The Mark of Zorro (1919) - Johnston McCulley

Written by Johnston McCulley
Read by Armando Duran
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Series: Zorro, Book 1
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Release date: December 30, 2011
Duration: 06:36:00

1820s California, in a bygone era of sprawling haciendas and haughty caballeros, suffers beneath the whip of oppression. Missions are pillaged, native peasants are abused, and the corrupt governor and his army persecute innocent men and women. But a champion of freedom rides the highways. His identity hidden behind a mask, the laughing outlaw Zorro defies the tyrant’s might. A deadly marksman and a demon swordsman, his flashing blade strikes down those who exploit the poor and oppressed.

First published in 1919, The Mark of Zorro remains a paradigm of swashbuckling adventure and a popular novel to this day.

Although written nearly a century ago, McCulley’s romantic pulp adventure remains engaging and entertaining. Even though the identity of the masked vigilante is no surprise to contemporary listeners, one can’t help but be thrilled at the ironic twists the story takes.

Narrator Armando Duran breathes life into the character of Don Diego Vega: by day an effete aristocrat, by night a dashing defender of the poor. Duran draws on his stage experience, his ethnic memory, and his joyful vigor as he tells the story of Se–or Zorro’s courtship with Lolita Pulido while bloodying the noses of corrupt government officers. This adaptation of the classic story is delightful from start to climactic finish. S.E.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2013 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2014,