''Riders of the Purple Sage'' is a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

novel by

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American fronti ...

, first published by

Harper & Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...

in 1912. Considered by scholars to have played a significant role in shaping the formula of the popular Western genre, the novel has been called "the most popular western novel of all time."

Plot

''Riders of the Purple Sage'' is a story about three main characters, Bern Venters, Jane Withersteen, and Jim Lassiter, who in various ways struggle with persecution from the local

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

community led by Bishop Dyer and Elder Tull in the fictional town of Cottonwoods, Utah. Jane Withersteen, a born-and-raised Mormon, provokes Elder Tull because she is attractive, wealthy, and befriends " Gentiles" (non-Mormons), namely, a little girl named Fay Larkin, a man she has hired named Bern Venters, and another hired man named Jim Lassiter. Elder Tull, a

polygamist Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

with two wives already, wishes to have Jane for a third wife, along with her estate. The story involves cattle-rustling, horse-theft, kidnapping and gunfights.

Setting

The setting is Southern Utah canyon country, 1871. The influx of Mormon settlers from 1847 to 1857 serves as a backdrop for the plot. The Mormons had been living in

Kirtland, Ohio Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,937 at the 2020 census. Kirtland is known for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1831 to 1837 and is the site of the movement's first t ...

in the 1830s, but ventured west to escape persecution, Mormons being unpopular.

Point-of-view

The story is told from an anonymous third-person, omniscient point-of-view. The narrator reports what the characters say and how they feel, even when they are alone. For example: "On this night the same old loneliness beset Venters..."

Characters

;Jane Withersteen Wealthy owner and operator of the considerable Withersteen ranch, her father having founded and established the estate. Miss Withersteen sympathizes with both Mormons (her own people) and Gentiles, which gets her into trouble with the local bishop and elder. ;Bern Venters Venters is a non-Mormon in the employ of Miss Withersteen. As the story opens he is in a very poor state, being persecuted by the local Mormons. However, Venters is very able with firearms and horses, and he is determined not to be beat. ;Jim Lassiter Lassiter is a gunfighter on a mysterious mission which brings him to Cottonwoods and Miss Withersteen. He is a non-Mormon and furthermore has no creed except his own way. ;Bess/Elizabeth Erne Bess has been raised by Oldring and his band of rustlers; she has very little memory of her mother. She is known as the Masked Rider. ;Elder Tull Tull practices " plural marriage" and desires to marry Jane Withersteen. He also wants to drive Bern Venters and Lassiter out of town and out of the region.

Sequel

'' The Rainbow Trail'', a sequel to ''Riders of the Purple Sage'' that reveals the fate of Jane and Lassiter and their adopted daughter, was published in 1915. Both novels are notable for their protagonists' strong opposition to

polygamy, but in ''Rainbow Trail'' this theme is treated more explicitly. The plots of both books revolve around the victimization of women in the Mormon culture: events in ''Riders of the Purple Sage'' are centered on the struggle of a Mormon woman who sacrifices her wealth and social status to avoid becoming a junior wife of the head of the local church, while ''Rainbow Trail'' contrasts the fanatical older Mormons with the rising generation of Mormon women who will not tolerate polygamy and Mormon men who will not seek it.

Adaptations

Films

''Riders of the Purple Sage'' has been adapted to film five times. The first film version of the novel was the silent film '' Riders of the Purple Sage'' (1918) starring

William Farnum William Farnum (July 4, 1876 – June 5, 1953) was an American actor. He was a star of American silent film cinema and became one of the highest-paid actors during that time. Biography Farnum was born on July 4, 1876, in Boston, Massachuse ...

as Lassiter and Mary Mersch as Jane. In later film versions the villains are corrupt judges or lawyers, not polygamous Mormons. A second silent film version was released in 1925, starring

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...

as Lassiter and

Mabel Ballin Mabel Ballin (née Croft; January 1, 1885 – July 24, 1958), was an American motion-picture actress of the silent film era. Early life and career Mabel Croft was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 1, 1885. Some sources give 1887 as h ...

as Jane. The first sound version appeared in 1931, starring George O'Brien as Lassiter and

Marguerite Churchill Marguerite Churchill (December 26, 1910 – January 9, 2000) was an American stage and film actress whose career lasted 30 years, from 1922 to 1952. She was John Wayne's first leading lady, in '' The Big Trail'' (1930). Early years She was ...

as Jane. In 1941, a fourth film version was released, starring George Montgomery as Jim Lassiter and Mary Howard as Jane. Fifty-five years later, a television film, ''Riders of the Purple Sage'' (1996), was released, starring

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award ...

as Lassiter and

Amy Madigan Amy Marie Madigan (born September 11, 1950) is an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1985 film '' Twice in a Lifetime''. Her other film credits include '' Love Child'' (1982), ''Places ...

as Jane. * '' Riders of the Purple Sage'' (1918), starring

and Mary Mersch * '' Riders of the Purple Sage'' (1925), starring

and

* '' Riders of the Purple Sage'' (1931), starring George O'Brien and

* '' Riders of the Purple Sage'' (1941), starring George Montgomery and Mary Howard * '' Riders of the Purple Sage'' (1996), starring

and

Other media

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

the novel was rejected for publication as an

Armed Services Editions Armed Services Editions (ASEs) were small paperback books of fiction and nonfiction that were distributed in the American military during World War II. From 1943 to 1947, some 122 million copies of more than 1,300 ASE titles were distributed to ...

paperback provided to US servicemen due to perceived bias against

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

. In 1952, Dell released a comic book version of the novel (Dell # 372). ''Riders of the Purple Sage'' was adapted into an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

by composer

Craig Bohmler Craig Bohmler (born April 7, 1956)Hansen, Niels-Henning."En tilgang til den klassiske Musik" NielsHenning.dk. p. 145. Retrieved August 12, 2019. is an American composer who specializes in opera and musical theater. His musicals include ''Gunmetal B ...

and librettist Steven Mark Kohn. It had its world premiere in February and March 2017 by the Arizona Opera in Tucson and Phoenix. The opera was broadcast nationwide on November 25, 2017 on the

WFMT Radio Network WFMT is an FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a format of fine arts, classical music programming, and shows exploring such genres as folk. The station is managed by Window to the World Communications, Inc., owner of WTTW, Chicago ...

's American Opera Series, and broadcast internationally in 2018 via distribution to the European Broadcasting Union."Program: 3. 11. 2018"
'' Vlata''. Retrieved August 14, 2019.

In popular culture

''Riders of the Purple Sage'' has inspired a number of homages, including: *Three separate

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

bands have used the name Riders of the Purple Sage, one of which further inspired the name of country rock band, New Riders of the Purple Sage. *Author

Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. Obituary. Farmer is best known for his sequences of novels, especially the ''World of Tiers ...

's 1967 science fiction novella, ''

Riders of the Purple Wage ''Riders of the Purple Wage'' (1967) is a science fiction novella by American writer Philip José Farmer (1918-2009). It appeared in ''Dangerous Visions'', the New Wave science fiction anthology compiled by Harlan Ellison and won the Hugo Award ...

'', and his 1980 ''

Thieves' World Thieves' World is a shared world fantasy series created by Robert Lynn Asprin in 1978. The original series comprised twelve anthologies, including stories by science fiction authors Poul Anderson, John Brunner, Andrew J. Offutt, C. J. Cherr ...

'' short story, " Spiders of the Purple Mage." *A two part scenario for the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

'' role-playing game titled "Tortles of the Purple Sage" appeared in '' Dungeon Adventures'' #6 and #7 (1987). Bobbi Anderson, a novelist who is the main protagonist of Stephen King's 1987 novel

The Tommyknockers ''The Tommyknockers'' is a 1987 science fiction novel by Stephen King. While maintaining a horror style, the novel is an excursion into the realm of science fiction for King, as the residents of the Maine town of Haven gradually fall under the i ...

, mentions Riders of the Purple Sage as one of her favorite novels, indicating that her copy of it had been read "nearly to tatters."

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * *

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1912 American novels Novels by Zane Grey Mormonism in fiction Western (genre) novels Fiction set in 1871 Novels set in the 1870s Novels set in Utah American novels adapted into films Harper & Brothers books Novels adapted into operas Third-person narrative novels Western romance novels