James Fenimore Cooper
Subtitle: the later years
By: Wayne Franklin
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 805
ISBN-13: 9780300135718
Subjects: American Novelists; Biography
Description: "American author James Fenimore Cooper (1789--1851) has been credited with inventing and popularizing a wide variety of genre fiction, including the Western, the spy novel, the high seas adventure tale, and the Revolutionary War romance. America's first crusading novelist, Cooper reminds us that literature is not a cloistered art; rather, it ought to be intimately engaged with the world. In this second volume of his definitive biography, Wayne Franklin concentrates on the latter half of Cooper's life, detailing a period of personal and political controversy, far-ranging international travel, and prolific literary creation. We hear of Cooper's progressive views on race and slavery, his doubts about American expansionism, and his concern about the future prospects of the American Republic, while observing how his groundbreaking career management paved the way for later novelists to make a living through their writing. Franklin offers readers the most comprehensive portrait to date of this underappreciated American literary icon."--Amazon.com
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: From Manhattan to Paris; title: London and the Alps; title: Italian skies; title: Imaginary politics; title: Republican principles; title: Rough homecoming; title: Public versus private; title: Libels on libels; title: A legacy reclaimed; title: Piecework and patchwork; title: At sea; title: Coming on shore; title: Florida and the Pacific; title: Speculations; title: Last words; title: Endings; title: Appendix: Cooper's libel suits.