Johnston McCulley’s The Curse of Capistrano, serialised in the pulp magazine All Story Weekly in 1919, marked the first appearance in print of Zorro. The character was destined to become one of the iconic adventure heroes of course, but while the novel was quite successful what really got the ball rolling was the 1920 movie adaptation.The movie changed the title to The Mark of Zorro and was a huge hit, propelling Douglas Fairbanks to superstardom. It was so successful that the original novel was published in book form under this new title in 1924.The setting is California in the early 19th century when it was still a possession of the Spanish crown (it became part of Mexico in 1822 and then part of the United States in 1848). The setting of the novel is not strictly accurate historically but it does succeed rather well in conveying at least part of the particular flavour of Spanish California. The ruling class, the caballeros, are obsessed by lineage and honour. To have the right blood is everything. And their concept of honour hearkens back to the chivalry of the early Middle Ages. These are very proud people and they are very sensitive to even the smallest points of honour.This is something of a problem for Don Diego Vega. He certainly has the blood. No-one in the pueblo of Los Angeles can boast a more exalted bloodline than Don Diego. But while most caballeros are excessively eager to resort to their swords to defend their honour Don Diego is a languid and rather effete young man who prefers to read poetry. Respect for blood is so ingrained that no-one would dare accuse him to his face of being lacking in manliness, and the Vega family is also immensely powerful and politically influential. No-one dislikes Don Diego but privately there is some concern about his lack of physical prowess and his abhorrence of violence.The famous outlaw Zorro has become a legend not just because of his skill with the sword but also for his concern for justice. The governor is corrupt, taxes are crippling, and many honourable families have seen their wealth ruthlessly stripped from then by the governor and his voracious minions. The one man who is prepared to take a stand against this injustice is Zorro. Zorro is not just a friend to oppressed and financially ruined caballeros however. He also steps in to defend the Franciscan friars who are being victimised and fleeced by the corrupt government. He is equally ready to defend the Indians whenever and wherever they are mistreated. Zorro is in essence Robin Hood in a different setting.Don Diego’s father is rather displeased by his son’s apparent lack of spirit, and even more displeased that Don Diego has yet to marry and produce an heir. This is of course a vital necessity for any aristocratic family and Don Diego is his father’s only child. Under pressure from his father he is rather listlessly wooing the beautiful young Lolita Pulido. Her family has blood almost equal to that of the Vega family but her father Don Carlos has fallen out of favour with the political leadership and has lost most of his land and most of his wealth. Don Carlos is desperately anxious for a marriage alliance with the Vegas. Unfortunately Lolita is not impressed by Don Diego. She wants a real man. She also wants a lover who is romantic and passionate, and Don Diego seems uninterested in either romance or passion. When Lolita encounters Zorro it is a different story. This is a man whom she could love. And Zorro is obviously interested. While Don Diego is listlessly wooing Lolita a rival has appeared on the scene in the form of Captain Ramon. Ramon’s courtship is more than insistent - he goes so far as to threaten her honour. This is something that Zorro will not tolerate. And while all this happening the Pulido family is facing not just complete ruin but the accusation of treason. Zorro has to find a way to save both Lolita’s honour and her family. He will also have to protect his old friend, the friar Felipe. Felipe may be a man of God but he’s a pretty tough hombre who is afraid of no-one and who stands up for the rights of the oppressed.Don Diego has formed an unlikely friendship with the boastful and violent Sergeant Gonzales. Gonzales is flattered to have a friend of such high rank, and the friendship is useful to Don Diego. Being a man of peace and something of a wimp it’s handy to have a friend who is both a tough guy and an important member of the local troop of soldiers.The true identity of Zorro is not revealed until the end of the book but anyone who has ever seen any Zorro movie, comic book or TV episode already knows who he is and it really is blindingly obvious. In fact I suspect that McCulley expected his readers to figure it out pretty quickly - what’s important is that none of the other characters know his identity. Knowing who Zorro really is doesn’t affect the reader’s enjoyment of the book in the slightest and possibly even enhances it. By the time The Mark of Zorro appeared in book form in 1924 the secret would have been known to everyone who had seen the enormously popular 1920 movie. But on the off-chance that you’re not aware of Zorro’s identity and you don’t want to know until you read the novel, you might want to skip the next two paragraphs.Beginning of spoilersYou have been warned.What the people of the pueblo of Los Angeles don’t know of course is that Don Diego is anything but a wimp. He is in fact the notorious outlaw hero Zorro.Don Diego’s effeteness provides him with the perfect cover for his alter ego. No-one knows Zorro’s real identity but the last person anyone would suspect of being the renowned outlaw is Don Diego Vega. This cover has yet another advantage - it allows Zorro to keep tabs on the local troops. Don Diego has strengthened this advantage by befriending. Don Diego/Zorro always knows exactly what the troops are up to.End of spoilers.This is pure pulp fiction, with action aplenty. The plot races along in fine melodramatic style. McCulley’s style is pulpy but his characters are colourful and he knows how to spin an exciting tale of adventure and romance. This version of Zorro is as heroic and honourable as his various movie and television incarnations but rather more ruthless. The violence is also somewhat more graphic.The unusual and exotic setting is a major plus and is utilised quite effectively. McCulley has been criticised for not adhering more closely to the historical background but this is pulp fiction and it’s the flavour that is important, not strict historical accuracy.Thoroughly enjoyable story-telling, and definitely worth a read.
I first encountered Zorro as a character in an old movie my parents liked. Since then, I've sought out the stories when I could. When I discovered a number of them as radio plays through Audible, I had to pick them up.This is the book that introduced the character of Zorro in 1919, originally titled, "The Curse of Capistrano." Johnston McCulley changed some aspects of the character since this first publication, but the sense of adventure and heroism is all there. As is the character's thirst for fairness and justice, and the corrupt government he inevitably has to fight against.The Mark of Zorro covers a period of time during which Zorro has been an established force in California, well-known but mistrusted. His evasion of capture is more due to his cunning and the ineptitude of the local law enforcement than because anyone would shelter him.The story is fairly simple: the authorities would like to capture Zorro, and will stoop to almost anything to do so. He would like to stay free, and to keep his friends out of it, which is easier said than done. Meanwhile, his alter ego, Diego de la Vega, is attempting to court Lolita Pulido, who falls in love with Zorro.The story is very much a product of its time. A married woman rhapsodizes about the rewarding life of a housewife, and a father encourages a suitor to pester his daughter who's uninterested, because women are fickle and change their minds a lot. (It is to the character's credit that he trusts the woman to know her mind, and graciously accepts her refusal.) The story is an adventure, and it's about guy things, so women are relegated to wives and daughters and damsels, though Lolita gets to show off some skill with riding and swordfighting.The performance I listened to has the story narrated by the tavern barkeep, which saves the characters the awkward task of narrating their actions for the listeners' benefit. However, it has the drawback that the barkeep doesn't know everything, and so, if I hadn't known Zorro's secret identity from the lore, I'd be puzzled, and maybe a little frustrated.Val Kilmer voices Diego/Zorro, and, while he has a fine, gravelly, heroic-sounding voice, that he doesn't even attempt an accent makes him stand out more than a little. He intersperses several Spanish words into his dialogue, and his pronunciation is cringe-worthy, even for non-Spanish-speaking me.Highlights of the cast include Armin Shimmerman as the barkeep and Ruth Livier as the spirited Lolita. Most of the rest of the cast did a good job with their narration, and they all sounded different enough that I didn't have difficulty keeping track of who was speaking.
What do You think about The Mark Of Zorro (1998)?
The Curse of Capistrano is actually one of my favourite books of all time. I know it's not even close to a masterpiece, but I love the characters, the pace of the story, the plot (simple as it was).I only gave it 3 stars because I realize it has many faults - the principal one being that the style is often not very fluid during the fight scenes. There's always a lot of chaos, and the reader can never be sure of what exactly is going on. One gets lost in the cloud of generic thrusts, touches, jumps and so on...Those that should have been, in a way, the heart of the book were in fact the moments where the reader had to get himself out of the story and set his mind to work to imagine for himself scenes that should have been described by the writer. Fortunately, these scenes were neither too many nor too long, since the focus is more on the people who have to deal with Zorro, than on Zorro himself and his appearances. Other than that, there are no major faults with this little book. The story feels fluid, even though it was initially published (and, I imagine, conceived and written) in installments. The characters are delightful - and, most of all, delightfully funny. It's a pity we cannot read it as it was intended, wondering all the while who Zorro really is, but that doesn't detract too much from the pleasure.Lolita is probably the only character that leaves a lot to be desired, feeling more like a plot point than anything else. Her characterisation was too poor, considering that she was the main love interest, courted by three characters (ok, we know it's two, but we're supposed to think it's three), and in fact being one major point of contention between Zorro and the villain. Another thing that really bugged me about her was how she talked through slogans, the whole "a Pulido only loves once" drag. It feels as if McCulley simply described the ideal of the perfect woman, without bothering to create a real character. She always feels the right feelings at right time - indignation, pity, courage - but never more stronlgy that it would be proper, because she always knows what should be the proper way of acting, and the proper man to love, and reminds us of that a lot - literally shouting "It's Not Proper!" more than once. She seems more like "The Manual for the Perfect Young Lady" than a character in a story. This wouldn't bother me so much, if it weren't for the fact the she's the only character who's never funny. I mean, the sergeant is not too well characterised either, but he's still described in the same tone as the rest of book - but when Lolita comes along, the tone shifts noticeably, and not in a good way. It's a pity, though I'm still happy that McCully decided to not overemphasise the romance. In the end, the romantic part is not good, but it could have been much worse. Lolita's lack of characterisation also contrasts a lot with don Alejandro, who only appears at the end of the story, but still feels more deeply characterised than her, through his own actions in the last part of the story, and through Diego's descriptions of his thoughts and hopes for the future in the first part. I admit I'm always pleasantly surprised by how much I like this character and can relate to him, even though he appears so little. Kudos to McCulley, for making even the smallest characters feel so alive!In the end, I love this book and I never tire of recommending it to the world. JUST READ IT. IT'S ZORRO. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE?
—Laurie
I listened to this as 9 podcast installments by B.J. Harrison who produces and narrates The Classic Tales Podcast. These are old novels presented to interest the public in classic literature. I listen to them because they are "good for me," to expose me to works I have missed along the way. Usually I find the older style of writing a bit tedious and less than engaging. However, I was pleasantly surprised by The Mark of Zorro.Generally I listen to episodes of these old tales in between more contemporary novels and nonfiction works that have grabbed my interest--a bit like taking a dose of medicine. However, with Zorro I found myself truly interested in the story and "cheated" a little on my usual plan by sometimes sneaking in extra episodes before beginning my next major work because wanted to see what would happen next in this adventure saga. I vaguely remember the old TV series of Zorro from childhood. Perhaps images of that enhanced my enjoyment of this original work. In any case, I'm glad I took the time with this one. I enjoyed it.
—Nancy
It was great to revisit this one. I haven't read it since I was a teenager and it definetly held up. The first dozen or so chapters are a little repetitive: Diego chats, runs off, Zorro appears, repeat. Once the Señorita Lolitia and Zorro begin their affair the plot speeds along. By the time he's assembled his Avengera I couldn't put it down. I spent an extra hour on the eliptical to finish!A true classic that inspired and informed modern superheroes. Spanish style, a dramatic flair, and a heart that yearns for justice. Zorro remains one of my favorite characters and this book is a great example why.
—Bill Meeks
