The Pioneers or the Sources of the Susquehanna: A Descriptive Tale (The Writings of James Fenimore Cooper) - Softcover

Cooper, James Fenimore

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0873954238 ISBN 13: 9780873954235

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 1980

Synopsis

Written in 1821-22 at a crucial point in Cooper's life and based on some of his most cherished youthful memories, The Pioneers today evokes the American pioneering experience with astonishing vibrance of authentic detail and a largeness of philosophic grasp seldom if ever equaled in our fiction.

The circumstances behind the composition and publication of the book are here explained for the first time; and the text, originally set without competent supervision in the midst of the yellow fever epidemic in New York in 1822, is presented with the cumulative improvements of Cooper's "strenuous pen" in five subsequent revisions, without the customary accumulation of compositorial errors.

Quite possibly America's first bestseller (3,500 copies were sold within hours of publication), The Pioneers became the first of the world-famous Leatherstocking Tales. Its verbal pictures "excited a sensation among the artists, altogether unprecedented in the history of our domestic literature" and helped establish the style of the Hudson River School, our first group of landscape painters. Translated early into all the major languages of Europe, The Pioneers was one of the first American novels to carry distinctive, authoritative American experience to the world.

About this title

Review:

"Another fine book in this excellent series. These books are attractive, durable, reasonably priced, and impeccably edited."--Richard A. Hook, Denison University"A well-produced edition."--Jeff Cupp, Troy State University"A very handsome edition."--E. N. Feltskog, University of Wisconsin"It's great to have available these well-designed and edited editions of past literature in a comparatively inexpensive paperback."--Arlie E. Herron, University of Tenn.-Chattanooga

About the Author:

James Fenimore Cooper was a nineteenth-century American author and political critic. Esteemed by many for his Romantic style, Cooper became popular for his depiction of Native Americans in fiction. Before Cooper considered himself a writer, he was expelled from Yale University, served as a midshipman for the United States Navy, and became a gentleman farmer. Cooper wrote many notable works including The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Red Rover, which was adapted and performed on stage in 1828. Cooper passed away in 1851 at the age of 61.

About this edition

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 1980
• ISBN 10: 0873954238
• ISBN 13: 9780873954235
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 460
• Editor: Beard James Franklin