.jpg) First edition title page | |
| Author | James Fenimore Cooper |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Leatherstocking Tales |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Publisher | H.C. Carey & I. Lea |
Publication date | 4 February 1826[1] |
| Publication place | United States |
| 813.2 | |
| Preceded by | The Pioneers (1823) |
| Followed by | The Prairie (1827) |
The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 is an 1826 historical romance novel by James Fenimore Cooper. It is the second book of the Leatherstocking Tales pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences.[2] The Pathfinder, published 14 years later in 1840, is its sequel; its prequel, The Deerslayer, was published a year after The Pathfinder.[3] The Last of the Mohicans is set in 1757, during the French and Indian War (the North American theater of the Seven Years' War), when France and Great Britain battled for control of North America. During this war, both the French and the British used Native American allies, but the French were particularly dependent; they were outnumbered in the Northeast frontier areas by the British. Specifically, the events of the novel are set immediately before, during, and after the Siege of Fort William Henry.
The novel is set primarily in the area of Lake George, New York, detailing the transport of Colonel Munro's two daughters, Alice and Cora, to a safe destination at Fort William Henry. Among the caravan guarding the women are the frontiersman Natty Bumppo, Major Duncan Heyward, singing teacher David Gamut, and the Indians Chingachgook and Uncas, the latter two being the novel's title characters. These characters are sometimes seen as a microcosm of the budding American society, particularly with regard to their racial composition.[4]
The novel has been one of the most popular English-language novels since its publication and is frequently assigned reading in American literature courses.[5] It has been adapted numerous times and in many languages for theatrical and television films, and cartoons.
- ^ "Coopers New Novel This Day Is Published by H.C. Carey & I. Lea, corner of Fourth and Chestnut". The Philadelphia Inquirer. February 4, 1826. p. 2.
- ^ "Last of the Mohicans, The". Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster. 1995. p. 661. ISBN 0-87779-042-6. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
- ^ Cf. the Leatherstocking Tales for a chart showing both the chronological order and the order of publication of the five novels.
- ^ New Ideas of Race: The Last of the Mohicans. In: Fiona J. Stafford: The Last of the Race: The Growth of a Myth from Milton to Darwin.. Oxford Scholarship, 1994.
- ^ Last of the Mohicans. In: Martin J. Manning (ed.), Clarence R. Wyatt (ed.): Encyclopedia of Media and Propaganda in Wartime America. Volume I.. ABC-CLIO, 2011, ISBN 9781598842289, pp. 75–76.