Riders of the Purple Sage (illustrated by W. Herbert Dunton)

First published in 1912, “Riders of the Purple Sage” is Zane Grey’s genre defining novel which has been referred to as “the most popular western novel of all time.” Set in the canyon country of southern Utah in 1871, it is the story of Jane Withersteen, a Mormon who has refused the wishes of her father to marry Elder Tull because she does not love him. Jane, whose father has passed away and has inherited his valuable ranch, is persecuted by the Mormon community for her refusal to marry Elder Tull, and for her befriending of cowboy Bern Venters, a non-Mormon. The conflict between Jane and the rest of the community intensifies when a mysterious stranger named Lassiter, who is seeking to avenge the murder of his sister Milly Erne, comes to town. Rich with western detail, set against the backdrop of the Mormon influx into Utah, with a mysterious “Masked Rider”, and a gang of rustlers, “Riders of the Purple Sage” played an important role in shaping the formula of popular Western fiction and remains to this day one of its most popular examples. This edition includes illustrations by W. Herbert Dunton and a biographical afterword.