The Curse of Capistrano is a 1919 serialized novel by Johnston McCulley and the first work to feature the fictional Californio character Zorro (zorro is the Spanish word for fox). It would be later published as a book in 1924 under the title The Mark of Zorro

McCulley's novel first appeared in 1919 as a five-part story serialized in All-Story Weekly, a popular pulp magazine. The novel was quickly adapted to film as The Mark of Zorro, starring Douglas Fairbanks.

This fascinating study of the genre of swashbuckling films received wide critical acclaim when it was first published in 1977. Jeffrey Richards assesses the contributions to the genre of directors, designers and fencing masters, as well as of the stars themselves, and devotes several chapters to the principal subjects if the swashbucklers – pirates, highwaymen, cavaliers and knights. The result is to recall, however fleetingly, the golden days of the silver screen. Reviews of the original edition: ‘An intelligent, scholarly, well-written account of adventure films, this work is sensitive both to cinema history and to the literary origins of the "swashbuckler"....Essential for any library with books on film, it may very well be the definitive book on its subject.’ – Library Journal

"The Curse of Capistrano" by Johnston McCulley. Published by DigiCat. DigiCat publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each DigiCat edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

The Mark of Zorro (The Curse of Capistrano) tells of the story of Don Diego Vega, alias 'Señor Zorro', in the company of his deaf and mute servant Bernardo and his lover Lolita Pulido, as they oppose the villainous Captain Ramon and Sgt. Gonzales in early 19th-century California during the era of Mexican rule. The novel is set amongst the historic Spanish missions in California, pueblos such as San Juan Capistrano, California, and the rural California countryside

The Curse of Capistrano (The Mark of Zorro) by Johnston McCulley

"Crazy Sunday" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald originally published in the October 1932 issue of "American Mercury".

The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta (1854) is a novel by John Rollin Ridge. Published under his birth name Yellow Bird, from Cheesquatalawny in Cherokee, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta was the first novel from a Native American author. Despite its popular success worldwide—the novel was translated into French and Spanish—Ridge’s work was a financial failure due to bootleg copies and widespread plagiarism. Recognized today as a groundbreaking work of nineteenth century fiction, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta is a powerful novel that investigates American racism, illustrates the struggle for financial independence among marginalized communities, and dramatizes the lives of outlaws seeking fame, fortune, and vigilante justice. Born in Mexico, Joaquin Murieta came to California in search of gold. Despite his belief in the American Dream, he soon faces violence and racism from white settlers who see his success as a miner as a personal affront. When his wife is raped by a mob of white men and after Joaquin is beaten by a group of horse thieves, he loses all hope of living alongside Americans and turns to a life of vigilantism. Joined by a posse of similarly enraged Mexican-American men, Joaquin becomes a fearsome bandit with a reputation for brutality and stealth. Based on the life of Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo, also known as The Robin Hood of the West, The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta would serve as inspiration for Johnston McCulley’s beloved pulp novel hero Zorro. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of John Rollin Ridge’s The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta is a classic work of Native American literature reimagined for modern readers.

"The first truly definitive biography of Douglas Fairbanks, the greatest leading man of the silent film era"--

This premium quality edition contains the complete and unabridged text of The Curse of Capistrano, Johnston McCulley's original tale of the adventures of Zorro, printed on heavy, bright white paper in a large 6"x9" format, with page headers and a fully laminated full-color cover featuring an original design.Also included in this edition is a new, original biographical sketch discussing the life and work of the prolific, but enigmatic, author.First published in 1919 as a serial in the "All-Story Weekly" pulp magazine, this story was originally titled The Curse of Capistrano and was the first appearance of the "Zorro" character, the dashing masked vigilante fighting against the oppression of the King's officials in "Old California," while hiding his real identity as Don Diego Vega behind a foppish facade.When it became the basis for the 1920 Douglas Fairbanks film "The Mark of Zorro" and was republished as a novel to coincide with the film, it was re-titled as The Mark of Zorro. Numerous "Zorro" stories, books and films followed, some following Johnston McCulley's original characterizations more closely than others and all, including McCulley's own later stories, essentially disregarding the ending of the original story without explanation.Born in Ottawa, Illinois on February 2, 1883, Johnston McCulley was a prolific writer who published extensively in the pulp magazines of the day under a variety of pen names. He created a number of popular masked, costumed "vigilante" characters and "gentleman villains" with secret identities, and his work was a major influence on subsequent pulp characters.