Ines of my soul. Isabel Allende. 2006.

From Isabel Allende, one of the world’s greatest storytellers, comes a magisterial work of Historical fiction that chronicles the astonishing life of Ines Suarez, a daring Spanish conquistadors who toiled to build the nation of Chile - and whose vital role has too often been forgotten by history.

It is the sixteenth century, the beginning of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, and Ines, born into a poor family in Spain, makes ends meet as a seamstress. When her restless husband disappears to the New World, Ines uses the opportunity to search for him as an excuse to flee her stifling homeland and seek adventure. After her treacherous journey takes her to Peru, she learns that her husband has died in battle. Soon however, she begins a fiery love affair with a man who will change the course of her life: Pedro de Valdivia, war hero and field marshal to the famed conquistador Francisco Pizarro.

Valdivia’s dream is to succeed where other Spaniards have failed, by becoming the conqueror of 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 fierce local Indians, and the even fiercer Mapuche from the south. The horrific struggle will change them forever, pulling each of them toward their separate destinies.