Watersgreen House
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Zane Grey
Watersgreen House plans to release at least nineteen early westerns by Zane Grey in 2026. We are releasing them in the order of publication. If you are a fan of classic westerns, read the first ones now and read the others as they are released. We are releasing paperbacks and e-books first, with hardback editions to follow. Either edition will make an excellent gift for those in your life who love westerns.
Zane Grey (1872-1939) is known for his popular novels about the American West. In addition to the success of his printed westerns, his novels and short stories have been adapted into more than one hundred films and a television series. Grey became one of the first millionaire authors. As with Hemingway, violence, fishing, and muscular masculinity are often present in Grey’s work, and the love of masculinity sometimes creates passages of homoeroticism. Both Grey and his brother Romer were active and athletic boys who were enthusiastic baseball players and fishermen. Grey attended the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship.
As a boy, Grey was subjected to severe beatings by his father; however, he had a loving mother and found a father substitute in Muddy Miser, an old man who approved of Grey's love of fishing and writing. Miser impressed upon the boy the advantages of an unconventional life. Despite warnings by Grey's father to steer clear of Miser, Grey spent much time during five formative years in the company of the old man. Probably as a result of his tumultuous childhood, Grey suffered bouts of depression, mood swings, and anger that affected him most of his life. He warned his future bride that he could not be tamed and could not be faithful. With the birth of his first child imminent, Grey wrote The Heritage of the Desert in four months in 1910. It quickly became a bestseller. Two years later, Grey wrote Riders of the Purple Sage, his all-time best-seller and one of the most successful Western novels in history. Grey died of heart failure at his home in Altadena, California, at the age of sixty-seven. The home later was destroyed in the 2025 Altadena fire.
Click on first cover below for slide show of book covers.
Zane Grey explores the tumultuous lives of early settlers, highlighting their adventures, struggles, and interactions with Native Americans. The narrative is grounded in the historical context provided by a long-lost journal of Colonel Ebenezer Zane, a prominent figure among the hunter-pioneers whose life shaped the settlement of the wild frontier. This is Book 1 in our Zane Grey Westerns series.
Zane Grey chronicles the life and pursuits of a unique individual known as Buffalo Jones who is dedicated to the capture and preservation of American bison. With a backdrop of the American West, the narrative captures the essence of exploration and the interaction between man and nature as it follows Buffalo Jones and his companions on their quest across the wilderness. This is Book 2 in our Zane Grey Westerns series.
One of Grey's most popular westerns, The Heritage of the Desert immerses readers in the rugged landscapes of the American west, provides plenty of cowboy adventure, and is also a romance novel. The book explores themes of survival, morality, and conflict. This is Book 3 in our Zane Grey Westerns series.
Kenneth and his brother, Hal, spend time camping by the Susquehanna River, where Kenneth passionately explains the importance of conserving natural resources and his determination to do so despite his father's opposition. Soon, Kenneth is in Arizona, where he faces challenges from dangerous adults who threaten his mission. The novel is full of adventure, conflict, and the struggle of a young man trying to carve out his future in the wilderness. This is Book 4 in our Zane Grey Westerns series.
The Young Pitcher follows Ken Ward, a university freshman struggling to find his identity amid the challenges and social hierarchies of college life, particularly in athletics. Ken faces a tumultuous initiation, feeling insignificant, lost, and humiliated by upperclassmen. The book presents themes of friendship, perseverance, and self-discovery. This is Book 5 in our Zane Grey Westerns series.
Zane Grey's most famous novel and one of the most popular western novels of all time, Riders of the Purple Sage is rich in western scenery and has plenty of action. Many readers find the story of the young, honest cowhand Bern Venters to be the heart of the book. This is Book 6 in our Zane Grey Westerns series.
Zane Grey's <i>Desert Gold</i> is a western romance exploring love, remorse, and survival against the backdrop of the harsh desert landscape. The central figures include Cameron, a prospector haunted by memories of a lost love, and Warren, an older prospector who shares a deep-seated connection to Cameron through a tragic past involving a woman named Nell. Cameron’s solitude in the desert is interrupted by Warren, with whom he eventually forms an unlikely companionship. This is series Book 7.
Zane Grey's <i>The Lone Star Ranger,</i> which was adapted into several films and also the television series <i>The Lone Ranger,</i> follows Buck Duane, who at age twenty-three becomes an outlaw after killing a man in self-defense. After fleeing his hometown, he is befriended by Luke Stevens, a fellow outlaw. Buck never kills an innocent man, but he is haunted by every life he takes. This is Book 8 in our Zane Grey Westerns series.
The Rainbow Trail</i> follows John Shefford, a former clergyman searching for Fay Larkin in the remote Arizona-Utah borderlands. His quest leads him to a hidden Mormon village of "sealed wives," where he encounters a mysterious woman called the Sago Lily. As federal prosecutors arrive to prosecute polygamists, Shefford uncovers secrets that challenge everything he believes about faith, justice, and freedom in the desert frontier.
Jack Kells is a cold-hearted man who falls in love with Miss Joan Randle, a girl his legion has taken captive near the Idaho border. Joan, a strong and determined young woman, had embarked on a quest to find her reckless suitor, Jim Cleve, before his descent into a life of criminality. The novel establishes Joan’s inner turmoil and the precarious state of her relationship with Jim, who has become embittered and reckless after an argument. This is Book 10 in our Zane Grey Westerns series.
Set in the mid-19th century during construction of the Union Pacific Railroad, the novel intertwines themes of adventure, survival, and the struggles of the human spirit against the backdrop of the American frontier. Grey's narrative captivates readers with its compelling characters and vivid landscapes, inviting them into a world rife with challenges and heart-wrenching dilemmas. This is Book 11 in our Zane Grey Westerns series.