Fenn and Zorro

By chance or fate—or maybe something else—two young, imaginative strangers become cross-country pen pals in the spring of 1964. Through the course of their nine-year correspondence, Fenn Crispus-Wellsby and Zorro Anderson grow from shy middle-schoolers to adventurous young adults, sharing tales of family, friends, secrets, travels, troubles, triumphs—and a lonely pet pterodactyl. As Zorro’s letters grow longer and increasingly fantastical, Fenn seems to play along with supernatural stories of her own. How much is true? Will they ever meet in person? What do Guam, sharks and Paul Simon have to do with everything?

All the answers are in the mail.

Mari Kempton (Fiona “Fenn” Crispus-Wellsby) and Carl Schroeder (Zorro Anderson) wrote The Fenn and Zorro Letters in 2000. The United States Postal Service delivered all the letters safely.

Yzabeth Anderson-Nichols grew up hearing her father Zorro Anderson’s many fantastical stories—among them the tales of a legendary correspondence with his childhood pen pal Fenn Crispus-Wellsby. After Zorro’s passing, Yzabeth mails a letter to Fenn and receives an unexpected response that opens doors to new mysteries, friendships and discoveries from the California shoreline to the Connecticut swamp—as the strange case of a vanished family could unearth secrets from everyone’s past.

Carl Schroeder wrote A Letter from Yzabeth in 2023 based on characters from The Fenn and Zorro Letters, a novel co-written with Mari Kempton in 2000. Further adventures in the Fenn and Zorro series may be forthcoming.

Listen to piano music inspired by The Fenn and Zorro Letters and A Letter from Yzabeth, composed and performed by Carl Schroeder.

Contact Carl Schroeder at [email protected].