Riders of the Purple Sage (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781490915937)

Pearl Zane Grey was born on January 31, 1872, in Zanesville, Ohio, the fourth of five children, Originally the name was spelled Gray. Zanesville was founded by Pearl's maternal great-grandfather. Zane dropped the name Pearl and began going by Zane. He was antisocial and irascible and frequently engaged in violent brawls as a child, which resulted in severe beatings from his father. Zen began hanging out with an old man named Muddy Miser, who took him fishing and encouraged him to write. Zane's favorite books were adventure stories and especially Westerns. He wrote his first story, "Jim of the Cave," when he was only fifteen. His father beat him and tore the book to shreds. The family moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1889 and Zane began acting as a dentist, trained only by his father, until the state intervened. He also played baseball for the Columbus Capitols and received offers from colleges. His brother went on to have a professional baseball career, playing in 1903 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Zane ended up going to the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship and studied dentistry, legally this time. He also went on to play minor league baseball. In 1896, he opened a dental office in New York City and began to write when he wasn't working. In 1905, Zane married Lina Roth, whom he called "Dolly," giving up his dental practice to concentrate on writing. They had three children. Dolly became his proofreader and his writing improved greatly. In 1903, he wrote his first novel, "Betty Zane," but it was rejected. Grey then went on a real-life hunting adventure to the Grand Canyon and turned his experiences into a new book. In 1910, he finally caught a break when his first Western became a bestseller. In 1912, Grey wrote "Riders of the Purple Sage," which became his most successful book and one of the biggest selling Western novels ever. Later in life, he spent more time fishing and travelling. He died on October 23, 1939, at the age of 67, from a heart attack, in Altadena, California. He is buried in union Cemetery in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania.