How far we’ve come when something serialized in pulp magazines is now considered worthy of being branded “classic literature.” Such is the case with Johnston McCulley’s THE MARK OF ZORRO, the 1924 novel that introduced the world to the swashbuckling superhero, and now back in print in a handsome new Penguin Classics trade paperback edition. Love that cover!
Set in Mexican-ruled California during a time of corrupt politicians and arranged marriages, Zorro is the masked alter ego of Don Diego Vega, a young rich kid who, let’s be honest, is kind of an ass. His father is pressuring him to find a wife and have a child, in order to carry on his lineage. Don Diego chooses a fine señorita by the name of Lolita, also of a noble family, but she will not accept his offer because he is not romantic and because her heart belongs to another … the mysterious Zorro.
Ah, yes, Zorro – the “highwayman” who rights wrongs and robs from the spoiled to feed those without. Everywhere he goes, he courts trouble, except with the ladies. He is everything Don Diego is not – dashing, attentive and capable of setting hearts a-flutter.
It’s kind of amusing how no one picks up on the fact that the two are the same since one will leave the room, only for the other to enter almost immediately, over and over again. But that’s pulp fiction for you. And so are the swordfights, the jailhouse rescue and other feats of derring-do, so it cannot disappoint even if it doesn’t entirely thrill. McCulley’s story is quickly paced, if repetitive and with thinly drawn characters (the main villain exclaims “Ha!” about every other sentence).
Penguin Classics has included a lengthy introductory essay by Robert and Katherine Morsberger that puts it all in a historical perspective – not just the novel but, thankfully, the entire Zorro phenomenon, from page to screen to merchandising powerhouse. If you’ve ever wondered why Zorro took the hearts of so many by storm, I can’t think of a better place to begin.
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