Zorro - Isabel Allende

Written by Isabel Allende
Read by Blair Brown
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Hapter Audio, 2005
Length: 15hrs

Although a long and complex book, Allende’s lively retelling of the Zorro legend reads as effortlessly as the hero himself might slice his trademark “Z” on the wall with a flash of his sword.

A swashbuckling adventure story that reveals for the first time how Diego de la Vega became the masked man we all know so well Born in southern California late in the eighteenth century, Diego de la Vega is a child of two worlds. His father Alejandro is an aristocratic Spanish military man turned landowner; his mother Regina, a Shoshone warrior. Raised alongside his wet nurse’s son, Bernardo, Diego becomes friends for life with his “milk brother,” despite the boys’ class differences.

At the age of sixteen, Diego is sent to Spain, a country chafing under the corruption of Napoleonic rule. He soon joins La Justicia, a secret underground resistance movement devoted to helping the powerless and the poor. Between the New World and the Old, the persona of Zorro is formed, a great hero is born, and the legend begins. After many adventures — duels at dawn, fierce battles with pirates at sea, and impossible rescues — Diego de la Vega, a.k.a. Zorro, returns to America to reclaim the hacienda on which he was raised and to seek justice for all who cannot fight for it themselves.

Though born into privilege, Diego has deep ties to California’s exploited natives—both through blood and friendship—that account for his abiding sense of justice and identification with the underdog. In Catalonia, these instincts as well as Diego’s swordsmanship intrigue Manuel Escalante, a member of the secret society La Justicia. Escalante recruits Diego into the society, which is dedicated to fighting all forms of oppression, and thus begins Diego’s construction of his dashing, secret alter ego, Zorro.

With loyal Bernardo at his side, Zorro hones his fantastic skills, evolves into a noble hero and returns to California to reclaim his family’s estate in a breathtaking duel. All the while, he encounters numerous historical figures, who anchor this incredible tale in a reality that enriches and contextualizes the Zorro myth. Allende’s latest page-turner explodes with vivid characterization and high-speed storytelling.

My rip from CD.