Riders of the Purple Sage image number 0

2017 Reprint of 1912 Edition. This Novel was significant for its role in shaping the formula of the popular Western genre and is considered one of most popular western novels in American fiction. Arguably Zane Grey's most popular novel and a forerunner of the western genre, Riders of the Purple Sage tells the story of a Mormon woman caught between the persecution of religious zealots and several "Gentile" gunmen seeking to lend her a helping hand. Set in Utah during the nineteenth century, this novel offers an early critique on the practice of polygamy and plural marriage in the Old West.

Item Information Item Information

Format: TradePaperback
Author: Grey, Zane
ISBN: 9781684221776
Condition: Used
Dimensions: 9.21 x 0.56
Number Of Pages: 246
Publication Year: 2017

Customer Reviews

Rating Snapshot

5 ★ 100%

4 ★ 0%

3 ★ 0%

2 ★ 0%

1 ★ 0%

1 Ratings

0 Recommendations

Review Images

The B est There Is In a "Western"

Charles W. - 6 years ago

What can one say about "Riders of the Purple Sage"? For as long as man has dreamed of the west, he has written about it or sought it out for himself. Yes, James Fennimore Cooper wrote about the "west". There were the Dime Novels and the Penny Dreadfuls of the 1800's written by such as Ned Buntline. Then an Eastener named Owen Wister created a character called "The Virginian" and Zane Grey had already written "Heritage of the Desert" but "Riders of the Purple Sage" would immortalize both the author and the genre of "westerns". From then on every "western" would be compared to this one. The ironic part is: Zane Grey never considered them to be "westerns"; they were romances, romantic adventures, romantic novels. And to be totally accurate, the word, "western" did not exist at the time this book was written; it did not come into use until 1927 at the earliest, so to insist Zane Grey was a "western" writer is suspect, at best. But "Riders of the Purple Sage" has everything a person has come to know and understand that belongs in a story of the west--the taciturn gunfighter; the woman in distress fighting a losing battle; great scenery; fast horses; and evil men. Yet "Riders" is more than that. It has sub-plots upon sub-plots that keep the reader wondering what is going to happen next, and this book "fills the bill". And, what most people don't know or realize today, Zane Grey wrote quite often from a woman's viewpoint, and does so in this book. At the time of ZG's greatest popularity more than half of his readership were women, and he was published in such magazines as, Cosmopolitan, Colliers, and Ladies Home Journal. If you have never read a "western" I whole-heartedly urge you to try this one.

Past Searches

Riders of the Purple Sage

Available Offers

Overview

Customer Reviews

Rating Snapshot

Review Images

The B est There Is In a "Western"