The Last of the Mohicans was first published in 1826. It is arguably Cooper’s best work, although it has received some critical condemnation.
Background of the Novel
One of the novels' most notable critics was Mark Twain, who wrote a scathing analysis entitled ‘Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses’ (1895). Nevertheless, the novel became immensely popular and Cooper achieved the honour of being named first American novelist.
The faults which Mark Twain found in the novel are largely due to the narrative. The prose is lengthy and, at times, unnecessarily complicated. Which certainly does not make for an easy read. However, this has not detracted from the novel's popularity, or its importance in the American literary canon.
The Last of the Mohicans is often viewed as a stand-alone novel. However, it began as the second of five books from the a series known as the ‘Leatherstocking Tale’.
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was born in 1789, he was the eleventh child of a wealthy Quaker. His father owned several acres of land, upon which he founded a village, Cooperville.
Cooper was not a studious youth and was expelled from Yale College in 1802. He subsequently joined the Navy and became an apprentice on a merchant ship. In 1811, Cooper left the Navy and married Susan de Lancey. The pair had seven children.
Susan challenged Cooper to write and the result was his first novel, Precaution (1820). It met with a muted response, but began a prolific career for Cooper. His next work, The Spy (1821), was very popular.
During the following thirty years, Cooper wrote extensively and was known for his political outspokenness. Cooper died in 1851, just a day before his sixty-second birthday.
Synopsis of The Last of the Mohicans
The Last of the Mohicans takes place in upstate New York in 1757, where a territorial war is being raged between French and English armies. Natty (Nathaniel) Bumppo is disillusioned by the avarice of his fellow white men. He chooses a life of exile with the Chingachgook, his Mohican-Indian friends.
Meanwhile, General Munro of the English forces has disappeared. His two daughters, Alice and Cora become terrified for their own safety and that of their father. Natty and his friends agree to help Alice and Cora, but in doing so they are propelled into a world of war, fear and blood.
Nathaniel Bumppo: First American Hero
Cooper arguably created the archetypal ‘American hero’ in Nathaniel Bumppo. Handsome, courageous, noble, patriotic and fighting for independence, Bumppo is a precursor to a plethora of other fictional American heroes.
Many believe that Bumppo was the very first American hero and it is easy to observe similarities between his character and that of future heroes, such as Superman, Indiana Jones et al. As if to emphasise this point, Marvel Comics has published two versions of the story.
Bumppo features in all five of the ‘Leatherstocking Tale’ series, but under different names. For example, he is known as Hawkeye, Deerslayer and Leatherstocking.
Adaptations
There have been numerous screen adaptations of The Last of the Mohicans. The most notable, and successful, of these is the 1992 movie, directed by Michael Mann. This version of the story starred Daniel Day-Lewis in the role of Natty Bumppo.
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