My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabelle Allende is a story taking place around 1900 and features a woman, Emilia, who wants to be a reporte and a novelist, but more especially wants to find herself. She is the daughter of a woman who was raised in a convent orphanage and was raised hard. She was then taken advantage of by a man who left and never looked back. She was left with a child: Emelia. She married a man who had been her friend and with whom she worked who turned out to be the best father a girl could have. Her mother kept trying to get her birth father to recognize her, to to avail. Emelia loved to write. She started with journals and loved on to penny novels, which both her parents contributed ideas for. She became very successful and was a huge support to her family. She wanted more so she sent a piece the The Examiner, a medium-sized newspaper. If she stuck to human interest stories she was in. So she did, in the beginning. After several successes she was sent to Chile to help cover the revolution there. She went with the man who was to become her husband, although that was unknown at this point. Her adventures there, both good and bad, were chronicled in this enticing story.

Emelia, like all ground-breakers, was viewed as different. She didn’t care. She forged forward. She did meet her birth father, on his death bed, after many trials and when all was said and done, she wanted to go see the land he had left her. It turned out it was miles from civilization, but she never altered her course, despite the fact it nearly killed her. She was a fabulous character. The descriptions of the native peoples were also fascinating. Without their help, she would not have survived. The resilience both she and her fiance showed is remarkable, and not easy for the time. Beautifully written, it is an entrancing story and one well worth the read. A quest, if you will. The story was translated by Frances Riddle.

I was invited to read My Name is Emelia del Valle by Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #RandonHousePublishingGroupBallantine #FrancesRiddle #IsabelleAllende #MyNameIsEmeliaDelVall

I should have known after reading and so enjoying House of the Spirits decades ago that any other book by this author would feel like a letdown. Her latest novel, My Name Is Emilia del Valle, continues the saga of the del Valle family that she has written about in several of her previous novels. This tale didn’t add much to the family’s history. It did seem to be pushing feminism, in the 1890s, down our throats constantly, which was annoying. The Chilean history was much more interesting to me than Emilia’s family drama and wartime romance. And, of course, Allende’s prose is beautiful.

My Name Is Emilia del Valle is best for longtime readers of Allende’s other del Valle books rather than those new to the tales, like me. The flow of the writing impressed me much more than the plot. 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with an advanced review copy.

Thank you Ballantine books! Allende is talented here as always with her writing and way that she makes her stories vibrant, captivating, and filled with rich detail. I always tell people I am not a fan of historical fiction, I just prefer contemporary stories, but I make exceptions for some writers who offer stories that still feel connected to today, that are as much about a character and their story as they are about time and setting; the character driven stories are what capture me and here also a story that reveals complexities about family, identity, and self discovery.

I’ll admit I wasn’t sure I was going to like this novel when I first started reading it, but something about Emilia’s voice drew me in like a moth to a flame. I love the authentic feel to this novel, which is something that felt like home to me. There is much that tethered me to Emilia and her story. The inclusions of various articles written by Emilia made this narrative feel even more unique, not to mention the fact that this novel is written more like a memoir.

I read through this novel a lot quicker than I was expecting. The flow was exquisite, and I drank it all in. There were a few scenes I didn’t care for and felt were unnecessary to include, but these moments paled in comparison to the overall narrative. I felt the horrors of war as seen through innocent eyes. I feel like I witnessed them myself.

This is a literary triumph with such realism that I am still not convinced that this isn’t based on a true story. The ending, while coming full circle, was bittersweet for me. This story felt so raw and real that I was expecting an author’s note talking about the truth on these pages, yet there was none. It almost felt like there was a piece of the story missing. Such a gripping story that felt so real.

My Name is Emilia del Valle is a beautiful historical fiction that will keep you engaging. The tone, the setting, the characters all individual and fascinating. Isabel Allende always delivers inspiring work.

what a lovely story of a strong woman who believes in herself and loves her mother and her stepfather. She wants to be a newspaper journalist and wouldn't settle..

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book.

Isabel Allende has written another beautiful. It's kind of hard for her not to. She is one of the world's greatest living writer and we are lucky that we get a book from her quite often. Her latest My Name is Emilia del Valle is a tale about a woman who is living in a time where men run the world and she is doing all she can to find her place in it. From her early years of writing fiction under a mans name to becoming a journalist who uncovers thins about her father that takes palce in her covering of the Civil War in Chile. Why Allende's writing are so important in times lie today is if we forget the past then we will repeat. The horrible things that happened during the war in Chile must never be forgotten. Sadly, if you ask most people they will have no idea what you are talking about. When you pick up a book Allende she gives you a story that is eady to read and gives you all the things that keep a story moving along. More importantly she gives you slices of history that oftentimes coexist with what's happening in today's world. This is one of her strongest novels in years and feel for those who know nothing about the history of Chile that they should pick it up and learn something. It's what we all need right now. Undertanding other worlds and how we must undertand them to be better humans. Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the read.

Isabel Allende is such a gifted storyteller, and in this novel, she introduces us to a lovely character— Emilia del Valle. The story follows her journey from San Francisco to Chile in the 19th-century, during a time when women had limited choices and rarely pursued ambitions. But Emilia is different—she’s curious, bold, and always hungry to learn. Her stepfather, “Papo,” a teacher, really nurtures that side of her. Emilia’s mother, Molly, had a tough start in life—left at a convent as a child and later seduced by a wealthy Chilean man, Gonzalo del Valle, who left her pregnant. Molly hoped her daughter would one day claim a piece of his family’s fortune, since life in San Francisco’s Mission District wasn’t always easy.

I’ve always gravitated toward characters who challenge the norms, and Emilia fits that mold perfectly. She’s independent, book-loving, and smart. She becomes a journalist for the Examiner, writing sharp editorial pieces, and even pens dime novels under a male pseudonym. With the help of her mentor and friend Eric Whelan, she begins to carve out a place for herself in a world that wasn’t exactly made for women like her.

Things get even more intense when Emilia and Eric uncover a secret shipment of weapons bound for Chile. That discovery sends them straight into the heart of the Chilean civil war of 1891. The war scenes are graphic and gripping—Allende doesn’t hold back when it comes to portraying the brutality and the complex social and political structures behind it all. While those parts were compelling, I did find myself wishing for more focus on Emilia’s emotional journey and the love story that simmers beneath the surface.

One of the most moving moments comes when Emilia meets her biological father—not because she wants anything from him, but to fulfill a promise to her mother. That moment adds real emotional depth to the story.

At its core, this is a coming-of-age story about a woman searching for her place in the world. Emilia’s path is anything but traditional, and that’s what makes it so fascinating. Yes, she can be stubborn, and yes, it gets her into trouble—but those moments also add a sense of suspense to the story.

We begin in San Francisco in 1873 when seven year old Emilia is pulled across the city to the fancy part of town to have her portrait taken. Her mother Molly wants to introduce Emilia to her father, a wealthy Chilean who has ghosted her, via the photograph. The beginning is promising, San Francisco post Gold Rush, many immigrants living together in the Mission District, lots of interesting characters.

I wish we had spent more time in San Francisco. By 1891, Chile is on the brink of war, and Emilia, now a newspaper columnist, travels to that country to cover the conflict. With a male reporter, of course, who will cover the war stuff while Emilia will cover the human interest side.

The novel felt familiar. Strong, independent, stubborn women. Love interests (not quite bodice-ripper territory, more melodramatic). War and conflict, Chilean history. Commentary on colonialism and foreign interests in Chile. Told from the perspective of a female protagonist documenting her story. Allende has worked with these same themes in prior novels, and My Name Is Emilia del Valle didn't enchant me to the point of ignoring the feeling that I'd read this story before.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for the Advance Reader Copy. (pub date 5/6/2025)

I've heard wonderful things about Isabel Allende but had never read any of her books. The writing was beautiful - I enjoyed reading the narrator's description of her parents and her upbringing. Overall I wasn't entirely captivated and felt like I had to keep pushing myself to pick it up. I may revisit it at some point but for now I'm putting it on pause with the realization that historical fiction may not be for me. Thank you for the ARC!

As I read this book, I wondered how it related to Violeta, which I feel I must reread. Emilia is brought into this world by her mother, who had been a novice nun in San Francisco who was seduced by a Chilean playboy.
The backstory of her mother was a beautiful part of the book. Her mother marries, and Emilia is raised by him to be an educated, independent woman who becomes a writer of dime novels and eventually a journalist.
In 1891, Emilia and another correspondent, Eric Whalen, proceed to Chile, where a civil war is raging. I found this part of the book to be quite harrowing and found it difficult to read as Emilia became immersed in the war and the aftermath.
The next section, where Emilia proceeds to discover the land she inherited from her father seems almost a different book, a journey of discovery, of herself and her heritage as she explores the natural beauty of the land.
As this is a book by Allende, the beauty of the writing never disappoints. I learned a great deal about Chile, a land that Allende keeps deep in her heart.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. The opinions are mine alone.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
This is the first book I have read from this author and I will definitely want to check out her previous books. This was a part of history I did not know much about and I enjoyed learning more through our narrator’s eyes. This checked a lot of boxes. Adventure. History. Romance.

I did not like this, I'm very sorry to say. I think I should've paid more attention to what others were saying and read the blurb and genre tags more closely instead of going in with expectations based solely on the fact that it's written by Isabel Allende. It was far dryer than I was expecting and I can't say I was really into the plot (sometimes wartime themes are just hit or miss with me), and I guess I was missing the touch of magical realism I've come to associate with Allande. That's my fault and not the books'.

Anyway, I struggle with rating this low and would rather just not rate at all since this is a case of a book being bad for me and not a book being <bad>.

Isabel Allende's "My Name is Emilia del Valle" transported me to 1891 Chile through the eyes of a woman determined to break barriers.

The story follows Emilia from her beginnings as a dime novelist hiding behind a male pseudonym to her daring assignment covering a violent civil war. What starts as professional ambition transforms into a deeply personal journey when she begins searching for her birth father amid the conflict.

✍️ Fearless female journalist
🔥 Secret male pen name
⚔️ Civil war frontlines
❤️‍🔥 Unexpected wartime romance
🌄 Chile's breathtaking landscapes
👪 Abandoned daughter's quest
🦋 Battle-forged transformation
✨ Mesmerizing historical memoir

Though the middle section occasionally loses momentum, the Battle of Concon scenes are genuinely moving—I had to pause to collect myself. Allende's gift for making history breathe kept me reading well into the night.

Recommend if you love historical fiction with fierce heroines, complicated family dynamics, and settings so vivid you can almost taste the salt air of Valparaíso.

I commented in an earlier review of The Wind Knows My Name that Allende's writing seemed to have changed in her two most recent books (Violetta and The Wind Knows My Name) to a more journalistic style that's a bit less engaging than her earlier novels, but no less worth reading. That stylistic change has been maintained in My Name is Emilia del Valle, the story of an Irish-Chilean woman who goes to Chile as a journalist to cover the 1891-92 Civil War, and also in hopes of meeting her father, who had never acknowledged her, and delivering a message to him from her mother. The narrative includes copies of Emilia's newspaper columns, as well as vivid descriptions of the events of the war, and of the social mores of that time.

Having almost no knowledge of South American history, I found it very interesting to read a little about Chile's wars with Peru and Bolivia, which preceded the Civil War, and to get a sense of the politics involved in the latter. Emilia del Valle is portrayed as a very strong and independent woman, and a teacher-turned-writer who is determined to prove her competence and value in the male-dominated world of journalism.

Emilia del Valle is born in San Francisco in 1866 to an Irish nun who was seduced and discarded by Gonzalo Andrés del Valle, of the wealthy del Valle family first introduced in Allende’s The House of the Spirits. Pauline del Valle, from Portrait in Sepia, is Emilia’s great- aunt and makes an appearance, but this is a stand-alone novel. We follow Emilia through much of her life in her “desire to see the world and experience everything intensely.”

Emilia was a quiet, introverted bookworm as a child, but grew into a fiercely independent young woman thanks to her loving stepfather Don Pancho Claro, “Papo.” He supported her desire to write her successful dime novels under the name of Brandon J. Price. When she convinces the editor of San Francisco’s Daily Examiner to hire her as a reporter writing as Price, her popularity increases. She works with a fellow reporter, Eric Whelan, who becomes her mentor and friend; he grows to respect and admire her. Emilia fights for every step forward in her career. In 1891, she and Eric are assigned to report on the brewing civil war in Chile – each covering opposite sides. In conjunction with her assignment, her mother, still bitter over Gonzalo’s abandonment, entrusts her to deliver a rancorous letter to him. Emilia meets her father and some of her del Valle family for the first time.

Allende delivers another winning character with her trademark easy writing style. But in the second half, the narrative of the war gets bogged down in repetitive details of savagery and miniscule details which don’t move the story along, i.e., characters concerned about where to put their coats during the heat of battle before rushing to nurse the wounded. Read for the strong characterization of Emilia, who stays true to herself throughout her many adventures.
--The Historical Novels Review, May 2025

Isabel Allende has written another amazing story following the life of Emilia del Valle. This is a profound story of a woman who was born out of wedlock to a mother that had planned to be a nun. Emilia thankfully had a wonderful childhood, mostly because of the love of her stepfather. Emilia became a young woman that pushed thru the barriers of being a woman during a time in history where that was far from the norm. Emilia found a way to become a published author using a man’s name and then finally having a byline of her own. Isabel Allende takes us on a historical journey that you don’t want to end.

Isabel Allende is a must-read author for me and her latest offering, "My Name is Emilia del Valle" is absolutely fantastic. Allende is truly the queen of historical fiction; she is a true master at making the past come to life with endearing and relatable characters. As most US citizens, my knowledge of South American history is virtually nonexistent, so I welcome the opportunity to learn alongside being entertained. Allende excels at bringing her characters to life and Emilia is no exception. She is intelligent, brave, independent, and strong-willed; a reader can't help but fall in love and cheer for her. I love deeply detailed, descriptive writing, and this book hit all the marks for me there; I was fully transported from my living room to late-1800s San Francisco and then to Chile. It is obvious that the subject matter of this book is deeply personal to its author and it is meticulously researched. I very much enjoyed the time I spent with Emilia del Valle and highly anticipate Ms. Allende's next book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this wonderful book.

Isabel Allende's writings are filled with strong female characters, usualy with a multicultural background and always to be admired. I happily grabbed her newest book and immersed myself.

Description:
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.

My Thoughts:
Emelia's story is entrancing and I raced through it. Her determination to be a writer in a man's world presented her with many challenges to overcome. The war in Chile was scary and horrific; however, Emilia remained brave and did what she could to help. I really liked her character and Eric Whelan as well. They seemed to make a great team. When Emilia disappeared I thought everything was over. What had happened to her? This is great historical fiction, and I liked the romance as well.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy.

This is my first Isabel Allende novel and IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!


Emilia del Valle is probably one of my favorite historical female main characters in a very long time. She was strong, intelligent, progressive and knew her mind! I enjoyed the details about traveling by boat, life in Chile and its customs, and her struggles of being an unmarried woman trying to make it in a male dominated industry.

I only wish I would have read this book in Spanish. I am new to this author and did not realize she wrote in Spanish, and this was a translated novel. There were some words used here that I never see in English written novels, and I wonder would the author had used them had she written the novel herself in English.

If you enjoy historical fiction with a little bit of romance and a strong female lead, this is the novel for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC. All opinions are my own.