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Zane Grey
Pearl Zane Grey was an American author and dentist best known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontier. Riders of the Purple Sage (1912) was his best-selling book.
In addition to the commercial success of his printed works, his books have had second lives and continuing influence when adapted as films and television productions. His novels and short stories have been adapted into 112 films, two television episodes, and a television series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater.
Pearl Zane Grey was born January 31, 1872, in Zanesville, Ohio. His birth name may have originated from newspaper descriptions of Queen Victoria's mourning clothes as "pearl grey." He was the fourth of five children born to Alice "Allie" Josephine Zane, whose English Quaker immigrant ancestor Robert Zane came to the North American colonies in 1673, and her husband, Lewis M. Gray, a dentist. His family changed the spelling of its last name to "Grey" after his birth. Later Grey dropped Pearl and used Zane as his first name.
While Dolly managed Grey's career and raised their three children, including son Romer Zane Grey, over the next two decades Grey often spent months away from the family. He fished, wrote, and spent time with his many mistresses. While Dolly knew of his behaviour, she seemed to view it as his handicap rather than a choice. Throughout their life together, he highly valued her management of his career and their family, and her solid emotional support. In addition to her considerable editorial skills, she had good business sense and handled all his contract negotiations with publishers, agents, and movie studios. All his income was split fifty-fifty with her; from her "share," she covered all family expenses. Their considerable correspondence shows evidence of his lasting love for her despite his infidelities and personal emotional turmoil.
The Greys moved to California in 1918. In 1920 they settled in Altadena, California, at a home later known as the '"Zane Grey Estate"'. In Altadena Grey also spent time with his mistress Brenda Montenegro. The two met while hiking Eaton Canyon. Of her he wrote,
I saw her flowing raven mane against the rocks of the canyon. I have seen the red skin of the Navajo, and the olive of the Spaniards, but her ... her skin looked as if her Creator had in that instant molded her just for me. I thought it was an apparition. She seemed to be the embodiment of the West I portray in my books, open and wild.
Zane Grey died of heart failure on October 23, 1939, at his home in Altadena, California. He was interred at the Lackawaxen and Union Cemetery, Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania.
Books by Zane Grey
Riders of the Purple Sage
Riders of the Purple Sage is a Western novel by Zane Grey, first published by Harper & Brothers in 1912. Considered by scholars to have played a significant role in shaping the formula of the popular Western genre, the novel has been called "the most...
The Lone Star Ranger
The Lone Star Ranger is a Western novel published by Zane Grey in 1915. The book takes place in Texas, the Lone Star State, and several main characters are Texas Rangers, a famous band of highly capable law enforcement officers. It follows the life o...
The Last Trail
Borderman Jonathan Zane opens his heart to love while he searches for the traitor betraying the settlement in the early days in the Ohio Valley by informing hostile Indians about the settlement's secrets.
The Last of the Plainsmen
Travel along as Mike Vendetti aka miketheauctioneer narrates an outstanding true account of a trip made in 1909 by Zane Grey and a plainsman, Buffalo Jones, through the Grand Canyon to lasso a cougar. That’s right lasso. Throw a rope around. That’s e...
The Day of the Beast
It tells the story of a young cowboy named Milt Dale who finds himself caught in the middle of a dangerous conflict between a group of wealthy cattle ranchers and a band of desperate outlaws. As Milt works to untangle the web of violence and corrupti...
The U.P. Trail
In the heart of the untamed American West, amidst the rugged landscapes and the untamed spirit of the frontier, lies a tale of adventure, love, and the indomitable human spirit. Zane Grey's The U.P. Trail transports readers to the era of westward exp...
Tales Of Lonely Trails
Join Zane Grey, the celebrated author of Western classics, as he takes you on an unforgettable journey through the wild and rugged landscapes of the American West. In Tales of Lonely Trails, Grey chronicles his own personal adventures, recounting tal...
The Mysterious Rider
In the rugged expanse of the American West, a lone rider emerges from the desolate plains, shrouded in an aura of mystery and intrigue. This enigmatic figure, known only as Lassiter, arrives in the town of Beulah, Arizona, where whispers of his enigm...
Shortstop
Zane Grey (Pearl Zane Gray) born in 1872 in Zanesville, Ohio was best known for his western stories, most notably Riders Of The Purple Sage which has been filmed four times, the last in 1996 starring Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. Among his other interes...
Spirit of the Border
This is an early novel by the phenomenally successful author of frontier, western and sports stories. It deals with historical characters and incidents in the Ohio Valley in the late 18th century, especially with the foundation of Gnaddenhutten, a mi...
Heritage Of The Desert
Jack Hare is a young cowboy who was rescued from sure death by an old settler by the name of August Naab. Hare learns that Naab's ranch is a dangerous place and is challenged by cattle thieves and a corrupt rancher who is after Naab's water rights. T...
To the Last Man
The story follows an ancient feud between two frontier families that is inflamed when one of the families takes up cattle rustling. The ranchers are led by Jean Isbel and, on the other side, Lee Jorth and his band of cattle rustlers. In the grip of a...
Rainbow Trail
The Rainbow Trail is a sequel to The Riders of the Purple Sage. Both novels are notable for their protagonists' mild opposition to Mormon polygamy, but in The Rainbow Trail this theme is treated more explicitly. The plots of both books revolve around...
Call Of The Canyon
Glenn Kilbourne returns from the war and travels to Arizona to regain his health. There he is nursed back to health by an Arizona girl, Flo Hutter Kilbourne's fiancée, Carley Burch arrives in Arizona but soon becomes disillusioned with life in the We...
Rustlers of Pecos County
The town of Linrock, located in Pecos County in south Texas, has fallen under the control of a gang of rustlers. Two Texas Lone Star Rangers are sent to Linrock to clean up the town .They soon fall in love with two girls who may be related to the lea...
Wildfire
The heart of a stallion; the heart of a man; the heart of a woman. Three valiant, authentic, and determined souls cross each others' paths, and the sparks fly. We'll leave it to you to find out what kind of sparks. (Summary by Tony Oliva)
Border Legion
The story of a cold hearted man named Jack Kells who falls in love with Miss Joan Randle, a girl his legion has taken captive near the Idaho border. (Summary by Wikipedia)