Riders of the Purple Sage, with eBook

Name: Riders of the Purple Sage, with eBook
Brand: Tantor Audio
Availability: InStock
Rating: 3 (2 reviews)
Author: Zane Grey
ISBN: 9781400179176

Author: Zane Grey

Narrator: John Bolen

Unabridged: 11 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 02/09/2009

Categories: Fiction, Classic

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

A gentile sage rider is about to be whipped by the Mormons to coerce the rich and beautiful Jane Withersteen to marry against her will. In desperation, Jane whispers a prayer, "Whence cometh my help!" Just then, an unlikely hero, the infamous gunfighter Lassiter, routs the persecutors and is drawn into this conflict on the Utah-Arizona border.

The mysterious loner hires on at Jane's ranch. Through battles with gun-slinging cattle rustlers, cutthroats, and the calculating Mormons, Lassiter unveils his tale of an endless search for a woman who was abducted long ago.

Judged by critics to be Zane Grey's best novel, Riders of the Purple Sage changed the Western genre when it was first published in 1912. This novel shows the gritty as well as the gallant in a more candid portrayal of the West than any that had come before it.

About Zane Grey

The prolific American writer Zane Grey was the pioneer of the Western literary genre. Grey produced well over 100 books, in which he presented the West as a moral battleground, where his characters were either destroyed or redeemed. His semi-outlaw heroes were his most enduring creation. He sold some 17 million books during his lifetime, and an estimated 100 Hollywood Western films have been based on his stories.

Born with the name Pearl Grey in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1872, Zane was the son of a farmer and part-time preacher. His mother was a second-generation Danish Quaker. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in dentistry in 1896 and practiced in New York City until 1904. That year, Grey wrote and self-published his first book, Betty Zane, after it was turned down by several publishers. The colorful frontier story was based on his mother's journal and eventually became a critical success. He married Lina Elise Roth, who encouraged him to become a full-time professional writer.

In 1908, Grey made a journey to the West with Colonel C. J. "Buffalo" Jones, who told him tales of adventure on the plains. This trip turned out to be a turning point in Grey's career. In 1912, Riders of the Purple Sage was published. It sold 2 million copies and was filmed three times. Grey's formula-in which a mysterious outlaw fights to protect the innocent and the good-shows up in many of his novels. In 1918, he moved to Altadena, California, where he lived for the rest of his life. Grey died on October 23, 1939.

Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Rayna on 2008-07-08 13:29:47

I would have perfered to know that he does not seem to like Mormons. This book gets you to look at the negative of man and puts the mormon title to it. When in the real world all religions have people with faults, and people that claim to be something they are not.

Goodreads review by Christopher on August 07, 2013

I've been bamboozled! Duped! Hoodwinked! Fraudulated! Deceived! I've fallen victim to tomfoolery! Shenanigans! Monkeyshines! Nefarious antics! (What's that? Yes, I do own a thesaurus. Why do you ask?) This tricky man Zane Grey fooled me into reading a book of the genre I swore I never would read: the......more

Goodreads review by Henry on December 28, 2023

Zane Grey's most popular and some say his best work , Hollywood has been making versions of this 1912 book since 1918, but the best known is Tom Mix's 1925 film with gorgeous cinematography displayed. Lassiter is the main character a very angry man and has good cause to be that way. His sister and o......more

Goodreads review by Scott on February 23, 2023

Zane Grey's "Riders of the Purple Sage" is probably one of the most famous westerns ever written, but, despite its popularity since it was first published in 1912, the book may not hold as significant a place in the Canon of the American West for the simple reason that, until 2005, many people had n......more

Goodreads review by Lewis on July 20, 2014

Set in 1871, published in 1912. This story is far more than a western adventure, although it is surely that. There are deep and tender relationships among the characters, including impressive and moving portrayals of the two women who are central to the story. There are also many matchless descripti......more

Goodreads review by Jill on June 10, 2024

Unbelievably, painfully sappy and over-the-top melodramatic, some of which I hope was deliberate. I've never known a male to write such slushy romance. The characters are exaggerated to perfection, as if there were a checklist to include every stereotype suitable for the Western genre. His men are a......more