<P> The House of the Spirits (Spanish: La casa de los espíritus, 1982) is the debut novel of Isabel Allende . The novel was rejected by several Spanish - language publishers before being published in Buenos Aires in 1982 . It became an instant best seller, was critically acclaimed, and catapulted Allende to literary stardom . The novel was named Best Novel of the Year in Chile in 1982, and Allende received the country's Panorama Literario award . The House of the Spirits has been translated into over 37 languages . </P> <P> The book was first conceived by Allende when she received news that her 100 - year - old grandfather was dying . She began to write him a letter that ultimately became the manuscript of The House of the Spirits . </P> <P> The story details the life of the Trueba family, spanning four generations, and tracing the post-colonial social and political upheavals of Chile--though the country's name, and the names of figures closely paralleling historical ones, such as "the President" or "the Poet", are never explicitly given . The story is told mainly from the perspective of two protagonists (Esteban and Alba) and incorporates elements of magical realism . </P> <P> The story starts with the del Valle family, focusing upon the youngest and the oldest daughters of the family, Clara and Rosa . The youngest daughter, Clara del Valle, has paranormal powers and keeps a detailed diary of her life . Using her powers, Clara predicts an accidental death in the family . Shortly after this, Clara's sister, Rosa the Beautiful, is killed by poison intended for her father who is running for the Senate . Rosa's fiancé, a poor miner named Esteban Trueba, is devastated and attempts to mend his broken heart by devoting his life to uplifting his family hacienda, Las Tres Marías . Through a combination of intimidation and reward systems, he quickly earns / forces respect and labor from the fearful peasants and turns Tres Marías into a "model hacienda". He turns the first peasant who spoke to him upon arrival, Pedro Segundo, into his foreman, who quickly becomes the closest thing that Trueba ever has to an actual friend during his life . However, he rapes many of the peasant women, and his first victim, Pancha García, becomes the mother of his bastard son, who would eventually give birth to Esteban García . </P>

Where does the house of spirits take place