Isabel Allende, granddaughter of the former president of Chile, Salvador Allende, was born in 1942 in Lima, Peru. Her first novel, "The house of spirits", was first published in 1982 and immediately became an international bestseller. She owes her success and the uncountable awards and distinctions mostly to her novels, but to her plays, children books or memoires also. In 1984 she publishes "Of Love and Shadow", then "Eva Luna" (1987). Her novel, "Zorro", was translated in over 30 languages. She is often compared to Gabriel Garcia Marquez.