u003cbu003eTHE u003ciu003eSUNDAY TIMESu003c/iu003e BESTSELLING NOVEL FROM LITERARY LEGEND ISABEL ALLENDEu003c/bu003eu003cbu003e'u003c/bu003eu003cbu003eEpic, beautifully crafted . . . Gripping from start to finish'u003c/bu003e u003ciu003eDAILY TELEGRAPHu003c/iu003eu003cbu003e'u003c/bu003eu003cbu003eA moving exploration of both the pain and the freedom of being an outsider'u003c/bu003e u003ciu003eNEW STATESMANu003c/iu003eu003cbu003e'A new novel by Isabel Allende is always a treat'u003c/bu003e u003ciu003eDAILY MAILu003c/iu003eu003cbu003eOne extraordinary woman.u003c/bu003eu003cbu003eOne hundred years of history.u003c/bu003eu003cbu003eOne unforgettable story.u003c/bu003eVioleta comes into the world on a stormy day in 1920, the first daughter in a family of five boisterous sons. From the start, her life is marked by extraordinary events. The ripples of the Great War are still being felt, even as the Spanish flu arrives on the shores of her South American homeland almost at the moment of her birth. Told in the form of a letter to someone Violeta loves above all others, this is the story of a hundred-year life - of devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, poverty and wealth, terrible loss and immense joy. Bearing witness to a century of history, it is a life shaped by the fight for women's rights, the rise and fall of tyrants and, ultimately, not one but two pandemics. u003cbu003eThrough the eyes of a woman whose unforgettable passion, determination and sense of humour will carry her through a lifetime of upheaval, Isabel Allende once more brings us an epic that is both fiercely inspiring and deeply emotional.u003c/bu003e