Years of Historical Research Bring South America’s Past to Life in Novel’s First English Edition

Bolivian author Bismark A. Cuéllar Chávez brings history, conflict and ambition to English readers in My Sword Against the King of Spain.

SANTA CRUZ DE LA SIERRA, BOLIVIA, October 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Years of historical research underpin the forthcoming first English edition of My Sword Against the King of Spain, a novel by Bolivian historian, novelist and playwright Bismark A. Cuéllar Chávez. Set in sixteenth-century South America and inspired by real people and events, the book brings the history of Santa Cruz de la Sierra into an adventure of battles, political intrigue, love and divided loyalties.

The English edition marks a new chapter for Íberos, Cuéllar Chávez’s collection of eleven historical novels. My Sword Against the King of Spain is the first book in the Spanish-language collection to appear in English, translated by Genaro Luis Siles Parada and Mira Hadlow. It is coming soon to Amazon; the publication date and purchasing details will be announced on the book’s official website.

A world that existed. A world many readers have never imagined.

The novel directs attention to the South American interior during an age of imperial expansion. Far from the Spanish court, frontier communities face the consequences of decisions made across an ocean. Forests, rivers and immense distances shape the struggle for survival, while competing authorities contest the future of a city and its people.

Cuéllar Chávez’s historical research gives this setting its foundation. His wider body of work includes a five-volume history of Santa Cruz, alongside historical fiction, poetry and writing for the stage. His work as a researcher and educator informs a novel concerned with both the forces that shape history and the private lives caught within them.

Here, history unfolds through action. Dangerous expeditions, ambushes and armed confrontations test courage in a landscape that resists easy conquest. Within the city, political rivalries and struggles for authority can be as consequential as a battle. Friendships forged through hardship come under pressure, and a secret romance develops amid family ties, ambition and shifting allegiances.

The result is a story in which loyalty has consequences: to a king, to a friend, to a loved one and to a home. The novel explores what happens when those obligations collide, without losing sight of the human hopes and fears behind public events.

For English-language readers, the forthcoming edition opens a window onto the history and cultural landscape of Santa Cruz and the wider South American interior. It brings a Bolivian author’s sustained engagement with his region’s past to a new readership, through a story that joins historical inquiry with the momentum of adventure.

Readers and members of the media can explore the book, its author and the Íberos collection at https://myswordagainsttheking.com/.

About the Author
Bismark A. Cuéllar Chávez is a Bolivian historian, novelist, playwright and educator whose work explores the history and cultural heritage of Santa Cruz. His publications encompass historical research, fiction, poetry and travel writing. His eleven-volume Íberos collection draws on the people, conflicts and transformations that shaped South America’s past.

Genaro Siles
BIMD
59178148778
press@myswordagainsttheking.com

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