Zane Grey Popular Books

Zane Grey Biography & Facts

Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontier. Riders of the Purple Sage (1912) was his best-selling book. In addition to the success of his printed works, his books have second lives and continuing influence adapted for films and television. His novels and short stories were adapted into 112 films, two television episodes, and a television series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre. Biography Early life Pearl Zane Grey was born January 31, 1872, in Zanesville, Ohio. His birth name may have originated from newspaper descriptions of Queen Victoria's mourning clothes as "pearl grey". He was the fourth of five children born to Alice "Allie" Josephine Zane, whose English Quaker immigrant ancestor Robert Zane came to the American colonies in 1673, and her husband, Lewis M. Gray, a dentist. His family changed the spelling of their last name to "Grey" after his birth. Grey later dropped "Pearl" and used "Zane" as his first name. Grey grew up in Zanesville, a city founded by his paternal grandfather Benjamin Zane's brother-in-law, John McIntire (husband of Sarah Zane), who had been given the land by Grey's maternal great-grandfather, Ebenezer Zane, an American Revolutionary War patriot. Both Grey and his brother Romer were active and athletic boys who were enthusiastic baseball players and fishermen. From an early age, he was intrigued by history. Soon, he developed an interest in writing. His early interests contributed to his later writing success. For example, his knowledge of history informed his first three novels, which recounted the heroism of ancestors who fought in the American Revolutionary War.As a child, Grey frequently engaged in violent brawls, probably related to his father's punishing him with severe beatings. Though irascible and antisocial like his father, Grey was supported by a loving mother and found a father substitute. Muddy Miser was an old man who approved of Grey's love of fishing and writing, and who talked about the advantages of an unconventional life. Despite warnings by Grey's father to steer clear of Miser, the boy spent much time during five formative years in the company of the old man.Grey was an avid reader of adventure stories such as Robinson Crusoe and the Leatherstocking Tales, as well as dime novels featuring Buffalo Bill and Deadwood Dick. He was enthralled by and crudely copied the great illustrators Howard Pyle and Frederic Remington. He was particularly impressed with Our Western Border, a history of the Ohio frontier that likely inspired his earliest novels. Grey wrote his first story, Jim of the Cave, when he was fifteen. His father tore it to shreds and beat him.Because of the shame he felt as the result of a severe financial setback in 1889 due to a poor investment, Lewis Grey moved his family from Zanesville and started again in Columbus, Ohio. While his father struggled to re-establish his dental practice, Grey made rural house calls and performed basic extractions, which his father had taught him. The younger Grey practiced until the state board intervened. His brother Romer earned money by driving a delivery wagon. Grey also worked as a part-time usher in a theater and played summer baseball for the Columbus Capitols, with aspirations of becoming a major leaguer. Eventually, Grey was spotted by a baseball scout and received offers from many colleges. Romer also attracted scouts' attention and went on to have a professional baseball career. University of Pennsylvania and baseball Grey chose the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship; he studied dentistry, joined Sigma Nu fraternity, and graduated in 1896. When he arrived at Penn, he had to prove himself worthy of a scholarship before receiving it. He rose to the occasion by coming in to pitch against the Riverton club, pitching five scoreless innings and producing a double in the tenth, which contributed to the win. The Ivy League was highly competitive and an excellent training ground for future pro baseball players. Grey was a solid hitter and an excellent pitcher who relied on a sharply dropping curveball. When the distance from the pitcher's mound to the plate was lengthened by five feet to 60 feet 6 inches, in 1894 (primarily to reduce the dominance of Cy Young's pitching), the effectiveness of Grey's pitching suffered. He was re-positioned to the outfield. The short, wiry baseball player remained a campus hero on the strength of his timely hitting.He was an indifferent scholar, barely achieving a minimum average. Outside class, he spent his time on baseball, swimming, and creative writing, especially poetry. His shy nature and his teetotaling set him apart from other students, and he socialized little. Grey struggled with the idea of becoming a writer or baseball player for his career, but unhappily concluded that dentistry was the practical choice. During a summer break, while playing "summer nines" in Delphos, Ohio, Grey was charged with, and quietly settled, a paternity suit. His father paid the $133.40 cost and Grey resumed playing summer baseball. He concealed the episode when he returned to Penn.Grey went on to play minor league baseball with several teams, including the Newark, New Jersey Colts in 1898 and also with the Orange Athletic Club for several years. His brother Romer Carl "Reddy" Grey (known as "R.C." to his family) did better and played professionally in the minor leagues. Zane Grey and Romer Grey played together as teammates for the 1895 Findlay Sluggers of the Interstate League. Romer played a single major league game in 1903 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Dentistry After graduating, Grey established his practice in New York City under the name of Dr. Zane Grey in 1896. It was a competitive area but he wanted to be close to publishers. He began to write in the evening to offset the tedium of his dental practice. He struggled financially and emotionally. Grey was a natural writer but his early efforts were stiff and grammatically weak. Whenever possible, he played baseball with the Orange Athletic Club in New Jersey, a team of former collegiate players that was one of the best amateur teams in the country.Grey often went camping with his brother R.C. in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, where they fished in the upper Delaware River. When canoeing in 1900, Grey met seventeen-year-old Lina Roth, better known as "Dolly." Dolly came from a family of physicians and was studying to be a schoolteacher. Marriage and family After a passionate and intense courtship marked by frequent quarrels, Grey and Dolly married five years later in 1905. Grey suffered bouts of depression, anger, and mood swings, which affected him most of his life. As he described it, "A hyena lying in ambush—that is my black spell! I conquered one mood only to fall prey to the next ... I w.... Discover the Zane Grey popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Zane Grey books.

Best Seller Zane Grey Books of 2024

  • The Collected Works of Zane Grey synopsis, comments

    The Collected Works of Zane Grey

    Zane Grey

    This comprehensive eBook presents the complete works or all the significant works the Œuvre of this famous and brilliant writer in one ebook 13400 pages easytoread and easytonav...

  • The Zane Grey Anthology synopsis, comments

    The Zane Grey Anthology

    Zane Grey

    An incredible collection of 40 novels and short stories by critically acclaimed western author Zane Grey! Contents include: SPIRIT OF THE BORDER (1906) THE LAST OF THE PLAINSMEN (1...

  • Zane Grey synopsis, comments

    Zane Grey

    Jean Karr

    Zane GreyPlainsman, Sportsman, Authoractually lived the rugged, adventurous life made famous in his exciting books. The blood of Indian chiefs flowed in his veins and he knew intim...

  • Sex Chronicles synopsis, comments

    Sex Chronicles

    Zane

    New York Times bestselling author Zane presents a tantalizing short story collection, which is now the basis of the Cinemax series Zane's Sex Chronicles, calls for a sexual revolut...

  • The Lonesome Gun synopsis, comments

    The Lonesome Gun

    William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone

    JOHNSTONE COUNTRY.  WITH A DETOUR THROUGH HELL.Good Samaritan gunslinger Perley Gates returns for a new actionpacked adventure from legendary national bestselling Western auth...

  • Addicted with a Twist synopsis, comments

    Addicted with a Twist

    Zane

    From the Queen of Erotica, Zane’s Addicted with a Twist is the sequel to Addicted, her wildly popular novel about a married woman whose life spirals out of control when her three a...

  • The Sex Chronicles synopsis, comments

    The Sex Chronicles

    Zane

    A bold and captivating collection of stories that probes women’s darkest passions and pushes the boundaries of erotic fiction.Anyone who thinks that men are by nature more sexual t...

  • The Wicked and the Dead synopsis, comments

    The Wicked and the Dead

    William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone

    JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE BOOT HILL IS FULL OF MEN WHO PULLED THEIR TRIGGERS WITHOUT AIMING. As hardworking families and ambitious dreamers set down roots across the American West, ...

  • Dry Road to Nowhere synopsis, comments

    Dry Road to Nowhere

    William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone

    JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. TRAVEL AT YOUR OWN RISK. Some call it the most dangerous stagecoach in the West. But the harddriving owners of the Frontier Overland Company will get you where y...

  • Skyscraper synopsis, comments

    Skyscraper

    Zane

    The bestselling author of Gettin' Buck Wild and The Sisters of APF gives new meaning to the term "office party" in this exhilarating and boldly erotic novel about the passion of bu...

  • The First Day of Eternity synopsis, comments

    The First Day of Eternity

    Charles G. West

    Raised by Crow Indians. Enlisted by the US Army. Legendary scout Cody Hunter returns to the mountains where he lost his familyand makes a shocking discovery that will change his li...

  • Hostile Territory synopsis, comments

    Hostile Territory

    William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone

    Gunfighters Preacher and Jamie MacCallister keep the peace on the Oregon Trail in the latest novel in the Preacher & Jamie MacCallister Western series from national bestselling...

  • Blackgentlemen.com synopsis, comments

    Blackgentlemen.com

    Zane

    Zane, Shonda Cheekes, J.D. Mason, and Eileen M. Johnson collaborate on this thrilling collection of novellas about the women who search for the man of their dreams on the internet....

  • To Hell and Gone synopsis, comments

    To Hell and Gone

    Charles G. West

    A new actionpacked historical Western from an awardwinning author of more than forty Western bestsellers.  THEY CALLED HIM CRAZY WOLF   As a widower with three young boys...

  • Desert Death-Song synopsis, comments

    Desert Death-Song

    Louis L'Amour

    Desert DeathSong compiles some of Louis L’Amour’s greatest stories, many of which have been hard to find in book form. Whether he was writing under his early pen name, Jim Mayo, or...

  • The Other Side of the Pillow synopsis, comments

    The Other Side of the Pillow

    Zane

    From the New York Times bestselling Queen of Erotica comes a novel about a testy love affair between a woman who’s had enough and a man who’s had it all.Jemistry Daniels, the beaut...

  • Love Is Never Painless synopsis, comments

    Love Is Never Painless

    Zane

    Three prolific authors bring truth to the title of this heartwrenching book, Love Is Never Painless, with a collection of novellas that explores the deeper side of lovethe side rar...

  • Vengeance synopsis, comments

    Vengeance

    Zane

    From New York Times bestselling author Zane comes a thrilling erotic novel, set in the same world of Addicted and Nervous, featuring a beautiful but emotionally damaged pop star he...

  • Everything Fades Away synopsis, comments

    Everything Fades Away

    Zane

    An ebook original short story from the New York Times bestselling Queen of Erotica about what explodes when a man and womanboth suffering marital problems with their respective par...

  • Missionary No More synopsis, comments

    Missionary No More

    Zane

    Steamy, sensual and poetically hypnotic, Missionary No More: Purple Panties 2 is the followup to the bestseller Purple Panties. No one can debate the fact that Zane knows sex. T...

  • Shooting Iron synopsis, comments

    Shooting Iron

    William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone

    JOHNSTONE COUNTRY. WHERE VIOLENCE IS NEVER THE ANSWER.UNTIL IT IS. The latest novel in a thundering new western adventure series centering on one man's battle to carve out justice ...

  • Addicted synopsis, comments

    Addicted

    Zane

    Before there was E.L. James’s 50 Shades of Grey, there was Zane’s Addicted. Once described as “the hottest paperback in the country” by the New York Times and now a major motion pi...

  • Desolation Creek synopsis, comments

    Desolation Creek

    William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone

    Legendary national bestselling Western authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone return with the latest gunblazing installment in their newest Smoke Jensen series.JOHNSTONE C...

  • Nervous synopsis, comments

    Nervous

    Zane

    In this followup to the megasensation Addicted, the New York Times bestselling Queen of Erotica delivers a shocking and steamy story about a woman with a split personality who must...

  • Caramel Flava synopsis, comments

    Caramel Flava

    Zane

    Zane, the queen of erotic fiction and publisher of Strebor Books, an imprint of Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, presents the second in a series of collections of great erotic fic...

  • Zane Grey synopsis, comments

    Zane Grey

    Thomas H. Pauly

    Zane Grey was a disappointed aspirant to major league baseball and an unhappy dentist when he belatedly decided to take up writing at the age of thirty. He went on to become the mo...

  • Zane Grey synopsis, comments

    Zane Grey

    Zane Grey

    Zane Grey was one of the first millionaire authors. He connected with millions of readers worldwide and helped shape the western genre. Grey stories have been adapted into over 100...

  • Collected Westerns of Zane Grey synopsis, comments

    Collected Westerns of Zane Grey

    Zane Grey

    This anthology contains 19 westerns by favorite author Zane Grey, including: The Last of the Plainsmen The Last Trail The Heritage of the Desert The Young Forester Rider...

  • The Works of Zane Grey synopsis, comments

    The Works of Zane Grey

    Zane Grey

    Zane Grey's best known novels and stories are collected here in one giant anthology with an active table of contents to help you quickly find each work.Works include:Betty ZaneThe ...

  • Sensuality synopsis, comments

    Sensuality

    Zane

    A sizzling new followup to the bestselling short story anthologies Chocolate Flava and Caramel Flava, edited by Zanethe Queen of Erotica.Winner of the Black Expressions Book of the...