Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende is the author of a number of bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including The House of the Spirits, Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, The Stories of Eva Luna, Paula, The Japanese Lover, In the Midst of Winter, A Long Petal of the Sea, The Soul of a Woman, Violeta, and The Wind Knows My Name. Her books have been translated into more than thirty-five languages and have sold more than 77 million copies worldwide. She is the recipient of the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and she divides her time between California and Chile.