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James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)

 

.	Brief notes on Cooper and The Pioneers James Fenimore Cooper Society Page.  This informative, well-organized, and extensive site has excellent information, including articles and papers about Cooper, a detailed chronology of Cooper's life, an "Ask Fenimore" feature, information about the Cooper Society, and much more.  This site also has information about Susan Fenimore Cooper (Rural Hours and other works). Biographical Information from the "Home as Found" Site  D.H. Lawrence on Cooper's Leatherstocking novels from Studies in Classic American Literature From James Russell Lowell's A Fable for Critics (page images at MOA) (New URL) Scene from The Pioneers and portrait of Cooper courtesy of the New York State Historical  Association at Cooperstown
	Early Biographies from the University of Virginia Text Center From Oscar Fay Adams, A Dictionary of American Authors  From Samuel Austin Allibone, A Critical Dictionary of English Literature  From Evert A. Duyckinck, Cyclopaedia of American Literature Mark Twain's "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses" "Romancing the Indian" site discusses Cooper's portrayal of Native Americans  Paul P. Reuben's Cooper Page contains a bibliography, links, and the chronology of the Leatherstocking novels.
Works Available Online  The annotations in brackets were written by Hugh MacDougall of the James Fenimore Cooper Society, and information and links for the novels listed below are courtesy of that site.  For more information and critical commentary on these and other Cooper works, visit the Cooper Society site.  Tales for Fifteen (1823) [two short stories]  A Letter to His Countrymen (1834) [criticism of American manners and institutions] Autobiography of a Pocket-Handkerchief (1843) [short novel satirizing American culture and capitalist greed] Upside Down; or, The World in Petticoats (1850) [only surviving scene from Cooper's only play -- satirizing socialism and feminists] New York (1851) [Introduction to a never-completed History of New York City] Old Ironsides (1853) [posthumously published account of the US Frigate Constitution]   Note: The texts at Virginia are also available as free Palm and e-book downloads. 1820 Precaution. (Volume 2) University of Virginia facsimile (image and text) of the 1820 first edition 1821 The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral Ground.  (Volume 2) University of Virginia facsimile (image and text) of the 1821 first edition:  1823 The Pioneers, or the Sources of the Susquehanna; A Descriptive Tale.  (Volume 2) University of Virginia facsimile (image and text) of the 1823 first edition:  The Pioneers (Project Gutenberg) 1824 The Pilot; A Tale of the Sea.  (Volume 2) University of Virginia facsimile (image and text) of the 1824 (dated 1823) first edition:  1826 The Last of the Mohicans; A Narrative of 1757.  University of Virginia facsimile (image and text) of the 1826 first edition:  Volume I Volume II The Last of the Mohicans; a Narrative of 1757. A Univ. of Virginia "chapter by chapter" text (no images) (from 1826 first edition) ;  The Last of the Mohicans; a Narrative of 1757. A Bibliomania "chapter by chapter" HTML text The Last of the Mohicans at the University of Virginia (full text)  The Last of the Mohicans at the University of Wisconsin -- Milwaukee  Last of the Mohicans site with images of the places depicted in Cooper's work. 1827 The Prairie; A Tale.  University of Virginia facsimile (image and text) of the 1827 first edition:  Volume I: "chapter by chapter"; single text Volume II: "chapter by chapter"; single text (660 KB).  The Prairie. A Bibliomania "chapter by chapter" HTML text. 1830 The Water-Witch, or The Skimmer of the Seas. A Tale.  University of Virginia facsimile (image and text) of the 1830 first edition:  Volume I Volume II circa 1836 The Eclipse. Account of the 1806 solar eclipse in Cooperstown. 1840 The Pathfinder. A Gutenberg .txt text. 1841 The Deerslayer: or, The First War-Path. A Tale.  University of Virginia facsimile (image and text) of the 1841 first edition:  Volume I Volume II 1843 Wyandotté, or, The Hutted Knoll. A Tale.  University of Virginia facsimile (image and text) of the 1843 first edition:  Volume I Volume II 1848 Jack Tier; or The Florida Reef.  University of Virginia facsimile (image and text) of the 1848 first edition:  Volume I Volume II Other  Texts The Autobiography of a Pocket Handkerchief The Lake Gun Comments to D. Campbell.