Pearl Zane Grey (1872 – 1939) was one of the first millionaire authors, but struggled for a long time and had numerous works rejected before "Riders of the Purple Sage" became a bestseller. He is best known for his popular adventure novels and stories presenting an idealized (and sometimes controversial) image of the Old West. He was also a dentist and a champion baseball player. Despite such varied accomplishments, he was one of many American writers to suffer, and speak about, crushing depression.