The Mark of Zorro

This exciting adventure story has achieved immortal fame thanks to the blockbuster film of the same name, starring Douglas Fairbanks-a cinematic triumph that inspired author Johnston McCulley to dedicate it to Fairbanks. It has since seen numerous film and other adaptations, and is even set to become a full-cast audio drama in 2010, produced by renowned audio dramatist Yuri Rasovsky and featuring the voice talents of Val Kilmer, Ruth Livier, Elizabeth Peña, Armin Shimmerman, and Meshach Taylor. Set in Mexican California during the 1820s, the tale follows the career of Don Diego Vega, by all appearances just a timid and aristocratic dandy. But apearances can be deceiving, and this is nothing more than a mask to conceal his hidden side as a California Robin Hood known as Zorro, whose swift blade strikes down those who exploit the poor and oppressed. The Mark of Zorro remains a paradigm of swashbuckling adventure and a popular novel to this day.