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

eminently successful. His word pictures of forest and prairie, of land fights and sea fights, of storm and wreck are superb. The account of the Pilot's working the frigate from her perilous position on a treacherous coast and the thrilling incident of the Ariel's wreck are unsurpassed. Cooper was prolix, he moralized to excess on commonplace themes. His characters are often described as conventional rather than living personalities. Nevertheless, in his best narratives interest rarely flags. He is fertile in incident, good in arousing suspense, and not too technical to be clear. The reader who to-day takes up the volumes of the Leather Stocking Series in their proper order -- The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder, The Pioneers, and The Prairie -- will not be disposed to question the preëminence of these tales in the field of native historical romance. If he adds to these an equal number of the sea tales, including The Pilot, The Red Rover, The Water-Witch, The Two Admirals, Wing-and-Wing, he will find that the genius of Cooper does not suffer when brought in comparison with later story-tellers who -- many of them his imitators -- are cultivating the romance of nautical adventure to-day.

Suggestions for Reading.

The Last of the Mohicans is the volume usually prescribed for reading in school courses. It is a pity that the pupil should not first read The Deerslayer, its predecessor in the series. As representative of the sea tales, either The Pilot or The Red Rover may be taken. The Spy will prove an interesting narrative for those who enjoy historical romance. While it is impossible satisfactorily to represent any novel by selections from it, the first five chapters of The Pilot will serve well to illustrate Cooper's style in narrative; so will chapters 27, 28, 29, and 30 of The Deerslayer. The first includes the account of the escape of the Ariel; the second that of Natty Bumppo's brief captivity among the Hurons. Both are thrilling incidents admirably narrated. For a review of Cooper's life and work, select the James Fenimore Cooper by Thomas R. Lounsbury. It is an ideally written biography -- one of the best in the series of the American Men of Letters. A short sketch of Cooper is the volume by Clymer in the Beacon Biographies. Bryant's memorial address, in the volume of his Orations and Addresses, will repay the reference. The Atlantic Monthly, for September, 1907, contains an interesting article on Cooper, by Brander Matthews.