much. I like to write fiction because I'm a very good liar. But a memoir requires I have to be truthful to the events and the people and the emotions of the time, and that's harder. But I have the correspondence with my mother we wrote to each other every single day for decades. That is an incredible resource. It's wonderful.

[Deepa Fernandez]

Well, I hope you do it soon and come back and talk to us. Isabel Allende's latest novel is. My Name is Emilia del Valle. Isabel Allende, thank you so much.

[Isabel Allende]

Thank you, Deepa. Thank you for reading me. Also.

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