Cooper, James Fenimore

Shortly after the birth of Fenimore, his father, Judge William Cooper Quaker , a fairly wealthy landowner, moved to New York and founded the village of Cooperstown , turned into a town. After receiving his initial education at a local school, Cooper went to Yale University , but without completing the course, he entered the naval service (1806–1811) and was appointed to consist in building a warship on Lake Ontario . We owe this circumstance to the wonderful descriptions of Ontario found in his famous novel The Pathfinder, or On the Shores of Ontario .

In 1811, Cooper married a Frenchwoman, Susan Augustus Delancey, who came from a family that sympathized with England in the era of the war of independence ; its influence explains the relatively soft reviews about the British and the English government, which are found in Cooper's early novels. Case made him a writer. While reading some novel aloud to his wife, Cooper noticed that it was easy to write better. His wife caught him at his word, and in order not to appear a boaster, he wrote his first novel, Precaution ( eng. Precaution ; 1820 ) in a few weeks.

Assuming that, in view of the already emerging competition between English and American authors, the English criticism would treat his work unfavorably, Cooper did not sign his name for the first novel, Precaution ( 1820 ) and transferred the action of this novel to England. The latter circumstance could only hurt the book, which revealed the author’s poor acquaintance with English life and caused very unfavorable reviews of English criticism. Cooper's second novel, already from American life, was the famous “ Spy, or Tale of a Neutral Territory ” (“The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral Ground”, 1821 ), which was a huge success not only in America but also in Europe.

Then Cooper wrote a whole series of novels from American life:

• "The Pioneers, or At the Beginning of Sasuchihanna ", 1823 ;
• The Last of the Mohicans , 1826 ;
• Prairie , 1827 ;
• The Pathfinder , 1840 ;
• “Fallow deer hunter”, aka “ Hypericum, or the First War Path, ” 1841 .

In them, he displayed the wars of the alien-Europeans among themselves, in which they involved American Indians, forcing the tribes to fight against each other. The hero of these novels is the hunter Natty (Nathaniel) Bampo , acting under various names (Hypericum, Pathfinder, Falcon's Eye, Leather Stocking, Long Carabiner), energetic and handsome, soon to become the favorite of the European public. Idealized, although with a subtle humor and satire, usually available only to an adult reader, Cooper is not only this representative of European civilization, but also some of the Indians ( Chingachguk , Unkas).

The success of this series of novels was so great that even English critics had to recognize Cooper's talent and called him American Walter Scott . In 1826 , Cooper went to Europe, where he spent seven years. The fruit of this journey was several novels - “ Bravo, or Venice ”, “The Headsman”, “ Mercedes of Castile, or Journey to Cathay ” (Mercedes of Castile) - which takes place in Europe.

The mastery of the story and its ever-increasing interest, the vivid descriptions of nature, which emanate from the primitive freshness of the virgin forests of America, the relief in depicting the characters that face the reader as living are the advantages of Cooper as a novelist. He also wrote the sea novels Pilot, or Maritime History ( 1823 ), and the Red Corsair ( 1827 ).

Upon returning from Europe, Cooper wrote the political allegory Monika ( 1835 ), five volumes of travel notes ( 1836-1838 ), several novels from American life ( Satanstowe ; 1845, and others), the American Democrat pamphlet (The American Democrat, 1838). In addition, he also wrote The History of the United States Navy ( 1839 ). The desire for complete impartiality found in this work did not satisfy either his compatriots or the British; the controversy caused by him poisoned the last years of Cooper's life. Fenimore Cooper died September 14, 1851 from cirrhosis of the liver .

In 1811, at the age of 21, in Mamaroneck, Westchester, New York, James Fenimore Cooper married Susan Augustus Delancey, who came from a well-to-do loyalist family with French roots. The couple had 7 children, 5 of whom survived to adulthood.

One of Cooper's daughters, Susan Fenimore Cooper (1813-1894) until the death of his father was his literary secretary, and then gained fame as a writer, naturalist and activist of the suffrage movement.

One of the descendants of Cooper was an American writer and traveler Paul Fenimore Cooper (1899-1970), the book of which “The Island of the Lost” (Island of the Lost, 1961), dedicated to the Canadian Arctic island King-William and the British polar expedition of J. Franklin who died there, was published in 1970 in the USSR by the publishing house “ Gidrometeoizdat ” .

In the early 1840s, Cooper 's novels were very popular in Russia . The first translations into Russian were made by the children's writer A.O. Ishimova . Especially great public interest was the novel “Discoverer of Traces” (published in The Pathfinder , Russian translation of 1841) published in the journal “Domestic Notes” , about which V. G. Belinsky expressed that this is Shakespeare's drama in the form of a novel ^[5] .

The adventurous novels of James Fenimore Cooper were very popular in the USSR , their author was quickly recognized by his second, rare name Fenimore . For example, in the movie “The Secret of Fenimore”, the third series of the children's television mini-series “ Three Merry Shifts ” of 1977, according to the stories of Yakovlev , tells about a mysterious stranger named Fenimore , who comes to the boys at night in a pioneer camp and tells amazing stories about indians and aliens.

• 1820 :
  • composes for daughters the traditional morality novel “ Precaution ” (Precaution).
• 1821 :
  • the historical novel The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral Ground, based on local legends. In the novel, the epoch of the American revolution and its ordinary heroes were poeticized. "Spy" gets international recognition. Cooper moved with his family to New York , where he soon became a prominent literary figure and leader of writers who advocated the national identity of American literature.
• 1823 :
  • the fourth part of pentalogy about Natty Bampo "Pioneers, or at the origins of Sasquihanna"
  • short stories (Tales for Fifteen: or Imagination and Heart)
  • the novel “Pilot: A Tale of the Sea”, the first of Cooper's many works about sea adventures.
• 1825 :
  • the novel " Lionel Lincoln, or the Siege of Boston " (Lionel Lincoln, or The leaguer of Boston).
• 1826 :
  • The second part of Natti Bampo's pentalogy, Cooper's most popular novel, which became a household name, is The Last of the Mohicans.
• 1827 :
  • the fifth part of the pentalogy is the novel “The Steppes”, aka The Prairie.
  • marine novel "The Red Corsair " (The Red Rover).
• 1828 :
  • Notions of the Americans: Picked up by a Traveling Bachelor
• 1829 :
  • the novel " The Valley of Wish-ton-Wish " (The wept of Wish-ton-Wish), dedicated to the Indian theme - the battles of the American colonists of the XVII century with the Indians.
• 1830 :
  • the fantastic story of the brigantine of the same name “The Sea Witch” (The Water-Witch: or the Skimmer of the Seas).
  • Letter to General Lafayette politics
• 1831 :
  • The first part of the trilogy from the history of European feudalism " Bravo, or in Venice " (The bravo) is a novel from the distant past of Venice.
• 1832 :
  • The second part of the trilogy " Heidenmauer, or Benedictines " (The Heidenmauer: or, The Benedictines, A Legend of the Rhine) is a historical novel from the time of the early Reformation in Germany.
  • short stories (No Steamboats)
• 1833 :
  • The third part of the trilogy "The Executioner, or the Abbey of Winegrowers " (The headsman, or The Abbaye des vignerons) is a legend of the 18th century about the hereditary executioners of the Swiss canton of Bern.
• 1834 :
  • (A Letter to His Countrymen)
• 1835 :
  • criticism of American reality in the political allegory " Monikins " (The Monikins), written in the tradition of educational allegorism and satire of J. Swift.
• 1836 :
  • memoirs (The Eclipse)
  • Gleanings in Europe: Switzerland (Sketches of Switzerland)
  • Gleanings in Europe: The Rhine
  • A Residence in France: With an Excursion
• 1837 :
  • Gleanings in Europe: France travel
  • Gleanings in Europe: England travel

• 1838 :
  • pamphlet "American Democrat" (The American Democrat: or Hints on the Social and Civic Relations of the United States of America).
  • Gleanings in Europe: Italy travel
  • The Chronicles of Cooperstown
  • Hommeward Bound: or The Chase: A Tale of the Sea
  • Home as Found: Sequel to Homeward Bound
• 1839 :
  • "The History of the American Navy" (The History of the United States of America), testifies to the excellent possession of the material and love of shipping.
  • Old ironsides
• 1840 :
  • " Pathfinder, or On the shores of Ontario " or "Trail Discoverer" (The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea) is the third part of Natti Bampo's pentalogy
  • a novel about the discovery of America by Columbus " Mercedes of Castile, or Journey to Catay " (Mercedes of Castile: or, The Voyage to Cathay).
• 1841 :
  • “ Hypericum, or the First Path of War ” or “The Deerslayer: or The First Warpath” is the first part of the pentalogy.
• 1842 :
  • the novel “ Two admirals ” (The two admirals), telling an episode from the history of the British fleet, leading the war with France in 1745
  • the novel about the French privateering " Wandering light " (Wing-and-Wing, or Le feu-follet).
• 1843 :
  • the novel “ Wyandotte, or the House on the Hill ” (Wyandotté: or The Hutted Knoll. A Tale) about the American Revolution in remote parts of America.
  • Richard dale
  • biography (Ned Myers: or Life before the Mast)
  • (Autobiography of a Pocket-Handkerchief or Le Mouchoir: An Autobiographical Romance or The French Governess: or The Embroidered Handkerchief or Die franzosischer Erzieheren: oder das gestickte Taschentuch)
• 1844 :
  • novel " On the Sea and on Land " (Afloat and Ashore: or The Adventures of Miles Wallingford. A Sea Tale)
  • and his sequel, " Miles Wallingford " (Miles Wallingford: Sequel to Afloat and Ashore), where the image of the main character bears autobiographical features.
  • Proceedings of the Naval Court-Martial in the Case of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, & c.
• 1845 :
  • two parts of the “trilogy in defense of land rent”: “ Satanstoe ” (Satanstoe: or The Littlepage Manuscripts, a Tale of the Colony) and “The Meter” (The Chainbearer; or, The Littlepage Manuscripts).
• 1846 :
  • the third part of the trilogy is the novel Redskins (The Redskins; or, Indian and Injin: Being the Conclusion of the Littlepage Manuscripts). In this trilogy, Cooper depicts three generations of landowners (from the middle of the 18th century to the struggle against land rent in the 1840s ).
  • Lives of Distinguished American Naval Officers biography
• 1847 :
  • Late Cooper's pessimism is expressed in the utopia Crater, or Volcano Peak (The Crater; or, Vulcan's Peak: A Tale of the Pacific), which is the allegorical history of the United States.
• 1848 :
  • the novel “The Oak Grove” or “ Progenies in the Dubrovas, or the Bee Hunter” (The Oak Openings: or the Bee-Hunter) - from the history of the Anglo-American War of 1812 .
  • novel "Jack Tayer, or Florida Reef" (Jack Tier: or the Florida Reefs)
• 1849 :
  • Cooper's latest sea novel, The Sea Lions: The Lost Sealers, about a shipwreck that befell seal hunters in the ice of Antarctica.
• 1850 :
  • Cooper's latest book, New Trends (The ways of the hour) is a social novel about American litigation.
  • play (Upside Down: or Philosophy in Petticoats), satirization of socialism
• 1851 :
  • short story (The Lake Gun)
  • (New York: or The Towns of Manhattan) - unfinished work on the history of the city of New York.

• In philately
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  Postage stamp of the USSR, 1989

•  

  Russian post envelope , 2014

• Cooper, James-Fenimore // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Lowell, “American Literature” (vol. I);
• Richardson, “Amer. Literature ”(vol. Ii);
• Griswold, "The Prose Writers of America";
• Knortz, Geschichte der nordamerikanischen Literatur (t. I);
• Lounsbury, "Life of JF Cooper" (Boston, 1883);
• Warner, “American Men of Letters: J.-F. Cooper.
• Sergey Ivanko Fenimore Cooper ( ZHZL )

• James Fenimore Cooper
• Online Encyclopedia Circumference - Cooper, James Fenimore