I wanted to know not only how did he become Zorro (a name which means ‘The Fox’ in Spanish), but what about his birth, where did he actually come from? And, even something from before that.” The question of how did Don Diego de La Vega become Zorro? That was not there. “Some I liked more than others, but as a writer I needed to build something that had not been done before. Yet as Allende began to immerse herself in Zorro, she did not like all of the various movies and TV shows. And as she explained, “I remember my stepfather used to watch the TV series ‘Zorro’ when he wanted to relax from his work as ambassador to Argentina.” “So, it did have a bit of nostalgia for me from that point of view.” Gertz was pleased and honored that Allende agreed to go forward with writing the novel. Her knowledge of Latin America and her Spanish background was a good foundation on which to create a novel about Zorro set in California. “Yes, we did knock on Isabel’s door, he said, actually we were introduced by a mutual friend and so I was enthusiastic about meeting Isabel and presenting the idea of a Zorro novel to her.” “We see out the most talented and skilled people for our projects,” said John Gertz of Zorro Productions, Inc.

which now owns the McCulley material thought Allende would be an appropriate choice to write a novel about Zorro because of her previous novels about Early California such as “Daughter of Fortune” and “Portrait in Sepia.” But, I had to stick to what was firmly established within what McCulley had set forth.”Īllende admitted she was not interested in writing a Zorro novel when the owners of the copyright approached her. Yet even with some of the genre going far afield, Allende said, “I was lucky that there was material there for me to work with. Over the decades the basic premise of the Zorro figure went from daring adventure to romantic comedy to even a bit of horror where he meets up with Dracula. McCulley was able to create not only a series but a unique mythic legend. With its Spanish colonial influence mixed in with the native cultures and a pioneer backdrop, the adventures of Zorro went from that initial “The Curse of Capistrano” to more than 60 stories. This reporter was able to speak to her about the novel which is the only Zorro novel to provide details to his early years.īased upon the 1919 work of Johnston McCulley, Zorro is loosely formed from the chronicles of Early California life. Will mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of author Isabel Allende’s “Zorro,” which she said she was reluctant at first to write.

Allende zorro