Daughter of Fortune

Isabel Allende · b. 1942 · Chile

Originally Hija de la fortuna (Spanish) · translated by Margaret Sayers Peden

Why it matters

An orphaned Chilean girl stows away to Gold Rush California chasing a vanished lover and remakes herself entirely along the way, aided by a Chinese doctor who becomes her truest companion. Allende's biggest canvas: self-invention against frontier chaos.

At a glance

A sweeping but linear adventure narrative told in Allende's characteristically warm, accessible prose.