Tag: historical fiction

Book Review – My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende, trans. by Frances Riddle

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About the Book

Emilia del Valle was always destined for great things. Abandoned at birth by her Chilean aristocrat father, Emilia comes of age in nineteenth-century San Francisco as an independent and fiercely ambitious young woman, decades ahead of her time. She will do whatever it takes to pursue her life’s passion for writing, even if it means publishing under a man’s name.

When Emilia lands a position as a journalist for the Daily Examiner, her unwavering sense of adventure – and new-found determination to survive in her own name – leads her to seize the chance to cover a brewing civil war in Chile alongside another talented reporter.

But the assignment offers Emilia more than just an opportunity to prove herself as a writer. Before long she embarks on a treacherous, life-changing journey in a homeland she never knew, to uncover the truth about her father – and herself.

Format: Hardcover (304 pages) Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication date: 6th May 2025 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

My only previous experience of the work of Isabel Allende is A Long Petal of the Sea which I read back in 2022. I had been put off her books up to that point because she was known for her works of magic realism which is a genre I’ve been unable to get along with. However I really enjoyed A Long Petal of the Sea and when I saw this latest book was also a work of historical fiction I jumped at the chance to read it.

Essentially the author has created the fictional character of Emilia del Valle to enable her to explore a turbulent period of Chile’s history, namely the civil war that took place in that country in 1891 between the so-called ‘rebels’ who had the support of the Chilean Navy and supporters of the President José Manuel Balmaceda who controlled the Chilean Army.

I confess I found the early parts of the book a little slow because it’s quite a while before Emilia even arrives in Chile. However, by that time we’ve learned just what a determined young woman Emilia is, intent on pursuing a journalistic career despite the obstacles placed in her path and the sexism she experiences. ‘I recognize that it must be much easier to be a man, but I am not going to let that hold me back.’

Emilia even has to fight to have her articles published under her own name rather than a male pseudonym and the editor of the San Francisco newspaper she works for, The Daily Examiner, reluctantly agrees to send her to what is an active war zone only if accompanied by a male reporter, Eric Whelan. Even then she’s told to concentrate on producing ‘human interest’ stories rather than reporting from the front line. You won’t be surprised to learn Emilia ignores the latter instruction completely although we do get examples of her ability to describe the lives and motivations of people from every part of society in occasional transcripts of her newspaper articles.

Emilia’s journey from San Francisco to Chile is just one of the testing experiences she endures. When she arrives in Chile the reader is plunged into the complexity of the civil war with its rival factions. Whilst Whelan (whose first hand experiences we occasionally get) is embedded with the ‘rebel’ forces, Emilia uses her connections to get up close to the government side. The point where the two sides come together is where the book came alive for me. The brutality of war is really laid bare in the way the scenes of battle are described and, amazingly, Emilia finds herself right at the heart of it. ‘The deafening roar of bullets, cannon blasts, shouted orders, howls of pain, wails of dying men, the whinnying of terrified horses.’

Civil war not only divides countries, it divides people and families. Many combatants on both sides have no particular loyalty to the cause or desire to kill their fellow men and women. They often have no choice. And, as we discover, you definitely do not want to be on the losing side and experience the ruthless and bloody aftermath.

Emilia feels it is her mission to tell the stories of the ordinary men and women caught up in the conflict, in her words ‘to collect the dispersed fragments of those tales’. One of the most notable of these tales are those of the women known as ‘canteen girls’ whose task is to carry water and other supplies to men in the front line, even in the heat of battle.

Her experiences leave Emilia mentally – and physically – scarred, and wondering at mankind’s capacity for violence. ‘How is it possible that, from the dawn of their presence on earth, men have systematically set out to murder one another? What fatal madness do we carry in our soul?’ I suspect it’s a question many of us have thought about in recent times.

Emilia’s attempts to find her birth father form a secondary story line and one that makes up a less signficant element of the book than I’d envisaged from the blurb. However, it does provide the jumping-off point for the final part of the book which sees Emilia embark on an epic journey by land but first by sea. ‘Sea and more sea, short days and long nights, the sun winking out on the horizon, golden twilights, the moon gliding across the black sky, crimson sunrises, radiant noonday clarity, sepulchral clouds.’ It’s a journey that’s as much self-exploratory as geographical and gives the closing chapters a rather mystical air.

There were parts of My Name is Emilia del Valle that I found absolutely riveting and I enjoyed finding out more about the history of Chile and its culture. The author is known for creating strong female characters and Emilia is a brilliant example of this.

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of Bloomsbury via NetGalley.

In three words: Dramatic, immersive, authentic
Try something similar: The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse

About the Author

Isabel Allende, born in Peru and raised in Chile, is a novelist, feminist, and philanthropist. She is one of the most widely read authors in the world, having sold more than eighty million copies of her books across forty-two languages. She is the author of several bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including The Wind Knows My Name, Violeta, A Long Petal of the Sea, The House of the Spirits, Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, and Paula. In addition to her work as a writer, Isabel devotes much of her time to human rights causes. She has received fifteen honorary doctorates, been inducted into the California Hall of Fame, and received the PEN Center Lifetime Achievement Award and the Anisfield-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and in 2018, she received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. She lives in California with her husband and dogs. 

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‘Writing the Saint, Selling the Lies: the Poisonous Pen of Thomas of Monmouth’ – An insight into Hoodwink! by Susan Ekins

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My guest today on What Cathy Read Next is Susan Ekins, author of Hoodwink!: A ‘true’ medieval whodunnit which was published by The Real Press on 1st December 2024 and is available in paperback from Amazon. Readers have been enthusiastic, describing it as ‘a real page turner’ and ‘a cracking read’.

Intrigued? Then read on…

‘Writing the Saint, Selling the Lies: the Poisonous Pen of Thomas of Monmouth‘

Have you ever come across an unsolved mystery?  The author has. In 1144 the body of a 12 year old apprentice was found on Mousehold Heath outside Norwich. To this day, no-one knows who the murderer was, although it was not long before the local Jewish Community was being accused of some barbaric ritual murder, the so-called evidence appearing in a book called the Passion and Miracles of Saint William. Thanks to the vivid imagination of its author, Thomas of Monmouth, and other credulous people, the boy was declared a saint while the Jews lived in fear for their lives.

What would it have been like to live amid this turmoil of these lies? The author has recreated the mystery – fiction, she admits, although based on what few facts there are. Can you guess who did it?  Why not read the book and find out. 

Two tasters from Hoodwink!: A ‘true’ medieval whodunnit by Susan Ekins

At home, Wlward was grumbling.  Where was that boy? Always slipping off somewhere – never to be found. Bed empty – although made, he had to give him that. His daughter calmed him down. “Just fishing. You know what he is. And you wouldn’t object to a nice fat trout, after forty days of nothing but herring.”

“Chance would be a fine thing, Elviva. If that’s really what he’s doing. If he doesn’t get a move on, he’ll be late for work. His father had to pull quite a few strings to get him that apprenticeship, and Daniel’s not a bad master. And people tip well. He says the Jews are particularly generous. Well, time I was off. I don’t want to miss the service. By the way, what was that you were telling me about the cook?”

“Nothing much. I’m not even sure I believe it.”

“What?”

“Some man claiming to be the archdeacon’s cook, called here yesterday afternoon and spoke to Leviva. He said he could get William a job in the kitchens. Offered her thirty shillings if I were to let him go – which I couldn’t, of course. Why didn’t he approach you, I wonder? Or me?”

“Quite right. The boy’s indentured. And the man must have known, or why offer her money? Did William say whether he’d been approached?”

 “He said not. And he’s generally a truthful lad. But he did ask his aunt what the man looked like, and when she told him, he didn’t seem that worried, rather more puzzled. The man was well dressed apparently – some sort of high class servant, if not a noble – rode a fine black horse. And a large gold ring. Far too fine to be a cook.”

The plot thickens…

Coming from the garden to access the dark entry, he heard a tremendous commotion, and the noise of squealing, then raised voices and shouts. Several of the Brothers had already reached the bottom of the stairs, among them some worried-looking novices. Tapers flickered in the blackness. The Prior strode across the green, his cloak floating in the breeze.

“What is this commotion? Brothers, pray keep silence. Stop this noise at once.”

Suddenly past him ran a large black, snorting, pig, trying to evade those Brothers who were trying to catch it, some of them waving crosses in its face. They had no success, and it barged through a hedge and ran towards the gate, several novices in hot pursuit, others fallen to their knees, praying. One or two were sobbing.

 “The Devil, the Devil come among us,” shouted a voice. “He smells our sin. He comes by night to steal our souls. His stench is all around us.”

Surely not, thought Anselm. Surely not.

But it was indeed Brother Thomas, who stood in a dramatic pose, as if holding back the Red Sea.

“Brothers, you will all calm down. Now. Then file in an orderly manner into your places. There is to be no more of this nonsense. Brother Thomas, see me when the Office is over.”

But Brother Thomas seemed to be the old Thomas, the excessive Thomas, the fanatic, the fantasist. At one point, Anselm thought he was going to refuse. However, he lined up with the first person he saw, which happened to be Anselm, and they filed into the church. Anselm noticed that Thomas was muttering under his breath. He several times caught the words: “vade retro me Satana,” and his heart sank. He feigned a stumble, and sharply nudged Thomas in the ribs. There was a gasp, and the muttering stopped.

However, he had recognised the pig, from the white spot on its rump. It was Bors, the favourite boar of Boduc, a neighbouring pig farmer. But the credulous would still have to be convinced, and from the hysteria this night, that might not be so easy. He found himself sighing again. During the service he saw Brother Dunstan in his stall opposite. His face told a story. No words necessary.

About the Author

Author Susan Ekins

Susan Ekins was born just outside London, and after a cheerful post-war London childhood, and five years at school at the Grey Coat Hospital, she began her studies to become a librarian. But music called, and she then trained as a classical mezzo-soprano, performing for music societies, orchestras and light opera companies in England and Europe, under the name of Susan Lofthouse, for over 45 years.

She is deeply involved in local issues in Battersea including the campaign to save Battersea Park from electric motor racing. For her, community is deeply important. Other interests include history, theatre and Italian. She is married to an environmental economist and their son is a classical pianist.

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