James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 - September 14, 1851) was an Americanwriter. He created the character of Natty Bumpo, the archetypal American frontiersman.
Cooper married Susan DeLancey when he was 21. They had seven children. Five lived to be adults. The first-born survivor, Susan Fenimore Cooper, became a writer and naturalist.
Precaution was Cooper's first book. It was publishedanonymously in 1820. In 1823, he published The Pioneers. This book was the first of the Leatherstocking novels. These stories became famous for the fictionalcharacter of an American woodsman called Natty Bumppo. Cooper's most famous novelLast of the Mohicans was published in 1826. It became one of the most widely read American novels of the 19th century.
In 1826, Cooper moved his family to Europe. He wanted to make more money as an author. He also wanted to give his children a better education. He continued to write. His books published in Paris include The Red Rover and The Water Witch. These were novels about the sea. His books began taking a political angle. These books are forgotten today. He returned to the United States in 1833.
Cooper moved back to his ancestral home Otsego Hall in Cooperstown. His writing continued in a political vein. His readers did not like this. He returned to fiction books with The Pathfinder and The Deerslayer. These books continued the story of Natty Bumppo. Cooper spent his last years in Cooperstown. He died on September 14, 1851.