Category: Historical Fiction

The Pathfinder
by James Fenimore Cooper
Foreword by Nathaniel Waring Barnes

“The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea” was published in 1840, the fourth published of Cooper’s “Leatherstocking Tales” saga. Chronologically, it is set after “The Last of the Mohicans” and before “The Pioneers” and thus third in the series.

Sent on a secret mission to a British fortress hidden among the Thousand Islands of Canadian Lake Ontario, Cooper’s indomitable frontier hero, Natty Bumppo, sometimes called Hawkeye or Deerslayer, is known in this tale as the Pathfinder, guiding his companions on the perilous journey to Lake Ontario, the “inland sea” of the novel’s original subtitle. Continue reading “The Pathfinder”

The Prairie
by James Fenimore Cooper
Foreword by Nathaniel Waring Barnes

The Prairie, published in 1827, was the third of James Fenimore Cooper’s five novels comprising the “Leatherstocking Tales” saga, although the time period in which the story is set makes it the fifth and last chronologically.

Set in 1804, the tale follows the adventures of Natty Bumppo, over 80 years of age and ranging the plains, having departed his home along the now-vanished New York frontier in search of open country. Called “the trapper” or “the old man” and never referred to by name, numerous references to the previous two novels, as well as the stories and characters in the two which would not be written until years later, leave no doubt that the old trapper is the “Leatherstocking.” Continue reading “The Prairie”

The Last of the Mohicans
A Narrative of 1757
by James Fenimore Cooper
Foreword by Nathaniel Waring Barnes

Widely regarded as the masterpiece of a writing career spanning thirty years, over thirty novels and an extensive body of lesser works, “The Last of the Mohicans” was James Fenimore Cooper’s sixth novel and the second in the Leatherstocking Tales saga.

Set in 1757 during the Seven Years’ War (The French and Indian War in America) between Britain and France, the tale recounts the exploits of Natty Bumppo, called Hawkeye in this story, and his companions Chingachgook and Uncas against the backdrop of a French siege of British-held Fort William Henry. Crossing paths with a relief column also escorting the daughters of the British garrison commander, the three companions become embroiled in a series of frontier adventures involving forest battles, captures, rescues, flights and pursuits through the wilderness. Continue reading “The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757”

The Pioneers
by James Fenimore Cooper
Foreword by Nathaniel Waring Barnes

The Pioneers, published in 1823, was the first of James Fenimore Cooper’s five novels comprising the “Leatherstocking Tales” saga, although the time period in which the story is set makes it the fourth chronologically. The original edition was published as “The Pioneers, Or, The Sources of the Susquehanna, A Descriptive Tale.”

Set in 1793, the tale opens with a dispute between an elderly Natty Bumppo, called Leatherstocking in this story, and Judge Marmaduke Temple of Templeton over who killed a buck. Perhaps ahead of his time, Cooper explores the complex themes of land use and stewardship along the rapidly receding frontier in the vicinity of Lake Otsego, New York, and the relationship between the residents of the growing town and the earlier inhabitants of the frontier. Continue reading “The Pioneers”

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. Continue reading “The Deerslayer”