In 1928, shortly after his marriage to Ximena Amunátegui, and after meeting the actor Douglas Fairbanks (who seems to have encouraged him to produce a script for a swashbuckler), Huidobro began writing his version of the Cid legend as a novel. The result is a very readable, if slightly arch, version of the story, at times looking back to 19th-century romantic historical fiction, while at other times nodding towards more modern approaches. Style aside, the book can be read a straightforward tale of derring-do that sits happily alongside the 1961 epic movie that starred Heston and Loren and had thousands of extras. More than one line of the script for that movie sounds like something from Huidobro’s novel. The translation by Wells appeared quickly, in 1931 in London and a year later in New York user the title Portrait of a Paladin , and this reprint offers the original version with only some minor edits, together with an afterword and an extensive glossary to aid with figures, both legendary and genuine, from Old Spain.