Just listen to the sound as these massive animals converge on a small open space. Just to give you a sample of the living detail in his scenes, here’s a description of a herd as cowboys try to corral it. This was a writer fully attuned to life and drama in the natural world, and I, for one, am glad he escaped the dentist’s office. Grey’s fictional world divides unambiguously between the noble and the ne’er do wells.īut his prose is straightforward, the scenes, beautifully detailed.Ĭharacters, landscapes and actions blend together in a story that gains momentum page by page. She’s championed by a good-hearted, brave but close-mouthed horseman, who, for most of the book suffers unrequited love for beautiful Jane. The story’s set on the southern Utah border.Ĭhurch elders try to bully a Mormon rancher, Jane Withersteen, into marrying and giving up her land. I mean, if you want a cowboy romance with breathtaking views of Monument Valley, why not just watch Henry Fonda in My Darling Clementine? This summer, I read Grey’s most renowned book, Riders of the Purple Sage. Over half of his westerns feature imagery from the Mogollon Rim where he had a cabin. In the 1920s, Zane Grey put a face on the American West that captivated Hollywood directors. Wonderfully descriptive books about fishing trips all over the world.īooks about baseball-he played in the semi-pros.īooks about his ancestors who settled Zanesville, Ohio. He was prolific! Published over 90 books. The old man sternly disapproved of writing as a profession, so Zane wrote secretly at night. Did you know the great western writer Zane Grey started out as a dentist?

Riders of purple sage zane grey