TT#6 Thirteen things about the great American Novelist - James Fenimore Cooper

1. James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) was a seaman until he retired to become a country gentleman and write.
   
2. Didn't start writing until his early 30's in answer to a challenge from his wife when he claimed he could write a better novel than the one he was reading.
3. The following year (1820) he wrote Precaution which critics said was no better than other English fiction.
4. Challenged once again he wrote two fully American books - The Spy (1821)(a tale of the American revolution) and The Pilot (1823)
5. The Pioneers (1823) a tale of the frontier, became an instant best seller.
6. The Pioneers sold over 3,500 copies on the morning of its first day in print
7. He wrote the first American adventure story
8. The first American novel of manners
9. The first American novel of the sea
10. The first successful American novelist
11. Fenimore's fame rested on The Leatherstocking Tales featuring Natty Bumpoo, which consisted of a series of five novels about Natty Bumpoo.
    
12. He went on to write 28 novels over the next 30 years.
13. Other novels include, The Last of the Mohicans (1826), The Red Rover (1927), The Water Witch (1830), The Deerslayer (1841)His last novel - The Ways of the Hour was written in 1850. He died in 1851