Riders of the Purple Sage: A NovelRiders of the Purple Sage, perhaps more than any other novel, contributed to the concept of the American West. The mysterious gunfighter, the outlaw boss and his masked accomplice, the frontier woman torn between love and law, the laconic cowboy out on the range—all these figures became familiar to readers through the work of Zane Grey. If Owen Wister invented the Western story in The Virginian (Bison Books 1992), Grey moved it farther west in the popular imagination and supplied authentic atmosphere. Riders of the Purple Sage is "pure Americana," to quote one critic. It has the classic elements of the genre: revenge, fast horses, abduction, pistol duels, cattle stampedes, daring pursuits and escapes, dark secrets, hidden gold, pastoral refuge, splendid sunsets—and Grey's emphasis on the passion of man and woman. What The Nation said about the novel in 1912 still stands: it contains all that storytellers about the West "have ever dreamed of or invented to stir the heart and freeze the blood." |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
ain't asked beautiful began Bern Bess black racers Black Star burros caņon cattle cave cliff cliff-dwellers climbed cool Cottonwoods cried dark Deception Pass dogs dust Dyer eyes face fear feller Frank Erne gaze Gentile girl glance gold gray guns hand heard hoofs horse hoss Jane Wither Jane Withersteen Jane's Jerd Jerry Card Judkins kill knew Lassiter Lassiter's listen little Fay look Mebbe miles Milly Erne mind Miss Withersteen Mormon never Oldring once pack pack guns Purple Sage rabbit racers reckon replied ride rifle rock rode round rustlers saddle seemed seen shadow shot sight slope sorrel spruces Star and Night stone strange Surprise Valley tell there's thet thing thought told trail Tull Tull's turned Utah Venters's village voice waited walls watched whispered wild wind Withersteen House woman wonderful Wrangle Wrangle's Zane Zane Grey