As a novelist and professional writer and magazine editor who loves history, I’ve read a ton of western fiction and nonfiction about the American West. So many classics: Lonesome Dove, Son of the Morning Star, Close Range, Undaunted Courage. Big Sky. Blood Meridian. Blood and Thunder. Legends of the Fall. A River Runs Through It. White Fang. Well... dang... lots of books. But I am ashamed to admit I cannot remember reading any Zane Grey! How could that be?
After finding this wonderful PBS video (PRESS LINK BELOW) with beautiful footage of the Rogue River and passages read aloud from Zane Grey’s classic novel, Rogue River Feud, I’m gonna change that! Take a trip down the gorgeous Rogue River in Oregon that Zane Grey made famous. Smell the mountain air and hear the rushing water...
Have you read Zane Grey or other great Western writers? Who are your favorites? Please share. We’d love to hear from you!
© 2020 NOTES FROM THE FRONTIER
My grandfather was Zane Grey's first cousin. He lived in Medford, Oregon and when
Zane was writing "Rogue River Feud", he visited my grandparents in Medford. They
also had a cabin on the Rogue near Shady Cove. When I earned I was related to him,
I read 12 of his books during the pandemic. I was surprised that they were not only
westerns, they were mysteries and romantic.....something for everyone.
Bradford, WOW! A complete leather bound set of Zane Grey!!! You lucky boy. A lot of folks would covet those. I bet you’ll read them again. I find myself going back to classics I read growing up... and being amazed all over again. Thanks for sharing.
Pat, thank you again for sharing your astute and fascinating knowledge about the West. I was going to start my Zane Grey reading with his classic, “Riders of the Purple Sage.” But you’ve piqued my interest. Am going to find “Betty Zane!” I can’t resist a good story about a strong frontier woman!💪Thanks again.
I love the way Grey paints mental picture of the old west. I have read most of his books that I borrowed from a formed mother in law. In later years I bought an entire set of beautiful leather bound books. I always thought I would go back and read them. Shamefully I have never cracked open one of the set.
You prompted me to look at my meager collection of Zane Grey novels and came upon a book that is not a western novel but is a revolutionary war novel titled "Betty Zane".
Betty Zane was a real life heroine of that war and this book tells her story.
Shamefully, I have not read it, yet.
Betty Zane's great-grandnephew, the author Zane Grey, wrote a historical novel about her, titled Betty Zane, also republished as The Last Ranger. One of the main events in the story is the tale of Zane's fetching supplies from the family cabin during a battle. When Grey could not find a publisher for the book, he published it himself in 1903 using his wife's money.…