| Zane Grey: Romancing the West Contributor(s): May, Stephen J. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0821411810 ISBN-13: 9780821411810 Publisher: Ohio University Press OUR PRICE: $34.60 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: October 2005 Annotation: His novels are legendary: Riders of the Purple Sage, Betty Zane, The Vanishing American, and The U.P. Trail. His characters are unforgettable: Jim Lassiter, Bern Venters, Lew Wetzel, Buck Duane, and Madeline Hammond. His settings are colorful, austere, and filled with romantic mystery. In the early twentieth century, Zane Grey not only defined the cowboy hero and captured the Western landscape, he created one of the most elaborate and memorable bodies of folklore in American literature. Who was the man behind the legend? In Zane Grey: Romancing the West, Stephen J. May examines Grey's personal life, revealing that the writer was frequently immobilized by depression and insecurity. Grey's characters stemmed from an idealized vision of himself. His settings, most often centered in Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado, were pleasurable, picturesque escapes from the rigors of the writing life. Zane Grey: Romancing the West analyzes the writer's enduring mystique, from Grey's middle-class beginnings as a dentist's son in Zanesville, Ohio, to his mature roles as a world-class novelist, explorer, Hollywood film producer, fisherman, and outdoorsman. Grey's legend continues to enthrall a new generation of readers who are rediscovering the sights, sounds, and wild spaces of the historic American West. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Literary Figures - Literary Criticism | American - General |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 97000353 |
| Lexile Measure: 1250 |
| Physical Information: 0.79" H x 5.77" W x 8.82" (0.90 lbs) 188 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: One of the century's most enduring American writers, Zane Grey left a legacy to our national consciousness that far outstrips the literary contribution of his often predictable plots and recurring themes. How did Grey capture the attention of millions of readers and promote the Western fantasy that continues to occupy many of the world's leisure hours? This study assesses the Zane Grey phenomenon by examining Grey's romantic novels in the context of his life and era. Grey, whose roots were in Zanesville, Ohio, was the son of a dentist and practiced dentistry himself in his early adulthood. He threw over that life for one of adventure, traveling throughout the world in search of excitement, a course that ultimately led him to become one of America's most popular authors. But he also was dogged by depression and inertia that affected his ability and will to work. In Zane Grey: Romancing the West, author Stephen J. May traces the career of Grey by analyzing the development of his novels and popularity and the degree to which that shaped his world. The book also investigates Grey's personal life--from his fling with Hollywood to his passion for deep-sea fishing--illuminating the literature that shaped America's vision of itself through one of its most enduring and cherished myths. |