Renowned Bolivian feminist poet Adela Zamudio (1854–1928) wrote only one novel during her lifetime—Confidences (Íntimas, 1913), chronicling a series of scandals among the landowning classes of the city of Cochabamba at the turn of the twentieth century. The story explores sexism, religion, and prejudice in the lives of several young adults, culminating in a tragic turn of events that changes their destiny. Told in epistolary form from the contrasting perspectives of a single man and a married woman, the novel poignantly depicts tensions between the male-dominated public sphere and the intimacy of women’s private conversations.

Zamudio was a passionate activist for women’s and girls’ rights to education, financial independence, and self-determination. This first English translation of Zamudio’s fiction captures the lyrical character of the author’s prose and conveys her unique insight into the challenges and limitations of social activism in her society.

Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.

ADELA ZAMUDIO (1854–1928) was a writer, activist, and educator from Cochabamba, Bolivia. Starting as a teenager, she published numerous essays, poems, and short stories, often using the pen name Soledad, as well as the epistolary novel Íntimas [Confidences]. She is remembered today as a pioneer in the Bolivian feminist movement, a fierce advocate for girls’ education, and one of her country’s finest poets.

LAURA NAGLE translates prose and poetry from French, Spanish, and Irish. Her work includes the first complete English translation of Prosper Mérimée’s 1827 hoax, Songs for the Gusle, and her translations of contemporary short fiction have appeared in The Southern Review, Southword, and Latin American Literature Today. She resides in Indianapolis, Indiana.

GIOVANNA RIVERO is a Bolivian novelist and short story writer. She is the author of six short story collections, including Fresh Dirt from the Grave, which was longlisted for the 2024 Queen Sofía Spanish Institute Translation Prize. She has also published four novels and two children’s books and is currently an assistant professor of Spanish creative writing and literature at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

Map of Bolivia 

Introduction by Giovanna Rivero

Characters

Part One

Cochabamba, October 28, 1906

Cochabamba, November 2, 1906

November 4

December 9, 1906

December 11

Cochabamba, January 20, 1907

Cochabamba, February 9, 1907

February 13

March 23, 1907

Cochabamba, May 2, 1907

Cochabamba, May 15, 1907

Cochabamba, June 9, 1907

Cochabamba, June 15, 1907

Cochabamba, July 1, 1907

Part Two

Cochabamba, February 10, 1907

Cochabamba, August 9, 1907

Translator’s Note

Letter from Adela Zamudio to Claudio Peñaranda