Zorro (novel) young man left California and was educated in Spain, before returning to don the Zorro mask. A speculative attempt to fuse together these disparate accounts is found in the on-line article "Legacy of the Fox". A young adult novel, "Young Zorro: The Iron Brand", was published at around the same time as Allende's novel. It was written by young adult author and illustrator Jan Adkins, a technical advisor for Allende's story. It is the story of how Spanish Alta California, Pueblo de Los Angeles, and the Californio vaquero heritage at the beginning of the 19th century shaped fifteen-year-old Diego de
The Legend of Zorro following his father's and maternal grandfather Diego de la Vega's (portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in "The Mask of Zorro") footsteps as Zorro, while the elderly Alejandro and Elena watch proudly. This was changed to the theatrical ending in order to allow for future sequels with Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. "The Legend of Zorro" continues its predecessor's inclusion of historical elements of California history into the fiction, though many liberties have been taken. Alejandro, the Mexican-born Californian who became Zorro at the end of "The Mask of Zorro", is a fictional brother to Joaquin Murrieta, for whom the character's son