Coope, James Fenimore | Introduction
James Fenimore Coope 1789-1851
American novelist, essayist, historian, travel writer, and satirist.
For additional information about Cooper's life and career, see ; for discussion of Cooper's Leatherstocking novels, see .
INTRODUCTION
Cooper, who created a uniquely American myth of the pioneer with his historical romances, is considered the first major American novelist and is often credited with establishing the United States as a major force in world literature. Most American critics concur with regards to the historical importance of his works, although some scholars still dismiss him as an artist because of his crude style. However, praise from such writers as D. H. Lawrence, combined with a recent increase in Cooper scholarship, has brought his achievements to light as one of the first American novelists to undertake the creation of a distinct national literature, appropriating his country's history as the central theme of his work.
Biographical Information
Born in Burlington, New Jersey, Cooper moved with his family in 1790 to Cooperstown, New York, an upstate town founded and governed by his father and which later served as a model for the frontier communities of Cooper's fiction. Cooper was sent to Yale at age thirteen, though he was eventually expelled for misconduct. In 1805 he entered the Navy, serving for six years and later drawing on his experiences to write such factually accurate sea tales as The Pilot (1824) and The Red Rover (1828). An inheritance from his father enabled him to leave the Navy in 1811, marry, and lead a leisured existence for about a decade, during which time he fell deeply in debt. In 1826, Cooper left the United States for Europe, where he both defended American democracy and developed sympathy for the aristocratic point of view; he returned to the United States in 1833. By 1850 he had fallen ill, and, returning to Cooperstown, he died the following year, leaving behind a vast and varied body of work.
Major Works
In response to a declaration to his wife that he could write a better novel than the one they were reading, Cooper began his literary career with Precaution (1820), a weak imitation of Jane Austen. Although
Critical Reception
Critics have often noted the influence of the wilderness on Cooper throughout his writing career, praising his depictions of the American landscape. However, some scholars have asserted that his detailed natural descriptions overshadow his plots and characters. Throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and in the first part of the twentieth, literary historians generally acknowledged Cooper as a leading figure in the development of American literary nationalism, but considered his actual achievement of little importance. Beginning in the 1960s, Cooper's works have undergone a revaluation, focusing for the most part on the Leatherstocking novels. Individual studies have examined Cooper's use of historical sources; his treatment of women and native American characters; his facility with landscape description, an aspect of Cooper's literary art that is almost universally commended; and the explication of the hierarchy of class distinctions that is a salient feature of the series. Many commentators have also suggested that Cooper has been undervalued, contending that as America's first popularly successful man of letters, his contribution to the literary and cultural life of his country was considerable. Current study of Cooper has concentrated on his social and political views, noting that the conflict between his democratic and aristocratic sympathies, which he tried to reconcile in his writing, contributed to the decline of his reputation both at home and abroad.
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