About this book
The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 by James Fenimoore Cooper is the second and best-known book of his Leatherstocking Tales pentalogy. Like the rest of the books in the series, the story follows the adventures of Natty Bumppo, nicknamed “Hawkeye” by his Native American friends. Set in 1757 in the American wilderness that would become New York State, The Last of the Mohicans takes place during the Seven Years' War (known in America as the French and Indian War). The book is widely read in American Literature courses, particularly in discussions of westward expansion and Native American assimilation, although Cooper himself was considered sympathetic towards Native Americans.
Summary
The classic tale of Hawkeye—Natty Bumppo—the frontier scout who turned his back on "civilization," and his friendship with a Mohican warrior as they escort two sisters through the dangerous wilderness of Indian country in frontier America.
From the publisher
"The Last of the Mohicans, " one of the world's great adventure stories, dramatizes how the birth of American culture was intertwined with that of Native Americans. In 1757, as the English and the French war over American territory, the frontier scout Hawkeye--Natty Bumppo--risks his life to escort two sisters through hostile Huron country. Hawkeye enlists the aid of his Mohican friends Chingachgook and Uncas, and together they battle deception, brutality, and death in a thrilling story of loyalty, moral courage, and love.
With an Introduction by Richard Hutson and a New Afterword by Hugh C. MacDougall
First line
IT WAS a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of North America, that the toils and dangers of the wilderness were to be encountered before the adverse hosts could meet.
First Edition Identification
The Last of the Mohicans was first published in two volumes
by H.C. Carey & I. Lea in Philadelphia in 1826. First editions contain a
number of identifiable points of issue including page 89 mispaged 93 and bound
after page 91/92 and Chapter XVI numbered XIV in Volume I (page 243). First
editions of The Last of the Mohicans have sold for $15,000 to $30,000.
Details
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Title
Last of the Mohicans
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Author
James Fenimore Cooper
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Binding
Hardcover
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Volumes
1
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Language
ENG
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Publisher
Amereon Limited
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Date
June 1941
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ISBN
9780891908951 / 0891908951
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Ages
18 to UP years
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Grade levels
13 - UP
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Themes
- Chronological Period: 18th Century
- Cultural Region: Western U.S.
- Ethnic Orientation: Native American
- Topical: Country/Cowboy
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Dewey Decimal Code
FIC
About the author
James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) was born in Burlington, New Jersey, and his family moved to Cooperstown, New York, while he was still an infant. He attended Yale College until he was expelled for bad behavior. He served in the U.S. Navy, resigning in 1811 to get married. With his story "The Pilot" (1823), Cooper set the style for a new genre of sea fiction. His most famous novels are the Leather-Stocking Tales ("The Pioneers," 1823; "The Last of the Mohicans," 1826; "The Prairie," 1827; "The Pathfinder," 1840; and "The Deerslayer," 1841), featuring the quintessential American hero Natty Bumppo. Cooper, a keen social critic, wrote several well-regarded naval histories.
Richard Hutson is an associate professor of English and director of the American Studies Program at the University of California, Berkeley. His teaching and writing have been primarily on American popular culture of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, especially on the American West. Hugh C. MacDougall, a graduate of Harvard, Columbia Law School and Columbia School of International Affairs, served in the State Department for twenty-eight years, including postings in tropical Africa, Brazil, and Burma. He is a founder of the James Fenimore Cooper Society, and has presented many papers on Cooper and his writings.
