Zorro, Isabel Allende

Who is Diego de la Vega, alias Zorro, the masked avenger, Don Juan, and skilled swordsman we all know? In this novel, the first about this hero's childhood, Isabel Allende takes us behind the scenes of the legend. Born near Los Angeles in the early 19th century, Diego is the son of Alejandro de la Vega - a Spanish gentleman who became a landowner in California as a reward for his military prowess in Europe - and Regina, known by her Indian warrior name, Gray Wolf's Head. From childhood, an unwavering friendship binds Diego to Bernardo, his milk-brother, who has been mute since witnessing his mother raped and murdered by pirates. At 15, a foundational experience for both friends, they successfully complete the initiation rite of the White Owl tribe. Diego thus discovers his totem, the fox, "el Zorro". Immediately after, accompanied by Bernardo, he is sent by his father to complete his education in Barcelona. In 1808, Napoleon invaded Spain, abducted and deposed the king, replacing him with Joseph Bonaparte. The fresh wind of the French blows. Cherished by the family of his father's oldest friend, the aristocrat Tomas de Romeu, Diego falls in love with his eldest daughter, Juliana, and takes fencing lessons with a renowned master-at-arms, Manuel Escalante. He brilliantly passes the initiation tests of the secret society "La Justice", embracing the cause of the weak and oppressed. When King Ferdinand VII returns to power, Tomas de Romeu is executed. Zorro takes charge of protecting Tomas's daughters, Juliana and Isabel. They cross Spain on foot, disguised as pilgrims, to the port of Santiago de Compostela, where they embark for California. Taken prisoner by Jean Laffite, Zorro must give up Juliana, who is in love with the corsair. He returns home and continues to use his ingenuity to defend the poor, starting with his father, accused of betraying the kingdom of Spain... All these experiences shape his "double personality: on one side Diego de la Vega, elegant, mannered, hypochondriac, on the other Zorro, audacious, insolent, a gambler.