The Mark of Zorro (The Curse of Capistrano)

The Mark of Zorro (The Curse of Capistrano) – Johnston McCulley – The Curse of Capistrano is a 1919 novella by Johnston McCulley and the first work to feature the fictional character Zorro (zorro is the Spanish word for fox). After the enormous success of the 1920 film adaptation, The Mark of Zorro, the story was republished under that name. Prior to being published in novella form, The Curse of Capistrano appeared as five serialized installments in the pulp magazine All-Story Weekly.

The masked avenger immortalized by countless films began as pulp fiction in 1919. The dashing hero Zorro first appeared in Johnston McCulley's story, «The Curse of Capriano», serialized in the American pulp magazine Argosy, later republished as a novella in 1924 as «The Mark of Zorro». Set in Spanish Colonial California, Zorro moonlights as a robin-hood like adventurer, saving the oppressed from the tyrannical hands in power.

This iconic outlaw has weaved his way deeply into popular culture through countless iterations in film and literature. Armed with a rapier and mounted on a black horse, Zorro deftly maneuvers through the crime ridden streets of old southern California to, «avenge the helpless, to punish cruel politicians», and «to aid the oppressed.» Charged with thrills and mystery, «The Mark of Zorro» is the story that started it all. A classic tale of roguish activism, this enigmatic hero continues to delight generations of readers.