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Women are often written out of history or intentionally ignored. In the old “who gets to tell the story�� practice, it was often men telling about men, and victorious men would often conveniently ignore anyone who might take some of the hero’s (or heroes) shine or steal some of his (their) thunder. The official story/history of the Spanish founding of Chile follows this same old pattern, and Allende has revised it here to include a female conquistador who had a lot of impact on the Spaniards�� route to Chile from Peru, the founding of Santiago, and the creation of many of the first institutions of civilization. Yes, Inés Suarez was attached intimately to two of the military men (not at the same time) who rode into Chile and challenged the natives to wrest the land from them, but her own strengths and skills, tenacity and loyalty made big impact on the work the men forged.

Allende also includes with sensitivity and compassion some of the native Mapuche side of history, which of course entails the brutality and hypocrisy of Spaniard policies and practices in the treatment of them. The Church and how it turned a blind eye to the colonial savagery gets dinged as well.

But the book is mostly about an otherwise forgotten female, so hurray for women in history and getting their stories told! Allende really brings Inés alive, and gives us history that includes the fact that women were there at the founding of a nation in many important ways.

The author includes sources and historical references at the end that support the story she creatively tells us.