Cooper james fenimore biography

Praise for James Fenimore Cooper: The Early Years:
"Franklin creatively and convincingly weaves episodes from Cooper's fiction into the story of his life, demonstrating, in many instances, where the novelist's inspiration came from. This is a richly detailed treatment, encompassing political as well as literary affairs, and a short review cannot do it justice. Anyone interested in examining James Fenimore Cooper's republican credentials will find this book an immensely satisfying read."—Andrew Burstein, The Journal of American History

~Andrew Burstein, The Journal of American History

Praise for James Fenimore Cooper: The Early Years:
“[A] leisurely and deeply researched canvassing of the first half of Cooper's life…”—Christopher Benfey, The New Republic

~Christopher Benfey

“Franklin’s book is in a class by itself. It will be the definitive biography and foremost study of Cooper’s fiction and nonfiction for the foreseeable future.”— Allan Axelrad, California State University, Fullerton

~Allan Axelrad

“Cooper’s life and work are in need of a major reappraisal. Wayne Franklin’s biography will undoubtedly be the essential study of Cooper’s life.”— Sandra Gustafson, University of Notre Dame

~Sandra Gustafson

“The accomplishment of a scholarly lifetime, Wayne Franklin’s splendid biography of James Fenimore Cooper at long last does full justice to the life and career of the nation’s first major novelist, whose international influence endures to this day.”—Lawrence Buell, Harvard University

~Lawrence Buell

"For a writer of Cooper’s undeniable status in our letters, it’s remarkable that he hasn’t until now had a full-scale biography. This beautifully written book is a great scholarly achievement.  Cooper has finally gotten his definitive biograp

Description

James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) invented the key forms of American fiction―the Western, the sea tale, the Revolutionary War romance. Furthermore, Cooper turned novel writing from a polite diversion into a paying career. He influenced Herman Melville, Richard Henry Dana, Jr., Francis Parkman, and even Mark Twain―who felt the need to flagellate Cooper for his “literary offenses.” His novels mark the starting point for any history of our environmental conscience. Far from complicit in the cleansings of Native Americans that characterized the era, Cooper’s fictions traced native losses to their economic sources.
Perhaps no other American writer stands in greater need of a major reevaluation than Cooper. This is the first treatment of Cooper’s life to be based on full access to his family papers. Cooper’s life, as Franklin relates it, is the story of how, in literature and countless other endeavors, Americans in his period sought to solidify their political and cultural economic independence from Britain and, as the Revolutionary generation died, stipulate what the maturing republic was to become. The first of two volumes, James Fenimore Cooper: The Early Years covers Cooper’s life from his boyhood up to 1826, when, at the age of thirty-six, he left with his wife and five children for Europe.

Additional information

"Wayne Franklin single-handedly restores Cooper to his rightful place in American literature. . . . A towering achievement."—H. Daniel Peck, author of Thoreau's Morning Work