Chapter James Fenimore Cooper of Index by Simonds History of American Literature

an English novel which had come into his hand. "Try," said his wife. In November, 1820, the novel, Precaution, was published. No one reads the book to-day; it is doubtful if many of Cooper's contemporaries read it, but some of his friends seemed to find evidence of promise amid its crudities and encouraged the author to go on. The next year he had something better to present them; this time it was The Spy, a tale of the Revolution.

The Spy.

This famous novel had some foundation in historical fact. Cooper had heard from John Jay, years before, an account of a patriot spy who had been in his service during the war; this was the germ of the narrative. The story was vivid and impressive; it was full of local color; it appealed to the patriotism of readers. In many ways it was the best piece of fiction that had been produced in this country, and even permitted comparison with Scott. Its success was immediate and unprecedented at home, while in England its success was relatively as great. It was translated into French and then into other European languages. It was dramatized and long remained popular on the stage. Numerous imitations were inspired; and the hero of the novel, Harvey Birch, found a place in the popular heart.

Between 1820 and 1830, Cooper produced eleven novels. The Pioneers (1823) was the first of the famous series by reason of which Cooper holds his rank among the novelists. It was a labor of love -- this attempt to interpret the picturesque life of the frontier, and with the final completion of the Leather Stocking Tales he had fairly performed the task. This great series, however, was not produced consecutively or in regular order. Cooper's fourth narrative was The Pilot, the first of his sea tales; and this appeared in January, 1824.

The Pilot.

The Pilot was, like The Spy, an experiment; for the real romance of the sea had not been attempted, although the coarsely realistic stories of Smollett had indeed introduced the theme into English fiction. Scott's novel The Pirate had been published near the close of 1821, and as the author's identity was still concealed, the apparent familiarity with nautical terms displayed in that narrative occasioned much conjecture. It was declared that it must be the work of a seafaring man. Cooper maintained otherwise and asserted that the author's ignorance of maritime affairs was betrayed by the book. He went further and determined to write a sea story to prove his argument. The success of The Pilot was almost as brilliant as that of The Spy. For the first time, a genuine sea novel had been written; and in spite of some obvious defects, The Pilot remains to this day one of the best novels of its class. The principal characters, Colonel Howard, the American with tory sympathies, Captain Borroughcliffe, the British officer, Captain Manual of the Marines, the midshipman, Merry, Boltrope, the quartermaster, and, above all, Long Tom Coffin, the typical American sailor, are most happily drawn. The "female" characters, as Cooper would have designated the heroine and her companion, are -- as is always the case in his narratives -- inane and unreal. On the other hand, the actual hero of the story, John Paul Jones, who appears in disguise and is known only as the Pilot, is presented with considerable success; the character certainly maintains the impressiveness of the traditional hero of romance and presents as commanding a figure as any produced in more recent attempts to portray this imposing personality of Revolutionary days.

Cooper's Novels.

Thus was James Fenimore Cooper fairly launched on his career as a novelist. He wrote prolifically, becoming the author of some thirty works of fiction, of which perhaps a dozen may be called great novels. Besides those already named, Precaution (1820), The Spy (1821), The Pioneers (1823), and The Pilot (1824), the following are included in the list: Lionel Lincoln (1825), The Last of the Mohicans (1826), The Prairie (1827), The Red Rover (1828), The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish (1829), The Water-Witch (1830), The Bravo (1831), The Heidenmauer (1832), The Headsman (1833), The Monikins (1835), Homeward Bound (1838), Home as Found (1838), The Pathfinder (1840), Mercedes of Castile (1840), The Deerslayer (1841), The Two Admirals (1842), Wing-and-Wing (1842), Wyandotte (1843),Afloat and Ashore (1844),