Zorro - Volume 1 by Johnston McCulley

Don Diego Vega is the spoiled son of Don Alejandro Vega, the richest landowner in California and favorite of the governor. He’s a real dandy and despises anything that might be construed as work or that would require some amount of effort on his part. We know him better, of course, as Zorro, defender of commoners and indigenous peoples of California against corrupt and tyrannical officials and other villains. The early days of the Pueblo of Los Angeles was a cauldron of competing politics and devious motives. Dressed all in black and wearing a mask, Zorro relishes opportunities to one-up the mostly inept public officials who endlessly attempt to capture him. 

This volume opens with the very first novel in the Zorro cannon, “The Mark of Zorro.” This has been retitled after its original debut when it was known as “The Curse of Capistrano” first appearing in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley. Interestingly, it was meant to be a stand-alone novel but the Douglas Fairbanks film adaptation in 1920 prompted more stories over some four decades. This volume collects two additional short stories: “Zorro Saves a Friend” and “Zorro Hunts a Jackal”.

I enjoyed these stories more than I expected I would. I worried that, like many pulp stories of that era, they might be rather dry due to the style differences from more modern works. Happily my concerns were for naught as McCulley writes in an easy-flowing, campfire-story-telling way that encourages the reader to keep turning the pages. The first novel, "The Mark of Zorro" was clearly meant to be the only story as it offers a complete account of Zorro’s adventures. It culminates in his ultimate success by exposing the corruption and winning the girl and even going so far as to reveal his identity to all. Subsequent stories have to deal with this and so they make it clear that only a select few, after all know that he is really Don Diego Vega.

A nice essay is included at the end of the book, written by Ed Hulse, wherein he takes a good look at how the Douglas Fairbanks film was conceived and its impact on the future of Zorro.

The stories differ from the movies and television series that readers may have seen but it was fun to read the original stories upon which they were based. Looking forward to more Zorro stories to come.