The Curse of Capistrano

The Curse of Capistrano is the first novel in the Zorro series by Johnston McCulley. Originally serialized in the pulp magazine All-Stories Weekly throughout 1919, it was then republished as the book The Mark of Zorro in 1924. After The Curse of Capistrano was developed into a movie starring Douglas Fairbanks in 1920, the popularity of the character took off. McCulley wrote more than sixty additional Zorro stories over the course of his career, and other authors published several dozen more stories featuring the character. Zorro stories and themes have also been used in more than forty movies.

The Curse of Capistrano takes place in Southern California in the early nineteenth century, before it became a US state and was still under Mexican rule. The main character is a young and dashing landowner Don Diego Vega, who secretly leads a double life as the masked bandit Zorro. As Zorro, he comes into conflict with villainous army officers Captain Ramon and Sargent Gonzales who oppress the people of California.

The story opens as Sargent Gonzales is in a local tavern discussing his plans to kill Zorro and claim the reward on his head. Diego enters to purchase a pot of honey and briefly talks with Gonzalez, begging not to hear any talk of Zorro since news of the bandit upsets him. Shortly after Diego leaves, Zorro enters and fights with Gonzales, but he escapes before the battle can be decided. After Zorro escapes, Diego returns and questions Gonzalez about his inability to capture Zorro.



The next day, Diego visits Don Carles, a landowner who has fallen on hard times and is eager to get back into the good graces of the governor. Diego announces his plans to marry Carles’s daughter Senorita Lolita. He behaves arrogantly, which upsets Lolita, though she is also clearly attracted to him.

After Diego leaves, Captain Ramon visits Carles to announce his intention to court Lolita. Lolita is not impressed by Ramon, whom she finds too proper, stuffy, and boring. She is secretly attracted to the bandit Zorro, whom she finds romantic and exciting, though she knows she can never marry him because he is wanted by the law.

Shortly afterward, Diego invites Carles and his family to stay at his hacienda while he is away on business. Carles eagerly accepts. While he and Lolita are staying at Diego’s home, Ramon arrives to speak with Lolita. She is uninterested in him and asks him to leave, but Ramon refuses. He attempts to assault her, but Zorro arrives just in time to save Lolita, driving Ramon away. Lolita kisses Zorro to thank him.



The next day, Ramon complains to the governor about Carles and Lolita, claiming that they are helping to shelter Zorro. Zorro, who has been eavesdropping, enters Ramon’s office to confront him. Ramon calls soldiers to aid him, forcing Zorro to retreat. The soldiers pursue Zorro to the home of Fray Felipe, but when they enter to investigate, they only find Diego with Felipe.

Shortly after, Felipe is arrested on an unrelated incident. He is accused of cheating two sellers of hides and sentenced to a public whipping. Diego tries to intervene for Felipe but is warned against it by his friends. However, Zorro soon arrives to punish the hide dealer who falsely accused Felipe by whipping him instead.

Diego visits his father Don Alejandro. Alejandro, not impressed by Diego’s lack of progress with Lolita, says he will leave his fortune to the church unless Diego is married soon. He advises his son to be more like the bold Zorro who helps people and defends the oppressed. Later that night, a group of bounty hunters arrives at Alejandro’s home. They have been hunting Zorro to claim the reward but have failed to find him. Zorro arrives soon after and talks to the bounty hunters, convincing them that they would be better off joining forces and fighting injustice together. The bounty hunters return to Los Angeles to await orders.



Meanwhile, the governor decides to take action against Don Carles’s family based on Ramon’s testimony. He has them arrested and thrown in jail. With the help of the bounty hunters, Zorro rescues Carles and his family. Zorro rides off with Lolita, leaving her at Felipe’s mission. Gonzalez and his soldiers storm the mission and try to arrest Lolita, but she threatens to kill herself if they do. The soldiers allow her to leave, and she escapes on Gonzalez’s horse.

Zorro rides on to Ramon’s house and kidnaps him, forcing him to confess to the governor that he lied about Carles’s family. He then challenges Ramon to a duel and kills him. Fleeing after the fight, Zorro meets up with Lolita. The two hide in a tavern, which the soldiers plan to storm. The bounty hunters arrive to defend Zorro, and shortly afterward, the governor appears as well.

The bounty hunters reveal that they are from prominent families and have the support of Alejandro, so the governor agrees to let them go. Zorro takes off his mask, revealing that he is Don Diego. Impressed that he deceived them all, Lolita agrees to marry him.