Riders of the Purple Sage
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4.4 • 52 Ratings
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Publisher Description
In a small Mormon community in southern Utah, Jane Withersteen, a young, unmarried Mormon woman faces growing pressure to marry a local elder of her church. Elder Tull, a polygamist, already has two wives and seeks to marry Jane not just for her beauty, but to take control of the ranch her late father passed on to her.
Jane’s resistance to marriage only serves to increase the mounting resentment against “Gentiles” (non-Mormons) in the area. Bern Venters, one of Jane Withersteen’s ranch hands and potential suitor, becomes the focus of this resentment and is nearly killed by Elder Tull and his men before a mysterious rider interrupts the procedure. The rider, a man named Lassiter, is a gunslinger known for his exploits in other Mormon settlements further north.
Lassiter’s intercession on Venters’ behalf sets off a chain reaction of threats, violence, theft, and murder as Jane Withersteen fights to maintain both her ranch and her independence.
First published in 1912, Riders of the Purple Sage is considered to have played a prominent role in shaping the Western genre. It was Zane Grey’s best-selling book and has remained popular ever since.
Customer Reviews
Entertaining, If Not a Little Overblown.
I can totally see why this book is appreciated and respected. Zane Grey’s use of words is very impressive. His vocabulary is expansive. His description of landscape is impressive and engrossing. Its action is intense and quick, as action often is in these stories. My only complaint is the huge amount of things that are happening at once. It was very difficult for me to keep up with all of the happenings.
One of the finest books I’ve read..
…in years. A remarkably creative, compelling and complex story full of twists and turns the reader will find are beyond their ability to foresee. At every fork, Grey manages to select the road not taken by his readers—to their delightful surprise! The writing is dramatic and the pace never slows. The detail, the rich word choice and elegant urgency are of a kind writers long to count as their own. Bravo!