Books by James Fenimore Cooper

Book SynopsisNatty Bumppo is a bold young man raised by Native Americans. Nicknamed “Deerslayer” for his courageous attitude that sets him apart from his peers, Natty is adventurous and kind. As a firm believer that all living beings should respect the gifts of nature, Natty despises violence. However, as he comes of age and experiences the antagonistic relationship between Native Americans and white settlers, violence is difficult to avoid. With the help of his best friend, Chingachgook, Natty struggles to confront two white men at the center of the violence. Henry March, a man nearly opposite of Natty in terms of morals and upbringing, collaborates with former pirate “Floating Tom” Hutter to achieve their racist agenda and claim land previously occupied by indigenous people. Intending to scalp and kill as many Native Americans as they can, Hutter and March attack a Native American village, setting a cruel precedent. This attack spurs retribution and a string of kidnappings, ransoms, and rescue missions—all of which Natty finds himself in the middle of. Meanwhile, Natty and Chingachgook meet Tom Hutter’s daughters, Judith and Hetty, who also find themselves stuck in the bloodthirsty environment the elder generation is brewing. Judith is enamored by Natty and attempts to nurture a romance between the two of them. Now, facing tragic deaths, unnecessary violence, and the trials of love, Natty must come of age as he attempts to survive and stop the brutality. With intricate prose and high adventure, The Deerslayer introduces the pioneer New York setting and protagonists of James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales series. The Deerslayer depicts the violence that the Europeans inflicted upon Native Americans with a unique perspective, noting the differences between the two races while also hailing the similarities, encouraging unity. Though written much later than the rest of the novels in the series, The Deerslayer prequels the rest, and is chronologically first in the narrative of James Fenimore Cooper’s famous series. Blending action and romance genres, The Deerslayer remains exciting to a modern audience while depicting the struggle of early American life. This edition of James Fenimore Cooper’s The Deerslayer features a new, eye-catching cover design and is printed in a modern font. With these accommodations, contemporary readers can experience the exceptional and complex origin story of the courageous protagonist of the Leatherstocking Tales.

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Book SynopsisThe Last of the Mohicans enjoyed tremendous popularity both in America and abroad, offering its readers not only a variation on the immensely popular traditional captivity narrative of the time, but also characters that would become iconic figures in the young nation’s emerging literature. The novel’s central action follows Leatherstocking and his two faithful friends, Chingachgook and Uncas, as they come to the aid of two daughters of a British officer seeking to become reunited with their father. The novel provides insights into Cooper’s own thinking on Native American and White relations during the early national period, revealing a profound ambivalence to the reality that the rising fortunes of the young United States meant the declining fortunes of the nation’s Native American inhabitants.Trade Review“James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans presents a double challenge to today’s readers; a work of historical fiction, it has become, in itself, a historical artifact in need of explication. Paul Gutjahr’s elegant introduction and judicious choice of secondary sources help to place Cooper’s novel in its historical moment, while at the same time clarifying the novel’s own engagements with American history. Accentuating Cooper’s engagement with issues of race, gender, and hemispheric conflict, Gutjahr’s edition reminds us of why Cooper’s novel remains timely and even urgent. It will be the edition of choice for scholars, students, and casual readers alike.” — Leon Jackson, University of South Carolina“Paul Gutjahr’s edition of The Last of the Mohicans is a model text, ideally suited for the classroom or the general reader. The decision to print the novel in its original two-volume format foregrounds Cooper’s careful structuring of the book. Gutjahr’s informative introduction effectively explores the novel’s formal structure and its engagements with colonial and antebellum American history. The contextual materials included are also well-chosen. Including excerpts of Cooper’s ethnographic source material in the edition is extremely helpful, as this will aid readers in developing a deeper understanding of the novel’s representations of colonial history. This is certainly an edition I will use and recommend.” — David J. Carlson, California State University, San BernardinoTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsMapsIntroductionJames Fenimore Cooper: A Brief ChronologyA Note on the TextThe Last of the MohicansPrefaceVolume IVolume IIAppendix A: IllustrationsAppendix B: Cooper’s Historical Sources From John Gottlieb Heckewelder, History, Manners and Customs of the Indian Nations (1876) From Jonathan Carver, Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America in the Years 1766, 1767, and 1768(1781) From Benjamin Silliman, A Short Tour Between Hartford and Quebec (1824) Appendix C: Recollections and Appraisals of Cooper From the United States Literary Gazette (May 1826) From the Literary Gazette and Journal of the Belles Lettres (April 1826) From W.H. Gardiner, North American Review (1826) From William Cullen Bryant, “Discourse on the Life, Genius, and Writings of J. Fenimore Cooper” (1852) From Susan Fenimore Cooper, Pages and Pictures, from the Writings of James Fenimore Cooper (1861) From Mark Twain, “Fenimore Cooper’s Further Literary Offenses,” The New England Quarterly (c. 1895) Appendix D: The Cherokee Removal The United States Congress’s Indian Removal Act (1830) From Andrew Jackson’s Second State of the Union Address (1830) Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe definitive edition of Cooper’s great epic of the American frontier, now in a dramatic boxed set. Here, presented in their order of composition and in the most authoritative texts available, are all five classic novels: The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, The Prairie, The Pathfinder, The Deerslayer.LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

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Book SynopsisThe first of Cooper''s Leatherstocking Tales, The Pioneers introduces the character of Natty Bumppo, one of literature''s most unforgettable heroes, an outsider on the advancing edge of a civilization he can neither abide nor escape. Bumppo makes his first appearance here as an aged hunter living on the fringe of settlement near Templeton (Cooperstown), New York, at the end of the eighteenth century. An introduction by historian Alan Taylor (William Cooper''s Town) explores the real historical backdrop against which Cooper''s imagination flourished.

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Book SynopsisThe American Revolution comes to vivid life in two dramatic tales of espionage, intrigue, and romance from the author of The Last of Mohicans.

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Book SynopsisAfter doubts are raised concerning the trustworthiness of Magua, Cora and Alice Munro’s Native American guide, the warrior slips away into the wilderness, and the vulnerable sisters turn to the scout Hawk-eye and the Mohicans Chingachgook and Uncas to lead them to Fort William Henry, where their father is in command. Yet Magua is sure to return with his fellow Huron warriors, and with the bloody conflict of the French and Indian War raging all around them, the Munros will have to trust their new guides if they are ever to reach the fort. Widely regarded as the first great American novel, The Last of the Mohicans, with its epic landscapes, stoic frontiersmen and noble Native Americans, created much of the mythology and romance that has wreathed the American frontier adventure ever since. This edition contains notes and extra material.

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Book SynopsisThe first of James Fenimore Cooper's "Leatherstocking Tales," "The Pioneers" tells the story of the elderly Natty Bumppo and his ongoing friendship with the Mohican, Chingachgook. Classics Illustrated tells this wonderful tale in colourful comic strip form, offering an excellent introduction for younger readers. This edition also includes a biogra

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