Whatever Zane Grey was, in the beginning of his life or in the end, he became a damn fine writer. Westerns were his choice because ten cent westerns sold like hotcakes on a chilly morning. He wrote what would sell in his day. You can call him a great writer by the time he wrote "Riders Of The Purple Sage," "The Spirit of the Border," "Helen Zane," and "The Last Trail." Everywwriter, if he writes much of anything, will write a little trash, but Zane Grey was writing about a part of our country few knew anything about nor the men and women who peopled it. Most anything was believable in those days, even the above. Writers took liberties, even as they do now. Today we like to think we're a little more sophisticated. Everything being equal, are we really? Look at some off the science fiction of recent years. We still allow writers to take liberties and write down to us. I am not taking offense at anything in this thread. I know so little about much of anything, that when I do see something I like, i.e. Zane Grey, my fountain pen almost spills its ink and I write something.
I want to give you 10 “likes” for that post, @Bill Boggs ! Zane Grey has always been one of my favorite writers, and I have not read all of his books, but quite a few of them. When my mom was a child , many years ago, living in Arizona, there was a man who came through that area, collecting information and writing about that part of the country. She never knew for sure, but she said that she always thought it might have been Zane Grey.