Showing results by author "Johnston McCulley" in All Categories

Cabballero. Patriot. Vigilante. Follow the swashbuckling adventures of Zorro, as he metes out his own brand of justice against the tyrannical opressors of young California. This charismatic reading is sure to please young and old alike!

The Mark of Zorro was originally entitled The Curse of Capistrano. It was the first work to feature the California character Diego Vega, the masked hero also called Zorro. Zorro is the Spanish word for fox. The story was adapted into the silent film The Mark of Zorro in 1920. A new version of The Mark of Zorro was produced in 1940 starring Tyrone Power as Don Diego Vega.

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 innocent men and women are persecuted by the corrupt governor and his army. 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.

The Curse of Capistrano is the first work to feature the fictional character Zorro (the Spanish word for "fox"). The story was later republished under the name The Mark of Zorro. The outlaw Zorro is Public Enemy #1 in southern California during the period of Mexican rule. But he's not a bad guy, really - he fights for justice for the oppressed. And when he meets the lovely Lolita, daughter of Don Pedro, who is on the governor's bad side, he has even more reason to fight. But she's being wooed by the rich and influential but wimpy Don Diego... - Summary by TriciaGCast List:Narrator: Christine ...

The Further Adventures of Zorro is the second novel Johnston McCulley wrote about Californian vigilante Zorro, the secret identity of Don Diego Vega. First published serially in Argosy All-Story Weekly between May and June 1922, this novel is the direct sequel to the 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano. Although McCulley initially intended Zorro’s story to be complete in a single novel, the 1920 film adaptation The Mark of Zorro popularized the character sufficiently to convince McCulley to write another Zorro novel. Because McCulley wrote The Curse of Capistrano to be a stand-alone story, he...

The Pirate Raiders, with the villainous Captain Bardoso in command, are employed by the vicious Captain Ramon to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy caballero, hoping to use her to trap Zorro. Battles on land and sea, flashing swords and booming cannon explode before your very ears in this exciting audio production.

The heroic and honorable Zorro, an ace with a whip and a demon with a sword, fights for the poor and oppressed - a far cry from the effete young aristocrat Don Diego, who spends his days reading poetry and dreaming of the beautiful Lolita Pulido. When Lolita's family faces ruin and accusations of treason, Zorro must step in to save her family and her honor. But who is this masked caballero?

In Brand of Silence, discover the intriguing tale of Sidney Prale, who returns to a transformed New York after a decade in pursuit of wealth. But the city he once knew has turned hostile—his old friends shun him, familiar places no longer welcome him, and a shadowy conspiracy seems to be looming. Why is he unable to find service in the hotels, restaurants, and theaters he once frequented? Who is plotting against him, and most importantly, why? As he grapples with these unsettling changes, mysterious notes hinting at retribution begin to surface, leaving Sidney to unravel a web of deceit and ...

http://www.adfreebooks.com - 500+ audiobooks, all ad freeIn Spanish California, a troubling pattern had developed. The natives were reduced to peasants, the Franciscan friars that ministered to them were derided, and the only people who mattered were the caballeros – who styled themselves as knights of the New World. These men strutted about in elegant clothes, riding magnificent horses, and sporting rapiers at their sides that they were quick to draw if they felt their honor was affronted. Into this world burst Zorro (Spanish for “fox”). A later-day Robin Hood, he stole from the rich ...

Zorro is a mysterious man who always wears a large sombrero and a long black cloak. He covers his face with a black mask with two holes through which his sharp gaze follows everything that goes on around him. Zorro has some problems with the Californian governor, who thinks that the man is a thief. The governor is ready to pay a lot of money to the one who kills Zorro. This is where real problems begin for the mysterious man.

This is a story of a valiant man who became a sort of American version of Robin Hood. His efforts were a courageous attempt to restore justice in early 19th-century Mexican California, where a corrupt governor was viciously exploiting the poor and downtrodden. It was a period when there were large haciendas and resident caballeros confronted by the harsh oppression. This brought forth a fictional effort featuring the persona of a masked laughing outlaw calling himself Zorro.

This is the second part of the original Zorro series. Zorro takes to the high seas to fight pirates and save his future wife. A timeless afternoon matinee!

Once again, the intrepid Zorro fights for justice! In the fourth of Naxos AudioBooks' Zorro titles, our hero's assistance is sought when the devious Pedro Morelos threatens the fortune of a wealthy heir, Vicente Canchola. Morelos hatches a plot to kidnap the Governor of California and extort profitable trade concessions from him. Zorro overhears this, but will he be able to foil the evil scheme, and stop the Canchola estate from falling into the wrong hands?

Reina de los Angeles is being terrorized by a masked swordsman who marks the faces of his victims with Zorro's trademark Z. But is this the real Zorro? The governor of California offers a reward for the capture of Don Diego Vega (who is known to have previously been Zorro) dead or alive, while an army - led by the ruthless Captain Rocha - is in hot pursuit of the outlaw. Assisted by a coterie of allies and the native Cocopah tribe, Don Diego seeks to establish his innocence and unmask the evil imposter.

The swashbuckling sequel to The Mark of Zorro (The Curse of Capistrano), The Further Adventures of Zorro sees the daring hero out for revenge once more. After Captain Ramon kidnaps the beautiful Lolita Pulido, Zorro takes to the seas and battles pirates in a bid to win her back. Swordfights, death traps, and disastrously tight corners await him. But it is never much more than a challenge as the gallant caballero laughs in the face of danger - nothing can faze him.

Before Zorro hit it big, McCulley tried out dozens of different heroes and antiheroes: Black Star, the Avenging Twins, the Man in Purple, the Green Ghost, the Mongoose, Richard Hughes-Railroad Detective, the Spider, the Thunderbolt, the Crimson Clown...the list goes on and on. And it includes a good-hearted pickpocket with a lisp named "Thubway Tham," pursued by Detective Craddock of the New York Police Department.

Has Zorro gone mad? That's the rumor spreading like wildfire through Reina de Los Angeles. For a dazzling swordsman wearing cape and mask is terrorizing innocent citizens. Riding with the night, he leaves the Mark of Zorro on his cruel deeds. Already the governor has placed a price on Zorro's head, dispatching a cutthroat army led by the ruthless Captain Rocha to hunt him down. But Zorro's loyal band and a gallant Indian tribe refuse to believe the foul lie. Still, only one man can expose the truth - and unmask the evil impostor.

The masked woman called herself Madame Madcap, and she gathered a gang of cutthroats determined to loot high society of all its riches, starting with the notorious womanizer Hamilton Brone. She worked her criminal magic... and grew rich as millionaires swooned at her feet. Members of her gang worshipped her. She could do no wrong. And yet a curious pattern began to emerge, and a strange vengeance took shape - not just against the men of high society, but against the men of her own brave band of criminals!

Alta California, 1820: The Pueblo de Los Angeles is under the heel of a dictatorial Alcalde, Luis Miguel Montero. No class is exempt. California's largest landowner, Don Alejandro de la Vega, has grown weary of the situation and has summoned his son Diego home to aid him in overthrowing Montero's oppressive regime. But to his surprise, when Diego arrives, he finds his son uninterested the community's problems and unwilling to take up arms. However, Diego's pretense of pacifism is just a ploy to protect his quick-tempered firebrand of a father....

Outside was the red dust, a foot deep on the highway, and the burning sun. The fountain before the mission splashed lazily; down at the beach it seemed that the tide had not its usual energy. Neophytes slept in the shadows cast by the mission walls. Here and there a robed friar went about his business despite the heat and the hour. There was no human being travelling El Camino Real—the king’s highway—as far as a man with good eyes could see. You can hear the whole story.