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James Fenimore Cooper
Portrait by John Wesley Jarvis
Born	September 15, 1789(1789-09-15) Burlington, New Jersey
Died	September 14, 1851 (aged 61) Cooperstown, New York
Occupation	Novelist
Genres	Historical Fiction

James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical romances known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo. Among his most famous works is the Romantic novel The Last of the Mohicans, which many consider to be his masterpiece.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Literary career 2.1 The Leatherstocking tales 3 Last years and legacy 4 Cooper's writings 5 Modern editions of Cooper 6 References 7 External links

Cooper was born in Burlington, New Jersey^[1], on the September 15, 1789, the eleventh of William and Elizabeth Cooper's twelve children (most of whom died in childhood). When James was one year old, his family moved to the frontier of Otsego Lake, New York, where his father established a settlement which became modern-day Cooperstown, New York. His father was a judge a former US President. James was sent to school in Albany at the Albany Academy for Boys and at New Haven. He entered Yale College in 1803 as its youngest student, but was expelled in 1805, apparently for a dangerous prank involving blowing up another student's pants , as well as for stealing a cow.[1]

Three years afterward he joined the United States Navy; but in 1811, after making a few voyages in a merchant vessel to perfect his seamanship and obtain his lieutenancy, he resigned. That year Cooper married Susan Augusta de Lancey (the wedding took place in Mamaroneck, New York, on New Years Day, 1811) . He had married into one of the best families in the state.

His father William died in 1809, when James was twenty years old, leaving a legacy that influenced his entire career. Almost one half of Cooper's novels are about populating the wilderness; in The Pioneers his father appears directly, as Judge Marmaduke Temple of Templeton.

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Cooper settled in Scarsdale, Westchester County, New York, the “Neutral Ground” of his earliest American romance, and produced anonymously his first book, Precaution(1820), a novel of the fashionable school. This was followed by The Spy (1821), which was very successful at the date of issue; The Pioneers (1823), the first of the Leatherstocking series; and The Pilot (1824), a bold and dashing sea-story. The next was Lionel Lincoln (1825), followed in 1826 by Last of the Mohicans, a book that is considered by many to be Cooper's masterpiece. The book was written in a second-story storefront-apartment in Warrensburg, New York, just north of where most of the book's plot takes place. Quitting America for Europe he published in Paris The Prairie (1826) and The Red Rover, (1828).

At this period Cooper's talent seems to have been at its best. These novels were succeeded by: The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish (1829); by The Notions of a Traveling Bachelor (1828); and by The Waterwitch (1830), one of his many sea-stories. In 1830 he entered the lists as a party writer; in a series of letters to the National, a Parisian journal, he defended the United States against a string of charges brought against them by the Revue Britannique. For the rest of his life he continued skirmishing in print, sometimes for the national interest, sometimes for that of the individual, and not infrequently for both at once.

This opportunity to make a political confession of faith appears not only to have fortified him in his own convictions, but to have inspired him with the idea of elucidating them for the public through the medium of his art. His next three novels, The Bravo (1831), The Heidenmauer (1832) and The Headsman: or the Abbaye of Vigneron (1833), were expressions of Cooper's republican convictions. The Bravo depicted Venice as a place where a ruthless oligarchy lurks behind the mask of the "serene republic." All were widely read on both sides of the Atlantic, though The Bravo was a critical failure in the United States.[1]

In 1833 Cooper returned to America and immediately published A Letter to My Countrymen, in which he gave his own version of the controversy in which he had been engaged and sharply censured his compatriots for their share in it. This attack he followed up with The Monikins (1835) and The American Democrat (1835); with several sets of notes on his travels and experiences in Europe, among which may be remarked his England (1837), in three volumes, and with Homeward Bound and Home as Found (1838), notable as containing a highly idealized portrait of himself.

All these books tended to increase the ill feeling between author and public; the Whig press was virulent and scandalous in its comments, and Cooper plunged into a series of actions for libel. Victorious in all of them, he returned to his old occupation with something of his original vigor and success. A History of the Navy of the United States (1839), supplemented (1846) by a set of Lives of Distinguished American Naval Officers, was succeeded by The Pathfinder (1840), a good “Leatherstocking” novel; by Mercedes of Castile (1840); The Deerslayer (1841); by The Two Admirals and by Wing and Wing (1842); by Wyandotte, The History of a Pocket Handkerchief, and Ned Myers (1843); and by Afloat and Ashore, or the Adventures of Miles Wallingford (1844).

He turned again from pure fiction to the combination of art and controversy in which he had achieved distinction, and in the two Littlepage Manuscripts (1845—1846) he wrote with a great deal of vigour. His next novel was The Crater, or Vulcan's Peak (1847), in which he attempted to introduce supernatural machinery; and this was succeeded by Oak Openings, The Two Admirals, and Jack Tier (1848), the latter a curious rifacimento of The Red Rover; by The Sea Lions (1849); and finally by The Ways of the Hour (1850), another title with a purpose, and his last completed novel.

Cooper's work was admired greatly throughout the world. While on his death bed, the Austrian composer Franz Schubert became an avid reader of Cooper's novels.

The five Leatherstocking novels chronicle the life of Nathaniel "Natty" Bumppo, who lives in the frontier (which moves steadily westward with each successive novel) at the intersection of European and Native American culture. Bumppo is a hybrid of these cultures; in each book, he has a different Native American name, and it is by these names that he is known. These books are a lucid and insightful study of the encounter between the two cultures, from the point of view of a man who manages to straddle the divide between them.

Cooper spent the last years of his life in Cooperstown, New York (named for his father). He died of dropsy on September 14, 1851- a day before his 62nd birthday - and a statue was later erected in his honor.

Cooper was certainly one of the most popular 19th century American authors. His stories have been translated into nearly all the languages of Europe and into some of those of Asia. Balzac admired him greatly, but with discrimination; Victor Hugo pronounced him greater than the great master of modern romance, and this verdict was echoed by a multitude of less famous readers, who were satisfied with no title for their favourite less than that of “the American Scott.” As a satirist and observer he is simply the “Cooper who's written six volumes to prove he's as good as a Lord” of Lowell's clever portrait; his enormous vanity and his irritability find vent in a sort of dull violence, which is exceedingly tiresome.Template:FixPOVn He was most memorably criticised by Mark Twain whose vicious and amusing "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences" is still read widely in academic circles.

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Date	Title: Subtitle	Genre	Topic, Location, Period
1820	Precaution [2]	novel	England, 1813-1814
1821	The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral Ground [3]	novel	Westchester County, New York, 1778
1823	The Pioneers: or The Sources of the Susquehanna	novel	Leatherstocking, Otsego County, New York, 1793-1794,
1823	Tales for Fifteen: or Imagination and Heart [4]	2 short stories	written under the pseudonym: "Jane Morgan"
1823	The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea [5]	novel	John Paul Jones, England, 1780
1825	Lionel Lincoln: or The Leaguer of Boston	novel	Battle of Bunker Hill, Boston, 1775-1781
1826	The Last of the Mohicans: A narrative of 1757 [6]	novel	Leatherstocking, French and Indian War, Lake George & Adirondacks, 1757
1827	The Prairie [7]	novel	Leatherstocking, American Midwest, 1805
1828	The Red Rover: A Tale [8]	novel	Newport, Rhode Island & Atlantic Ocean, pirates, 1759
1828	Notions of the Americans: Picked up by a Travelling Bachelor	non-fiction	America for European readers
1829	The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish: A Tale [9]	novel	Western Connecticut, Puritans and Indians, 1660-1676
1830	The Water-Witch: or the Skimmer of the Seas [10]	novel	New York, smugglers, 1713
1830	Letter to General Lafayette	politics	France vs. US, cost of government
1831	The Bravo: A Tale [11]	novel	Venice, 18th century
1832	The Heidenmauer: or, The Benedictines, A Legend of the Rhine	novel	German Rhineland, 16th century
1832	No Steamboats	short story
1833	The Headsman: The Abbaye des Vignerons [12]	novel	Geneva, Switzerland, & Alps, 18th century
1834	A Letter to His Countrymen	politics	Why Cooper temporarily stopped writing
1835	The Monikins [13]	novel	Antarctica, aristocratic monkeys. 1830s
1836	The Eclipse [14]	memoir	Solar eclipse in Cooperstown, New York 1806
1836	Gleanings in Europe: Switzerland (Sketches of Switzerland)	travel	Hiking in Switzerland, 1828
1836	Gleanings in Europe: The Rhine (Sketches of Switzerland, Part Second)	travel	Travels France, Rhineland & Switzerland, 1832
1836	A Residence in France: With an Excursion Up the Rhine, and a Second Visit to Switzerland [15]	travel
1837	Gleanings in Europe: France	travel	Living, travelling in France, 1826-1828
1837	Gleanings in Europe: England	travel	Travels in England, 1826, 1828, 1833
1838	Gleanings in Europe: Italy	travel	Living, travelling in Italy, 1828-1830
1838	The American Democrat : or Hints on the Social and Civic Relations of the United States of America	non-fiction	US society and government
1838	The Chronicles of Cooperstown The Chronicles of Cooperstown	history	Local history of Cooperstown, New York
1838	Hommeward Bound: or The Chase: A Tale of the Sea [16]	novel	Atlantic Ocean & North African coast, 1835
1838	Home as Found: Sequel to Homeward Bound [17]	novel	Eve Effingham, New York City & Otsego County, New York, 1835
1839	The History of the Navy of the United States of America	history	US Naval history to date
1839	Old Ironsides [18]	history	History of the Frigate USS Constitution, 1st pub. 1853
1840	The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea [19]	novel	Leatherstocking, Western New York, 1759
1840	Mercedes of Castile: or, The Voyage to Cathay	novel	Christopher Columbus in West Indies, 1490s
1841	The Deerslayer: or The First Warpath	novel	Leatherstocking, Otsego Lake 1740-1745
1842	The Two Admirals	novel	England & English Channel, Scottish uprising, 1745
1842	The Wing-and-Wing: le Le Feu-Follet [20] (Jack o Lantern)	novel	Italian coast, Napoleonic Wars, 1745
1843	Autobiography of a Pocket-Handkerchief [21], also published as Le Mouchoir: An Autobiographical Romance The French Governess: or The Embroidered Handkerchief Die franzosischer Erzieheren: oder das gestickte Taschentuch	novelette	Social satire, France & New York, 1830s
1843	Richard Dale
1843	Wyandotte: or The Hutted Knoll. A Tale [22] [23]	novel	Butternut Valley of Otsego County, New York, 1763-1776
1843	Ned Myers: or Life before the Mast [24]	biography	of Cooper's shipmate
1844	Afloat and Ashore: or The Adventures of Miles Wallingford. A Sea Tale [25]	novel	Ulster County & worldwide, 1795-1805
1844	Miles Wallingford: Sequel to Afloat and Ashore [26]	novel	Ulster County & worldwide, 1795-1805
1844	Proceedings of the Naval Court-Martial in the Case of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, &c.
1845	Satanstoe: or The Littlepage Manuscripts, a Tale of the Colony [27]	novel	New York City, Westchester County, Albany, Adirondacks, 1758
1845	The Chainbearer; or, The Littlepage Manuscripts	novel	Westchester County, Adirondacks, 1780s (next generation)
1846	The Redskins; or, Indian and Injin: Being the Conclusion of the Littlepage Manuscripts	novel	Anti-rent wars, Adirondacks, 1845
1846	Lives of Distinguished American Naval Officers	biography
1847	The Crater; or, Vulcan's Peak: A Tale of the Pacific [28] (Mark's Reef)	novel	Philadelphia, Bristol (PA), & deserted Pacific island, early 1800s
1848	Jack Tier: or the Florida Reefs [29] a.k.a. Captain Spike: or The Islets of the Gulf	novel	Florida Keys, Mexican War, 1846
1848	The Oak Openings: or the Bee-Hunter [30]	novel	Kalamazoo River, Michigan, War of 1812
1849	The Sea Lions: The Lost Sealers [31]	novel	Long Island & Antarctica, 1819-1820
1850	The Ways of the Hour	novel	"Dukes County, New York," murder/courtroom mystery novel, legal corruption, women's rights, 1846
1850	Upside Down: or Philosophy in Petticoats	play	satirization of socialism
1851	The Lake Gun [32]	short story	Seneca Lake in New York, political satire based on folklore
1851	New York: or The Towns of Manhattan [33]	history	Unfinished, history of New York City, 1st pub. 1864

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (June 2007)

Sources for this table include:

• http://www.oneonta.edu/external/cooper/bibliography/works.html
• http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jfcooper.htm
• http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/enl310/cooper.htm
• http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/c

• The Leatherstocking Tales, vol. 1, Blake Nevius, ed. (New York: The Library of America, 1985) ISBN 978-0-94045020-2. Includes The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, The Prairie.
• The Leatherstocking Tales, vol. 2, Blake Nevius, ed. (New York: The Library of America, 1985) ISBN ISBN 978-0-94045021-9. Includes The Pathfinder and The Deerslayer.

• Sea Tales: The Pilot, The Red Rover, Kay Seymour House & Thomas Philbrick, eds. (New York: The Library of America, 1991) ISBN 0-940450-70-4

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (June 2007)

• The Cambridge History of American Literature, Fiction I: Brown, Cooper
• Find-A-Grave profile for James Fenimore Cooper
• "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses" (1895), by Mark Twain.
• James Fenimore Cooper Society Website
• Essay on Fenimore Cooper: Works in biographical/historical context
• Thomas R. Lounsbury: James Fenimore Cooper. 6th Edition. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1886 (American Men of Letters). PDF from the Arno Schmidt Reference Library

• Works by James Fenimore Cooper at Project Gutenberg
• James Fenimore Cooper at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about James Fenimore Cooper in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Persondata
NAME	Cooper, James Fenimore
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American novelist
DATE OF BIRTH	September 15, 1789
PLACE OF BIRTH	Burlington, New Jersey
DATE OF DEATH	September 14, 1851
PLACE OF DEATH	Cooperstown, New York