The Pioneers

by James Fenimore Cooper

Overview

Originally published in 1823, "The Pioneers" (in full "The Pioneers; or, The Sources of the Susquehanna") is the first of five novels, but the fourth chronological story, in the series The Leatherstocking Tales by American writer James Fenimore Cooper.

"The Pioneers" began the saga of frontiersman Natty Bumppo, also called Leather-Stocking, and tells the interlocking story of three characters in the fictional frontier town of Templeton, New York (based on the real Cooperstown, New York) between Christmas Eve 1793 and October 1794.
The protagonist is Nathaniel “Natty” Bumpo (or Leatherstocking), an elderly but extremely skilled woodsman who resents the encroachment of civilization on his home in nature. Judge Marmaduke Temple is the wealthy landowner, founder of Templeton, and its de facto leader, who attempts to grow civilization while respecting the environment. Oliver Edwards, who lives with Leatherstocking, is a brooding young man with a mysterious past and a grudge against Judge Temple. Much of the plot is devoted to the conflict between Leatherstocking and Templeton over law, as well as unravelling Oliver’s mysterious past.
In this narrative Bumppo is an old man, as is his Indian friend Chingachgook; together they have seen the frontier change from wilderness to settlement, and they know that their way of life is about to vanish.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9788835887959
Publisher:	E-BOOKARAMA
Publication date:	03/17/2023
Series:	The Leatherstocking Tales , #1
Sold by:	StreetLib SRL
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) grew up at Otsego Hall, his father’s manorial estate near Lake Otsego in upstate New York. Educated at Yale, he spent five years at sea, as a foremast hand and then as a midshipman in the navy. At thirty he was suddenly plunged into a literary career when his wife challenged his claim that he could write a better book that the English novel he was reading to her. The result was Precaution (1820), a novel of manners. His second book, The Spy (1821), was an immediate success, and with The Pioneers (1823) he began his series of Leatherstocking Tales. By 1826 when The Last of the Mohicans appeared, his standing as a major novelist was clearly established. From 1826 to 1833 Cooper and his family lived and traveled in France, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany. Two of his most successful works, The Prairie and The Red Rover, were published in 1827. He returned to Otsego Hall in 1834, and after a series of relatively unsuccessful books of essays, travel sketches, and history, he returned to fiction – and to Leatherstocking – with The Pathfinder (1840) and The Deerslayer (1841). In his last decade he faced declining popularity brought on in part by his waspish attacks on critics and political opponents. Just before his death in 1851 an edition of his works led to a reappraisal of his fiction and somewhat restored his reputation as the first of American writers.

Date of Birth:

September 15, 1789

Date of Death:

September 14, 1851

Place of Birth:

Burlington, New Jersey

Place of Death:

Cooperstown, New York

Education:

Yale University (expelled in 1805)

Table of Contents

	A Note on the Text	vi
	Introduction	vii
	Suggestions for Further Reading	xxiii
	Preface to the First Edition (1823)	3
	Introduction to the 1832 Edition	6
	Introduction to the Putnam Edition (1851)	11
	The Pioneers	15
	Notes	457

Editorial Reviews

"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

From the Publisher