Collection: Zane Grey

Pearl Zane Grey, the fourth child of Alice Josephine Zane and Lewis Gray, was born in Zanesville, Ohio. After Zane’s birth, the family changed their last name from Gray to Grey. Lewis Grey, a dentist, did not want his son to waste his time writing stories. Lewis ripped up Zane’s first story when he was only fifteen. The only thing Zane wanted to do was play baseball and write, but he was forced into dentistry for practical reasons.  

Zane attended the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship. He was a decent athlete and played in the minor leagues. After graduation with a degree in dentistry, Zane moved to New York and opened his dentistry business where he struggled with his need to write. He went camping and fishing with his brother in Pennsylvania where he met Lina Roth, known as Dolly. Zane and Dolly were married in 1905. He warned her he would not stop being a free spirit and had numerous affairs after his marriage.   

In 1918, the Zanes moved to California and settled in Altadena in 1920. Dolly, a former schoolteacher, edited all of Zane’s manuscripts and managed his career including all his contracts. Zane traveled and explored the west, went fishing, and wrote. He had a cabin in Oregon on the Rogue River, and in the desert by the Mogollon Rim near Payson, Arizona. He wrote articles for magazines, serializations, and novels. His most famous novel was Riders of the Purple Sage. In 1939, Zane Grey died at the age of 67. After his death, his wife and son published some of his unfinished novels. At least fifty movies were made based on his novels.