The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea

The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in January 1824 (though the earliest edition is actually dated 1823). Its subject is the life of a naval pilot during the American Revolution. It is often considered the earliest example of nautical fiction in American literature.

The Pilot was Cooper's fourth novel and his first sea tale. A sailor by profession, Cooper had undertaken to surpass Walter Scott's Pirate (1821) in seamanship.

The hero o...