Riders of the Purple Sage

Now, for the first time in a century, Zane Grey's best-known novel is presented in its original form exactly as he wrote it. When in the early 1900s Zane Grey took his manuscript to two publishing companies, they rejected it because of the theme of Mormon polygamy, fearing it would offend their readers and subscribers. Then Grey made a special plea to Frederick Duneka, who was vice-president of Harper & Bros. and who had been Mark Twain's editor at that company. Duneka and his wife read the novel and liked it but feared it would offend some readers. Harper & Bros. agreed to publish a changed version of the novel and purchased both the book and magazine-serial rights. Given the task of executing the necessary editorial changes, a senior editor of the company made changes in tone, diction, and style as well as content. The novel first appeared in nineteen installments in the monthly magazine Field & Stream from January 1912 to July 1913. Blackstone Audio here presents the original, uncensored, unabridged novel Riders of the Purple Sage, obtained through the Golden West Literary Agency with the cooperation of Zane Grey's son, Loren Grey, and the Ohio State Historical Society. In Cottonwoods, Utah, in 1871, a woman stands accused and a man is sentenced to whipping. Into this travesty of small-town justice rides the one man whom the town elders fear. His name is Lassiter, and he is a notorious gunman who's come to avenge his sister's death. It doesn't take Lassiter long to see that this once peaceful Mormon community is controlled by the corrupt Deacon Tull, a powerful elder who's trying to take the woman's land by forcing her to marry him, branding her foreman as a dangerous 'outsider'. Lassiter vows to help them. But when the ranch is attacked by horse thieves, cattle rustlers, and a mysterious masked rider, he realizes that they're up against something bigger, and more brutal, than the land itself.

In 1871 Utah, young Jane Withersteen is courted by Elder Tull, the leader of her polygamous Mormon church. When Jane refuses, the local Mormons persecute her. Meanwhile, Jane's friend, Bern Venters, is captured by Tull's posse and faces a harsh sentence. Jane defends him, causing even more friction with the Mormon populace. Enter Lassiter, a friend to Venters and an infamous gunslinger. His appearance causes Tull and his men to release Venters and flee - sparking a conflict that leaves Jane questioning her loyalties, Venters finding love, and Lassiter seeking revenge.

Ten years after the events of Riders of the Purple Sage, John Shefford, a disillusioned preacher from Illinois travels to Arizona and takes refuge in a village controlled by polygamist Mormons hiding from the federal government. It's there Shefford learns the story of Fay Larkin: years ago, the infant Fay, along with Jane Withersteen and a gunslinger known as Lassiter, were trapped in Surprise Valley. Intrigued, Shefford decides to track Fay down.

Three desperate people who had fled Mormon persecution were being held prisoner in a lost canyon. Among them was a beautiful lady named Fay Larkin, whom John Shefford was in love with. The secret to the canyon lay in a hidden Mormon village of “sealed” wives, where the penalty for trespassing was death. And the treacherous half-breed Shad and his murderous crew were blocking the way to the village. The tenderfoot Shefford was desperate to rescue his lady. To accomplish this was no easy task, especially considering he didn't even pack a gun. He would have to fight his way to the canyon, knowing that his efforts might end in bloody slaughter.

Zane Grey wrote this splendidly thrilling sequel to Riders of the Purple Sage in 1915, but for almost ninety years it existed in a profoundly censored version. Young John Shefford, escaping from his troubled past in Illinois, heads west to follow up the curious legend of three people living imprisoned in Utah's isolated Surprise Valley, one of whom is a beautiful girl named Fay Larkin. Shefford, half in love with the girl he's never met, is determined to find the valley and free her-if she's still alive. Shefford is nearly overwhelmed with his experiences of the beauty of the high desert, his first meetings with Indians, his ideas regarding Mormon men and their secret wives, and his encounter with real love, all of which work their changes in him. He comes out a man made true and good, finally freed from the shame he has harbored for so long.

Widely regarded as "the most popular western novel of all time", Zane Grey's adventure set in the sunbaked deserts of southern Utah is an unparalleled classic. When Jane Withersteen, a wealthy Mormon, is pressured to become Elder Tull's third polygamous wife, she resists. Gunslinger Jim Lassiter rolls into town on a mission of his own. Jane hires him to help resist the powers that be in her efforts to extend help to everyone in need, regardless of religion or creed. The stage is set for a showdown. Horse stealing, cattle-rustling, kidnapping and gunfights ensue as Tull and the Mormons attempt to wear down Jane's fiery resistance to their lust and greed. Tapping into his Utah roots, narrator B.J. Harrison brings this timeless tale to life in all its colorful vivacity.