'My Name is Emilia del Valle' is the latest historical fiction novel by the bestselling author Isabel Allende. In 1891 journalist Emilia del Valle travels from her home town of San Francisco to Chile in order to report about the Chilean Civil War and to locate her biological father. She encounters many atrocities during the war but also finds love and her roots.
This is a beautifully written work of fiction with a strong and determined woman as main character. The description of the war is grim. But you also get a sense of adventure and the beauty of the Chilean landscape.
I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to anybody who likes historical novels and adventures in far away places.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC.

Another riveting tale by this master storyteller.
The historical setting of a civil war in South America will not come as a surprise to Isabel Allende's readers.
This time the location is mainly Chile, where the main protagonist goes to find her biological father and her inquisitive nature gets her into a lot more trouble than she bargained for.
As is also normal in South American novels, there are a fair spattering of sexual adventures.
Set amidst a historical backdrop which I imagine is a pretty accurate description lots of the tales make the reader hold their breathe.
I loved the main story, the by-lines, the characters and the setting.
My thanks to the author for the hours of enjoyment that the book has brought me, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Isabel Allende's latest book is set in C19th San Francisco and Chile. Emilia del Valle is the illegitimate daughter of one of the del Valle clan who have appeared in earlier novels, Emilia is raised by her mother and stepfather to be an independent thinker. She starts her lifes writing Westerns but then progresses to journalism. Her new career leads her to reporting on the civil war in Chile.
Descriptions of the war and the subsequent atrocities committed by the winning junta reminds of us that some things don't change.
Emilio is a vibrant character and ahead of her time in her attitude to work and men!

I enjoyed parts of this novel, particularly the social history and the role of women. Emilia being a journalist worked well and I enjoyed her articles and the plots of her previous dime novels. I was less interested in the battles and political intrigue, but the thing I found really difficult was the rather stilted style, I'm not sure if this is because it was in translation or maybe reflective of 19th century speech, but it was quite jarring. Also, whilst trying not to give spoilers, there did seem to be a lot of happy coincidences in her life.
Thank you to netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

3,5 stars.
Isabel Allende has been one of my favourites for decades, I've been following her literary adventure with a gentle smile in admiration.
This book is a good read because Isabel is a great storyteller, however, there are some issues.
The book was originally written in Spanish, so I'm wondering what we lost in translation. Emilia tells her own story herself, with the narrative being in the first person (starting from her childhood). The language and sentences are somewhat stiff. Emilia, at the end of the book, is only 25 years old, but she speaks as if she were a very mature matron who already knows it all, and because of this, the choice of words seems odd. Maybe this makes sense considering that the story takes place in the 1890s, but it doesn't feel natural.
This is another book telling del Valle story. The clan is well known to Allende readers. Across her books, the characters often repeat. Here, my favourite Paulina del Walle appears again, which is a welcome surprise. However, I can't help but think "here we go again".
The very beginning of the story meanders around the complicated childhood of Emilia. First, I thought that the book would be centred around the relationship between Molly and Emilia; between mother and daughter. Then it turned towards the unruliness of Emilia and her becoming independent and successful as a writer. Afterwards, it changes again into a crime novel, which I thought of as a nice change, and was hoping to see Emilia as a first woman detective, maybe? The plot changed a few times, just like real life changes and takes you to unexpected places. Here, however, everything goes smoothly. Too smoothly. The opportunities just present themselves.
What I don't like is the constant feminist preaching. Women have it tough. Women are not weak. Women are overlooked. Women can't do... Women, especially respectable should not.. Enough! Don't you know that too much exposure can make you allergic?
Someone in another review said that the novel should have ended at a crucial point (trying to avoid a major spoiler), or it should twist in a different direction, maybe being told from someone else's perspective. I totally agree. It would make the novel more interesting and believable. Instead, there's a convenient miracle, and the book drags on unnecessarily. The last part makes sense and leaves the door open for another book, but in my honest opinion, we could do without it.
As for the civil war, I am not a historian, so I won`t comment on that part, but I have to say that Allende captured the tension before the battles well.
Overall, it's not a perfect book by any means, but I still enjoyed it a lot and will read Isabel's next one.

“Disappointing and Forgettable”

I really wanted to like My Name is Emilia del Valle—I used to be a huge fan of Isabel Allende's earlier novels—but this one just didn’t do it for me. I gave up about halfway through because I simply didn’t care how the story ended.

The setup had potential: a young woman abandoned at birth, forging her own path as a journalist in 19th-century San Francisco, and later journeying to Chile to uncover her roots. Sounds like the makings of a gripping, adventurous tale, right? Unfortunately, it never took off. The so-called “adventure” felt flat and low stakes, and Emilia’s journey didn’t pull me in emotionally or intellectually. The whole thing read more like a lukewarm historical outline than a story I could get invested in.

I admire Allende for spotlighting strong, complex female leads, but this time it felt like she was going through the motions. I didn’t feel the spark or heart that used to draw me in. A big disappointment from an author whose work I once eagerly devoured.

Emilia is ahead of her time, determined to succeed as a journalist despite having to fight to be accepted in a man's world. I enjoyed getting to know the personalities of the characters that Allende is so good at developing. However, although I realise the civil war in Chile was the main point of the novel, I did find there was too much focus on the battlefield for me.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I have previously enjoyed Violeta by this author so had high expectations for this book. Emilia del Valle is a strong female character, born in the 1890's San Francisco, living with her very religious mother and her teacher stepfather. She begins work as a reporter and after learning of her Chilean heritage she sets off to Chile to report on the war, between the Army and the rebels. Along the way she seeks out her father. The story builds slowly, with lots of detail of the war, the location, the people. I found myself becoming a little switched off from all the details and confused by the nam4es as to who was on which side etc. I found the ending disappointing.
I'm sure some will enjoy this book, as the author is very knowledgeable about the country and its history. It is not one I would choose to read again.

Allende’s writing is as beautiful and engaging as ever. She paints San Francisco and Chile so vividly, I felt like I was right there with Emilia. I really enjoyed Emilia's journey, starting as a child and going right through to adulthood. Great story by a brilliant writer.

This is another great book from Isabelle Allende. It follows Emilia from youth to adulthood in the 1800s as she explores her past and tracks down her father. Allende depicts in detail life in San Francisco and Chile. She creates a strong voice for Emilia as she attempts to create a career for herself as a writer at a time when women had to struggle to be employed.
I kept reading all the way through, compelled to find out more about Emilia and how the book would end.

Emilia del Valle Claro, born on April 14, 1866, was a pioneering woman. A strong and independent woman who courageously voiced her opinions and advocated for her rights, she achieved success in a male-dominated world through her perseverance and determination. What a captivating character and story!

Emilia's narrative gracefully unfolds, beginning with her childhood and her mother's background. It details her discovery of a passion for writing dime novels under the pseudonym Brandon J. Price, and her subsequent rise to becoming a columnist for The Daily Examiner at the age of 23. This role led her on extensive travels, from New York to Chile, the homeland of her previously unknown father. There, she became involved in the civil war.

Her experiences ranged from inspecting a nitrate mine and interacting with the miners and their families, to meetings with President José Manuel Balmaceda and her biological father. She also recounts camping with troops and participating in the initial battle on the Aconcagua River at Concón on August 21, 1891.
Ultimately, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery to a distant area of the country to conclude her Chilean odyssey.

I love how Isabel Allende seamlessly blends historical fact into her narratives. This is an engaging story filled with fascinating details about a period of history with which I was previously unfamiliar. It tells the tale of a strong young woman seeking self-discovery and her place in the world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Another beautifully written story from Isabel Allende, this time she takes us to San Francisco and then Chile, following the story of the strong and independant Emilia del Valle. Brought up to believe she can do anything, she embarks on a career as a writer, using a male name to get published iniatially she becomes a journalist for the Daily Examiner and wins the right to publish stories under her own name and this leads to her being sent to cover the civil war in Chile and the opportunity to discover her Chilean father who abandoned her mother.

Highly recommended.

I had enjoyed this author‘s previous novel the letter and the long Petal of the sea. She has a strong south American voice and interesting and great storytelling skill
This book follows the story of emelia who is born to a Chilean aristocratic father with whom she has no contact as she grows she develops a fierce ambition and desire to write even if at that time the novel is set this was a very unusual pathway for a young woman to take. We follow her as she starts to write her own novella’s using a man’s pen name in order to get published and then as she decides to take on journalism and in the particular war journalism when she is posted to Chile to follow a civil war that is taking place there.

There is a sweet love story wrapped inside the historical novel. I don’t usually read Ants but this was nice to find inside the historical elements.

I was quite quickly immersed in the novel and enjoyed reading it very much. The author has a clear flowing writing style making the novel an enjoyable read. The setting in South America and Chile in particular is interesting and as an additional element to the story.

I read an early copy of the novel on NetGalley UK and return for an unbiased review. The book is published in the UK on the 6th of May 2025 by Bloomsbury publishing PLC
This review will appear on NetGalley UK, StoryGraph, Goodreads and my book blog bionicSarahS books.wordpress.com. After publication it will also appear on Amazon and Waterstones.

Follow Emilia on a voyage of adventure and discovery as she is sent to Chile to report on events there during the Civil War. She also hopes to trace the roots of her natural father. This is a double edged mission to prove her journalist skills and discover the truth about her father.
Well researched and expertly written and translated

Isabel Allende's latest book is set in 19th century San Francisco and Chile and follows the titular Emilia del Valle. Born out of wedlock to a novice nun, Emilia is a strong independent woman who writes novels under a male pseudonym and eventually becomes a journalist covering the Chilean civil war.

As with the author's other works, the human element is presented through masterful storytelling and meticulous research. I went from knowing nothing about the war in Chile to having a good grasp of the situation from diverse perspectives, all while following the story of the people caught up in the conflict. The facts never come across as dry as they are infused with the emotion of the main characters.

A recommended read for fans of Isabel Allende and well-researched historical fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date 6th May 2025: thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the early copy!

It's been a while since I read a book by Isabelle Allende (pre-GoodReads come to think of it!), and it took a little while for me to settle into the style of this, but I ended up loving it.

My Name is Emilia del Valle is the story of Emilia, a girl brought up in San Fransisco in the 1890s after her wealthy Chilean father abandons her mother Molly Walsh, a nun, before Emilia is even born. Molly is filled with bitterness and wants revenge, giving her daughter her true father's name in the hope of some inheritance to come... However, she remarries and Emilia is brought up by the man she regards as her true father, Don Pancho Claro: an enlightened, optimistic scholar who encourages Emilia to look beyond the confines of her gender and station, to pursue her true goals in life.

She begins by writing 'dime novels' at seventeen - formulaic, sensationalist, cheap novels published in both Spanish and English - under the pseudonym of Brandon J Price, as a woman writing such melodrama was deemed inappropriate. From this starting point, she becomes a journalist, first travelling to New York, and eventually to Chile, where the novel really begins.

I found it quite a slow read up to this point, but in Chile, Allende writes with simultaneous ease and intense emotion of her home country. Emilia is sent to cover the civil war in Chile, where at least 10,000 men were killed; her longing for adventure is over sated, as she places herself at the centre of the action. The conditions are harsh, merciless - it makes for quite difficult reading. Details are not spared. Emilia, once squeamish about the sight of blood, is changed utterly. She travels with the other foreign correspondent for the newspaper, Eric Whelan, and their relationship evolves as the brutality of war surrounds them. By the age of twenty-five, Emilia experiences so much pain, sees the depravity of human nature, and experiences it it first hand. She is no longer the girl brought up looking after her younger brothers and teaching at her father's school, and her adventurous spirit won't let her stop travelling...

The characters feel very real, although some points are quite detached. The Chilean Civil War is not something I knew about before, but I found myself looking up the places, the dates, the people... it's all real. It really reads like a memoir; some people have criticised it for this, but I found apt for the story Allende wanted to tell.

A fascinating history lesson, an unconventional romance, a coming-of-age story, an examination of ways women can push at the boundaries of expectations - this novel is beautiful. The ending wasn't quite satisfying for me (I might have preferred a more open ending), and the beginning was slow, but it's definitely worth reading. 4.5 stars.

This is a captivating tale of self-discovery, redemption and ultimately, love. Isabel Allende has done it again - this upcoming book shows how the literary legend has managed to write another powerful tale about an ambitious young woman navigating challenges and reinventing herself along the way.

Emilia del Valle is the main character of the book, and I initially thought it was kind of strange for how obvious it is although it subsequently came to me why that has to be the case. The tale is set in 19th century San Francisco and it begins with how her Chilean aristocrat father abandons her mum before she is even born. Emilia finds the father figure in her kind stepfather, whom her mother subsequently marries, and he encourages her to pursue her dream to become a writer when she grows up.

Emilia initially starts writing under a male pseudonym, and when an opportunity arises for a reporter to go to Chile, her biological father's homeland, she signs up for it and her contract allows her to write under her real name (hence, the title). Along with her partner in the mission, Eric Whelan, she finds herself in dangerous situations due to the social and political upheaval in Chile at the time. The rest of the book then narrates her journey, as well as how she explores her root, and grows as a person and finds herself.

I enjoyed reading this book, for Allende's storytelling gift and how it’s written in the first person narrative style. Definitely a quick read for me

This is an absolutely brilliant read which follows the life of Emilia a young illegitimate woman living in the times were women were expected to be submissive.but this did not fit in with her ambitions as a budding writer..
Her career in writing started young writing penny dreadfuls under the guise of a man.
Not satisfied she aimed higher to be a female reporter fora newspaper and whilst fulfilling this role was sent to Chile to cover the civil war that is raging there.
Brilliantly written this is a historical lesson into the Chilean war with no bars held
It is a story of love and war but more importantly Emilia,s journey to find who she is and become a woman

An immersive story that I couldn't wait to get back into each night. I enjoyed following Emilia De Valle's story and the writing was incredible as always. My only disappointment was the ending when she waited for Eric to come - it didn't feel true to her nature but it was a minor thing and didn't detract from the story.

Thanks net galley for allowing me to read this absolutely wonderful,story, and thank Isabel Allende for another great book. I have read all her books and this one did not dissapoint me it was just as great.
Emilia was born out of wedlock by her mother Molly Walsh, who fell in love with a Chilean wealthy man who left her.
Molly had every intention of being a nun, but obviously that was out of the question now so she bought up Emilia with a teacher whom she had met.
He loved Emilia as if she was his own, and taught her to be an intelligent curious and adventurous woman who could achieve everything she wanted to be.
Emilia wanted to be a journalist which was unheard of , woman just did not do that job, but Emilia never gave up and was offered a job to cover the civil war in Chile with another reporter.
Their Emilia came into her own, and tried to succeed and do all the things she was destined to,do.
Was sorry when I finished this book, and hope there will be another one soon.