El Zarco the Bandit

Set in Yautepec in Morelos around 1861-62, during Mexico's civil wars, this novel follows the blue-eyed bandit known as El Zarco, leader of the Plateados, who raid sugar country from a ruined hacienda. Manuela, a young woman of the town, scorns the indigenous blacksmith Nicolas and goes with Zarco; she then finds the camp brutal and her choice hard to reverse. Nicolas, honourable and stubborn, is entangled with the authorities and with Pilar, who loves him. First published after the author's death, in 1901, the book is a historical romance about banditry, race, and the failure of official protection in a war-torn countryside.

Bound in orange cloth with a frieze design in black by Blakely. Plain white endpapers. Page tops stained black. Black slipcase.