Ballantine & Philomel Author Isabel Allende and One of Her Banned Books Get the Barbie Treatment
The Barbie Inspiring Women Series proudly honors author and activist Isabel Allende.
This Hispanic and Latine Heritage Month, Mattel released their newest doll in the Barbie Inspiring Women Series: Ballantine and Philomel author, literary legend, and feminist icon Isabel Allende. Mattel’s tribute to the trailblazing, Chilean American storyteller includes miniatures of her pup Perla (who inspired her first children’s book PERLA THE MIGHTY DOG) and her first novel LA CASA DE LOS ESPIRITUS (THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS, which was a top 100 most frequently challenged book from 2010-2019, according to the American Library Association). See the Barbie announcement here and the Mattel shop link here for more information.
Isabel Allende with her Barbie in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Courtesy of Mattel.
This announcement comes ahead of her highly anticipated novel, MY NAME IS EMILIA DEL VALLE, releasing May 6, 2025. Allende’s forthcoming novel follows the story of a woman much like Allende herself and what her Barbie represents: an impassioned female writer breaking barriers, challenging gender norms, and being a voice for the voiceless. Set in the late 1800s, Emilia starts out writing under a man’s pen name, but she goes on to reclaim her given name and embarks on a life-changing voyage from San Francisco to Chile to cover a brewing civil war. There, she falls in love, reconnects with her estranged father, and finds herself in the literal trenches of war and political danger.
About Isabel Allende
Born in Peru and raised in Chile, Isabel Allende is the author of a number of bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including Violeta, A Long Petal of the Sea, The House of the Spirits, Of Love and Shadows, Eva Luna, and Paula. Her books have been translated into more than forty-two languages and have sold more than seventy-four million copies worldwide. She lives in California.
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