Zane Grey became one of the first millionaire authors. His total book sales exceeded 40 million US dollars. [1]
Zane Grey, born on 31 January 1872 in Zanesville, Ohio, became one of the most prominent American writers of the early 20th century, renowned for his tales of the American West. A trained dentist, Grey’s true passion was always in storytelling, and his writing career took off after he published Riders of the Purple Sage in 1912, a novel that would go on to define the genre of Western fiction. Grey’s deep connection to the outdoors and love of adventure deeply influenced his works.
Grey’s personal life was marked by his love for the rugged landscapes of the West, which became the setting for much of his writing. His wife, Dolly, supported his literary career, and together they embarked on numerous travels. These journeys not only enriched his novels but also inspired them with a wealth of knowledge about the geography and culture of the regions he wrote about. Grey’s work is often celebrated for its vivid descriptions of Western landscapes, a deep appreciation for frontier life, and tales of heroic men and women overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds.
As he grew older, Zane Grey’s fame as a writer expanded internationally. He published over 90 books, many of which were adapted into films and television series. Grey wrote not only Westerns, but also two hunting books, six children’s books, three baseball books, and eight fishing books. Many of them became bestsellers. It has been estimated that he wrote over nine million words during his career. From 1917 to 1926, Grey was on the top ten best-seller list 9 times. Even after his death, his publisher had a stockpile of manuscripts and continued to publish a new title yearly until 1963. When Grey’s books were reprinted as paperbacks in the 1940s, sales exploded.
Grey died of heart failure on 23 October 1939, at the age of 67. He was interred at the Lackawaxen and Union Cemetery, Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania. His stories, which captured both the beauty and brutality of the American West, continue to influence fiction writers to this day.
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