Riders of the Purple Sage (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading) »

Born in 1875, Pearl Zane Grey was raised in Zanesville, Ohio, a town founded by his mother's family, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1896. His passion for the American West was aroused in 1907 when Grey had an opportunity to tour the West with Buffalo Jones, a longtime hunter and adventurer. He published a total of eighty-five books before dying on October 23, 1939, at his home in Altadena, California.

"For sheer emotional force; for the capacity to get and keep his readers, absolutely, in his grip; for the power to be-there is no other word for it-thrilling, few practitioners of narrative prose can equal Grey." - Jane Tompkins, author

Riders of the Purple Sage (1912) has been called the most popular western novel of all time. It is set in the mysterious canyon country of southern Utah, and the rugged landscape the novel inhabits is more than a backdrop for the action. Villains and heroes both try to use the stone labyrinth to their advantage, but it is the landscape's power and majesty that dictate the final result. Portraying the conflict between Mormon and non-Mormon settlers over the possession of land in the 1870s, the novel questions the right of a religion to tyrannize its followers and deprive them of freedom in the name of good.

Brooklyn Eagle

A powerful work, exceedingly well written.