The Deerslayer
by James Fenimore Cooper
Foreword by Nathaniel Waring Barnes
The Deerslayer was published in 1841, the last published of Cooper’s “Leatherstocking Tales” saga. Chronologically, it is set before the other tales and thus first in the series. In recent years it has been viewed as the “prequel” to the Leatherstocking Tales.
“The Deerslayer” is of course Cooper’s indomitable frontier hero, Natty Bumppo, sometimes called “Hawkeye”, “Pathfinder”, “Leatherstocking” or “the Scout”, seen here as a young frontiersman in the vicinity of New York’s Lake Otsego, barely staying ahead of the advance of the British colonial settlements.
Against the background of Cooper’s vivid descriptions of the frontier and the wilderness, the Deerslayer and his loyal friend Chingachgook become embroiled in the conflict between the Huron tribe and Tom Hutter, the keeper of a deep secret, and his two daughters, Judith and Hetty, living on a houseboat on the lake, and Henry “Hurry Harry” March. Through a series of forest skirmishes, flights, escapes, and rescues, Cooper creates a complex picture of the inhabitants of the frontier, both red and white.
This quality edition has been prepared by human editors and is not a machine-scanned reproduction of an old edition. It includes the complete text of the classic novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in 1841, in a freshly edited and newly formatted volume with a generous 6×9 page size and 10-point font, printed on heavyweight bright white paper with a fully laminated cover.
Although criticized many years after the fact for his “stereotypical” characters, clearly Chingachgook is a more noble figure than either Hutter or March, and Bumppo explains that some of the conduct of the Indians regarded by whites as “savage” or “brutal”, such as scalp taking, is part of the cultural “natural gifts” of the red man, but does in fact constitute unwarranted savagery when practiced by whites such as Hutter and March, as their culture has no such history.
With the publication of “The Spy” in 1821, James Fenimore Cooper became an international figure and the first authentic American novelist, free of the forms and conventions of the British fiction of the day. With “The Leatherstocking Tales” he became the first great interpreter of the American experience, chronicling the adventures of the indomitable Natty Bumppo, known variously as “Hawkeye,” “Deerslayer,” “Pathfinder,” “Leatherstocking” and other names, from the colonial
Indian wars through the early expansion into the vast western plains.
Published between 1823 and 1841, beginning with “The Pioneers” and ending with “The Deerslayer”, the tales are set against historical events ranging from 1740 to 1804, with Cooper taking some literary license with the actual chronology of events, probably to avoid having Bumppo ranging the Great Plains at over 90 years of age.
Product details
Publisher: Apex Publications, Independently published (May 23, 2024)
Language: English
Paperback: 373 pages
ISBN: 979-8326157379
Item Weight: 1.4 pounds
Dimensions: 6 x 0.84 x 9 inches
List Price: $13.97
