num_pages: 304
description: Isabel Allende's sensuous novel about the mystery of memory  In nineteenth-century Chile, Aurora del Valle suffers a brutal trauma that erases all recollections of the first five years of her life. Raised by her regal and ambitious grandmother Paulina del Valle, Aurora grows up in a privileged environment, but is tormented by horrible nightmares. When she is forced to recognize her betrayal at the hands of the man she loves, and to cope with the resulting solitude, she explores the mystery of her past.
language: English
title: Portrait in Sepia
titlecomplete: Portrait in Sepia
characters: Tao Chi'en, Nivea del Valle, Paulina del Valle, Eliza Sommers, Lynn Sommers, Aurora del Valle, Severo del Valle
genres: Spanish Literature, Historical, Historical Fiction, Novels, Literature, Latin American, Romance, Fiction, Latin American Literature, Magical Realism
ratings_count: 38266
places: Chile
series: Involuntary trilogy
awards: awardedAt: 978336000000
name: Premio Valle-Inclán
category: Margaret Sayers Peden
publisher: Harper Perennial