Ines of My Soul
Isabel Allende
Published: 2008
Pages: 464
It is the sixteenth century, the beginning of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Ines Suarez, born into a poor family in Spain, works as a seamstress. When her husband disappears to the New World, Ines is happy to flee her stifling homeland, and search for him. Her journey takes her to Peru, and she learns that her husband has died in battle. However, she begins a love affair with Pedro de Valdivia, field marshal to conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Valdivia's dream is to conquer Chile. Together, Ines and her lover will build the new city of Santiago, and will wage a bloody, ruthless war against the indigenous Chileans. The horrific struggle will change them forever, pulling each of them toward their separate destinies.