Publisher's Synopsis
The Curse of Capistrano - The Beginnings of the Zorro Legend
The Curse of Capistrano is the very first book to feature Zorro, one of the heroes of our childhood games and one of the true heroes of literature and film.
The book, like numerous other Zorro stories we know, tells the story of Don Diego Vega, a Californian noble who lives a double life, as a prominent personality in his town and Zorro, a legendary hero and a master of cunning and swords. The novel is the story of Don Diego's fight against Captain Ramon and Sgt. Gonzales, the representatives of the authorities in the town. The time the plot takes place is 19th century California, before it became a state of the U.S. And the book makes the most of the exotic, often wild setting.
The novel is masterfully written, capturing the reader's attention from the very first page and keeping it there to the last. The secret that Don Diego is in fact Zorro is not revealed until towards the very end of the book, entertaining the reader with complex, round characters. Strangely, both Don Diego and Zorro are stand-alone characters, complementing, rather than contradicting each other. Don Diego is an aristocratic gentleman who loves to read poetry and is endowed with all the moral virtues of a noble, while Zorro, the legendary outlaw has earned respect not only because he can use his sword like no one else, but also because of his high moral standards.
Being so masterfully written, the novel was an instant success. It first appeared as a series in 1919 and enjoyed huge success, but what made the story even more successful was the movie adaptation made from it in 1920 - the story was so exciting and the setting so picturesque that it called for being made into a movie; the 1920 adaptation was followed by numerous others, keeping Zorro's legend alive even in our days.
