The House of Spirits is an 1982 novel, Isabel Allende’s first and most famous novel. The book deals with the members of the Trueba family, their growth, their rise and eventually their downfall. Esteban Trueba, an ultra-conservative landowner, marries the Cloudcuckoolander Clara del Valle, with who they have three kids, Blanca and the twins Nicolás and Jaime. Trueba builds his fortune through his farm Las Tres Marías, but this, coupled with his political views, throw a few wrenches in the wheels of his family. Drama ensues. It spawned a film, but we might as well not talk about it.