"My Name is Emilia Del Valle," tells the story of an intelligent, adventurous, loving, and tenacious young woman living in the late 19th century. In the pages of this book Isabel Allende is able to vividly, walk us side-by-side through Emilia's early life experiences which span from being the 'product' of a scandalous tryst, to her life-altering and harrowing experience as a journalist during the Cilean civil war.

I needed my tissues for this one.

The only less than positive critique I have for this book would be that at points I felt the war chapters were a bit longer than necessary. Other than that I quite enjoyed this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing (Ballantine Books) for the advanced digital copy of this book. My reviews will be posted to my socials on May 13, 2025, (NetGalley, Fable, and Goodreads).

I have read and loved almost every Isabel Allende book out there. This one was not a hit for me. I felt like I was reading the same story I had read many times and the action of the story was slow to proceed. I wanted to love it as I loved Daughter of Fortune, House of the Spirits, and even Zorro! In this story Emilia does not know who her father is and she finds herself on assignment in Chile where she will have a chance to meet him and find out more about what happened all those years ago between her mother and him. This seemed too convenient for me. At the time women were not journalists of any kind of serious nature, but she lands this job, falls in love with another journalist in Chile and she goes on to write about the war from close up and gets to meet her father and satisfy her curiosity about that part of her mother's life.
Allende's writing is great even if this story did not do much for me. I still gave the book 3.5 stars. I think I have just read too many by her on this topic to appreciate this one as much as previous ones.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine and NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Emilia Del Valle is the fiercely stubborn and strong willed illegitimate daughter of the Irish orphan, Mollly Walsh, who was destined to be a nun until a Chilean man left her pregnant and unwed. Lucky for her, Don Pancho, a local schoolteacher takes her in, marries her and treats Emilia as if she was his own daughter.

With education comes curiosity and ambition and Emilia was bubbling with it. Supported by both her mother and stepfather, she started writing dime novels under a male pseudonym. Eventually she convinced the SF Examiner to hire her as a writer and then later as a reporter. At the Examiner, she meets Eric Whelan and the two embark on a dangerous adventure to Chile where the country is on the brink of civil war. In Chile, Emilia mingles with political leaders and eventually the Del Valle family where she meets her father. She and Eric get entangled in the political unrest and bloody battles as Emilia keeps pushing through the danger around her, determined to make a name for herself and claim what is rightly hers.

This is a gritty novel of the brutal realities of war, set in Chile in the 1860’s’s. Emilia is a fierce and ambitious character who doesn’t take no for an answer. The history is so well researched and as usual, I learned much about the Chilean civil war. While the middle dragged a bit, the details about the politics and history made up for it.

Thank you @ballantinebooks @netgalley for an early digital copy of this novel.

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My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende is another historical fiction book starring a young woman with Chilean origins. Ms. Allende is a prolific award-winning American-Chilean author.

Emilia Del Valle is the daughter of Molly Walsh, an Irish nun and a Chilean aristocrat who left her mother destitute. Her mother moved to San Francisco, where she met a man who fell in love with her and raised Emilia as if she were his own child.

A restless, passionate, and independent thinker, Emilia started publishing works under the assumed name of a man. Soon she got a job at a newspaper and an assignment covering the Chilean civil war.

This book is written in the first person, a historical biography of Emilia herself. Even though she’s only in her mid-twenties, Emilia has already lived a full, exciting, and dangerous life.

As with many of the books I read by Isabel Allende, My Name Is Emilia del Valle, is well written, and the characters jump off the page. Much credit to translator Frances Riddle, who managed to beautifully retell the story in English, keeping the Latin spirit of it.

I found it fascinating to view, once again, Chile’s history through the eyes of a young woman. Emilia is brave, but the horrors of the battlefield and the inhumanity of humans to one another show her another aspect that she wasn’t exposed to in her intellectual upbringing.

The book does have a slow part somewhere in the middle, but most of it is a page-turner. We leave Emilia still a young woman, and I hope Ms. Allende has a plan to tell us more, since I’m sure she’s destined to do great things in Chile or San Francisco.

My name is Emilia del valle is a historical fiction by Isabel Allende.

Late 1800’s feminist and journalist Emilia del Valle Claro travels from California to Chile to discover her roots; a father she has never met and a country embroiled in civil war. She decides to fund this trip by reporting on the war from the inside, sending articles back to her editor in San Francisco. But she gets a little too close to the war and finds herself in serious danger. Will she ever make it back to her family in California?

Emilia is a likable character, there are lots of Chilean politics discussed and feminist ideals that get slightly challenged throughout the novel. But, overall, I was underwhelmed. It’s very similar to her other novels, without adding differences or different discourse. It would be nice to see Allende branch out, because she is a very talented author. Three stars for this one.

Isabel Allende’s “My Name is Emilia Del Valle” tells the mesmerizing tale of Emilia Del Valle, a young woman navigating life as a journalist in the late 1800s. Told in the form of a memoir, Emilia chronicles her journey, starting out as an author of dime novels, writing under a male pseudonym. True to Allende’s style, we are given insight into Emilia’s mother’s past, weaving a multi-generational narrative that paints a vivid picture of the social and cultural influences that have shaped Emilia’s life. Eventually, she leverages her notoriety to seek employment as a journalist for the National Enquirer. This propels her on a harrowing adventure oversees to cover the civil war in Chile, where she hopes to fulfill her mother’s wish for her to finally meet her biological father.

As always, Allende’s lyrical prose has a hypnotic quality that pulls you in and refuses to let go. If you have read Allende’s Involuntary Trilogy, you will recognize more than a few familiar faces, although it is not necessary to read any of her previous works to enjoy this one. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romance, drama, suspense, and history.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sometimes I’m faced with a dilemma when reviewing and rating books: It’s not that the book is bad, it’s just that the book isn’t my thing. It’s just missing something, usually an unidentifiable ingredient, that would bring it right into my orbit of interest, but the book as it exists is just right outside of what I might consider a good book. Instead it’s relegated to being just another average book.

That’s what happened with My Name is Emilia del Valle. At face value it has just about everything I love in a historical fiction novel; indeed, while reading it I just kept ruminating on what this book was missing, because Isabel Allende isn’t lacking in writing talent or research skills and her characters are strong. Could it be something was lost in translation? I don’t think I’ll ever know. I just needed something more from this book and didn’t get it.



I was provided a copy of this title by the author and the publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews rated three stars and below will not appear on my social media. Thank you.

Isabel Allende brings her considerable talents to the page again with her most recent historical fiction book. Her ability to capture time and place and write fascinating, fully-developed characters - especially strong female protagonists, is exemplary.

Emilia del Valle is the product of a seductive encounter between her mother Molly Walsh, a devout Irish woman pursuing the religious life, and a wealthy Chilean aristocrat named Gonzalo Andres del Valle, who promptly moves on. While her mother harbors deep resentment towards Mr. del Valle, Emilia is raised instead by Francisco Claro, a wonderful, supportive stepfather who encourages her passion for writing.

Moving from writing dime store novels under a male pseudonym to working for a newspaper, Emilia uses her connection to Chile and her friend, fellow San Francisco journalist Eric Whelan, to convince her publishing editor to allow her to write about the growing Chilean War under her own name. He sends Eric to cover the war and assigns Emilia to cover human interest stories, though she desperately wants to be where the action is.

What follows is headstrong Emilia throwing herself into the midst of war and peril, covering the side of the current Chilean president, while Eric covers the side of the rebels. It’s fraught with danger, tension and graphic war detail, as she embeds herself closer and closer to the action, and I felt like I was right there with her. In the midst of this, she also finds her birth father and his extended family and discovers unexpected love.

Where the book worked best for me is the chapters before and after the war, where I could see Emilia’s relationships with certain characters more clearly and spend time getting to know them. I didn’t know how war-heavy and politically detailed the book was going to be for the bulk of the story, though, and I struggled more with those parts. It spares no detail on the brutalities of war, so if you’re sensitive to that, it won’t be the book for you.

It’s a vividly detailed, emotional story with wonderful writing and fascinating characters that I can recommend to fans of historical fiction, war stories and human drama. While I enjoyed it, I didn’t connect with Emilia quite as much as I’d hoped and found the war focus and lengthy chapters a little daunting, but Allende still managed to keep me turning those pages!

★★★ ½

Isabel Allende has said she first decides on her main subject and then selects the narrator she thinks will most effectively tell the story, often choosing strong women confronting obstacles in a man’s world. When deciding to tell the story of the 1891 Chilean civil war, Allende creates a young San Francisco journalist, Emilia del Valle Claro working for William Randolph Hearst’s first newspaper, the Examiner. Daughter of an Irish immigrant mother, step-daughter of a Mexican teacher, Emilia has been brought up being told that her real father, a wealthy Chilean scoundrel named Gonzalo Andres del Valle, owes her an inheritance.

With civil war on the Chilean horizon, the Examiner assigns a pair of journalists to cover the war. Chief reporter Eric Whelan will cover the political/military side and Emilia the human side---the effects on ordinary people’s lives--while, herself, staying away from the conflict zone. Ambitious and determined and having promised her mother she will find her real father, Emilia will soon tackle more than she has been assigned as she gets to know ordinary and important people on the government side while Eric imbeds himself on the rebel side.

Allende divides the novel into four parts. Part One fills in the background story of Emilia’s mother and her seduction by the handsome Chilean rake during his time in San Francisco, Emilia’s earliest years as a struggling female reporter at the Examiner, and Eric and Emilia’s voyage from California to Chile, with separation along the way. Part Two focuses on Emilia’s arrival in Chile and her meeting with an American ambassador, a Chilean general, President Balmaceda, aristocratic Paulina del Valle (matriarch of the del Valle clan and Gonzalo’s aunt and god-mother), and Gonzalo Andres del Valle, himself. Part Three centers on the war, covering such details as Emilia’s role in the Battle of Conçon and Eric’s in the Battle of Placilla. Part Four finds Emilia in dire straits and Eric desperate to find her. Having survived almost certain death and ignoring the order to return to her San Francisco journalist position, Emilia sets out alone on a dangerous trip, determined to see a remote, undeveloped portion of South Chile, as Erik boards a ship returning him to San Francisco. All that remains of the novel is its Epilogue, simply titled Eric Whelan.

Written as Emillia del Valle Claro’s memoir, the book is punctuated here and there by Emilia’s articles for the Examiner. Filled with the war’s atrocities, glimpses into the lives of impacted Chileans and animals, unexpected and touching family drama, a love story, and Emilia’s personal search for identity, Isabel Allende, now in her eighties, proves she can still write a powerful page-turner.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine/Random House for an advance reader egalley. I look forward to Isabel Allende’s next book.

Isabel Allende transported me back in time to the late 1800’s most convincingly to the country of Chile during the time of their civil war. Emilia del Valle’s mother was studying to be a nun when a handsome man from Chile turned her head. Emilia has grown up hearing about her aristocratic father. She is way ahead of her time, working as reporter for a newspaper. When news came in about civil unrest in Chile she convinced her boss to let her go to cover the news as she spoke the language and had a family connection.
What happens when she arrives and during her time there is written so well by Isabel Allende that I felt I was right there in the surgeon’s tent, in the jail cell etc. such a strong woman to have lived her life on her own terms. I found this book fascinating as I caught a glimpse of civil war in another country, the disdain men in power have for strong women, and the power that comes with determination. While I found Emilia to be such an amazingly strong woman, I was also enamored with the Chilean woman that took Emilia under her wing and of course, Covadonga.
The ending was so perfect and suited Emilia’s adventurous nature so well. Still amazed at her ability to travel so far with so little but her determination. The setting seemed ethereal, making me want to visit that remote region.
Many many thanks to Isabel Allende, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this incredibly moving story that deeply moved me. This is truly a must read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for providing this digital advanced book! I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have been a long time reader of Isabel Allende, first becoming enchanted with her writing when I devoured House of the Spirits. 'My Name is Emilia del Valle' is a book that reminded me of Isabel's early work and that is the biggest compliment I could give. We follow Emilia who, through her own writing, tells the story of her life. From the opening scene to the closing line of the book, I was enthralled. Part of Isabel Allende's gift at writing is that she immerses the reader in a story so detailed with flavor and splashes of color. I could see every frown, every character's specific accent, the green of the leaves, the powerful blue rush of the ocean.

Through lush prose, Allende uses dialogue infrequently enough not to be sparse but certainly to ring with importance. I found her characters to be well-rounded and believable. Their flaws and their courage were admirable, their terrors and panic just as impactful. I cared for Emilia and her beloved Papo and scorned mother who, through fierce love and caution, helped guide Emilia through her early years. Influenced by her mother and her kind stepfather, Emilia grew into a stalwart, strong young woman; one aware of her worth and whose self-respect was inspiring. Her desire for the world, for traveling and to breathe the air of different lands was often alien to a homebody like myself but honestly so beautiful to witness.

What Emilia experiences in the first quarter of her life is harrowing and tender; the love she chooses for herself and delivers herself so willingly and innocently to, my god! I loved every bit of the romances she absorbed.

I cried at the end. I let Allende's words flow through my brain, let her conjure those mystical images of wild jungles and foggy lakes, of fearful partings and desperate yearning. How could they bear it? All that trepidation? The civil war in Chile as a backdrop was both educational and awful to read about. Awful business, that war. All wars. In masterful fashion, Allende explores the horrors of war violence and the lengths we go to as humans to defend and lift each other up, to destroy one another, to forget in mass graves the sins of so senseless an act.

Truly a beautiful story of courage, bewildering dread, patriotism and renewed sense of righteousness. And amidst it all, a young woman making her way through the continent, filled to the brim with an eagerness to report the truth, find in herself the core of integrity and commitment to justice instilled in her by her loving parents, and fall in love not only with the sweetest man but also with herself, her dreams, her passion.

5/5 stars

My Name Is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende is another visit into Chilean historical fiction. While I loved The Long Petal of the Sea, this one fell a little flat for me. The historical setting as always was very well done, but I found it hard to connect with Emilia as a character.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Audiobook Rating: 2 Stars
Pub Date: May 06 2025

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I'm not as familiar with Isabel Allende's novels as I'd like to be. Her latest novel, My Name Is Emilia del Valle, is beautifully written, with descriptions that really bring the time and place to life. Her prose is so rich and vivid—it was easy to picture every scene. For this particular book, I had a hard time connecting with the story, and I never fully clicked with the characters. Still, the writing itself was enough to keep me reading, and I'll definitely check out other of Allende's books in the future!

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.