http://www.tv.com/shows/zane-grey-theater/
Posted on 03/18/2015 6:50:15 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Zane Grey (1872-1939) was to the western novel what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was to detective fiction, churning out 89 novels about the American cowboy and the western frontier. His books were on the bestseller list 13 times between 1910 and 1924 and ranked in sales just behind the Bible and the McGuffey Reader.
Zane-GreyAn Easterner by birth, he grew up fishing and hunting in rural Pennsylvania. He was fascinated with the deserts of the Southwest and became well known as a world traveler and adventurer. He went on extensive hunting trips, packing in supplies by mule train and camping in the wilderness for months on end.
These sojourns in the wilds had a dual purpose. Grey made careful notes and picked up facts about trail living and met some interesting people along the way: guides, cowboys, cooks, mountain men, sharpshooters, Indians, sheepherders — many of whom reappeared as characters in his western sagas.
In the 1920s Grey fished for marlin off Tahiti, bonefish at Key West and tuna off the California coast. He wrote about the need to preserve the environment. He denounced over-fishing of rivers, the netting of salmon and sea-running trout, the clear-cutting of timber near spawning streams. Some of his best writing can be found in his magazine articles about hunting and fishing, later collected in book form (Tales of Fresh Water Fishing and The Best of Zane Grey, Outdoorsman, edited by George Reiger).
He is perhaps best known for his novel Riders of the Purple Sage, published in 1912. Set in Utah, it narrates the story of a lone gunman’s fight to save a Mormon woman from a mob of angry churchmen. His editor at Harper & Brothers was reluctant to publish it because he felt it might be offensive to some readers. Convinced that this was his best novel, Grey stormed into the publisher’s office and tossed the manuscript on his desk. Riders was subsequently published and became the most successful western novel of all time.
Wife’s family owned a cabin at Lake of the Ozarks in the 50’s.
It was stocked with Zane Grey.
I have two of his hardcovers on my bookshelves, and I’ve never read them. Riders of the Purple Sage and Knights of the Range.
Your post has tempted me to tackle one very soon.
My grandfather emigrated from Russia and was the absolute classic Willy Loman traveling clothing salesman during the 1930’s, all the way to the early 60’s when he retired. In Michigan and the Midwest. He had a bar across the back seat of his Cadillac and hung dozens of suits on it. He knew every fishing hole in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois and when he didn’t have to put on a bunch of miles for his next appointment, religiously took off every day at 3 pm, carefully hung up his suit, donned his grubbies, and went fishing almost every day. He absolutely adored Western novels, was crazy about them.
I have never read them, but have thought about it.
Was my mom’s favorite novelist, and I’ve yet to read one. I’ve got several of his books upstairs - I’m going to make it my mission this week to read one.
ping
Awesome writer.
As a kid, I could not read enough of his works, over and over and over again.
There was a TV show in the mid 50s which was on for a long time. Oddly enough, I can’t recall ever watching it despite the fact that it was the kind of show I normally would have liked.
I forgot to mention the TV show was titled “Zane Grey Theater”.
http://www.tv.com/shows/zane-grey-theater/
I’ve read five of his novels: Fighting Caravans(my favorite Grey novel),Border Legion, Shadow On The Trail, Western Union, and Riders Of the Purple Sage. On those rare occasions when I’ve read fiction, my favorite author has been Louis L’Amour.
So that’s how you spell it.
I saw Louis L’Amour on 60 minutes many years ago. He is considered one of the most knowledgeable historians of the American West.
I particularly liked it when he told one of them that the Indians broke more treaties than the White man which is the exact opposite of every thing you ever hear.
Neat story.
I have a pretty good collection of Western novels, including most of Zane Grey. Riders of the Purple Sage is probably a good place to start. But I don’t think I read any that I didn’t like.
It was very similar to this one. . . I have a photo of his somewhere in my slides but I haven't digitized them yet.
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It was about in that condition, maybe a little worse. I bought it from his daughter abut 45 years ago. She said it was the one he used for hunting and provided a letter and photographs of him with the gun. You could see it was his gun because of distinctive grain patterns in the stock.
Several years later I traded it to a Zane Grey memorabilia collector for a Nickel Plated Model 1872 Colt Factory Richards Conversion of the 1860 Colt with the original period gunslinger's type holster in .44 Center Fire with a box of original Ammo from 1872. That was a really cool gun.
Zane named his daughter Betty. . . I met her.
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