Books with title SPY, THE

The Spy: a Tale of the Neutral Ground was James Fenimore Cooper's second novel, published in 1821 by Wiley & Halsted. This was the earliest American novel to win wide and permanent fame and may be said to have begun the type of romance which dominated U.S. fiction for 30 years.The action takes place during the American Revolution, at "The Locusts", which is believed to have been the real family home of John Jay in Rye, Westchester County, New York (known today as the Jay Estate). The plot ranges back and forth over the neutral ground between the British and Continental armies.Harvey Birch, a peddler, has a meeting with a Mr. Harper at The Locusts, the country home of a British sympathizer located between the lines. The peddler comes under suspicion for being a British spy in consequence, but he is really a patriot, as Mr. Harper is George Washington in disguise, with whom Birch has other meetings in the course of the book. Birch's role is revealed only after falling in battle.

James Fenimore Cooper was America's first successful popular novelist. Son of the prominent federalist William Cooper, founder of the Cooperstown settlement, James was educated at Yale in preparation for a genteel life as a federalist gentleman. After his father's death in an 1809 duel, Cooper quickly squandered his inheritance, and at thirty was on the verge of bankruptcy. He turned to writing but his first book, Precaution (1820), was a failure. It did, however, receive some favorable reviews and he decided to try again. In searching for another topic, he remembered the story of a spy, which had been related to him by John Jay years before. The surroundings of his home Westchester county, the debatable ground of both armies during almost the whole revolutionary period, furnished a convenient stage. The Spy was the result, and during the winter of 1821-22 the American public awoke to the fact that it possessed a novelist of its own. The success of this book, which was unprecedented at the time in the meager annals of American literature, determined Cooper's career and he went on to write more than fifty novels.

"I believe I could write a better story myself!" With these words, since become famous, James Fenimore Cooper laid aside the English novel which he was reading aloud to his wife. A few days later he submitted several pages of manuscript for her approval, and then settled down to the task of making good his boast. In November, 1820, he gave the public a novel in two volumes, entitled Precaution.

This early work by Richard Harding Davis was originally published in the early 20th century and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Spy' is a short story of espionage and intrigue. Davis attended Lehigh University and Johns Hopkins University, but was asked to leave both due to neglecting his studies in favour socialising. During the Second Boer War in South Africa, Davis was a leading correspondent of the conflict. He saw the war first-hand from both parties perspectives and documented it in his publication 'With Both Armies' (1900). He wrote widely from locations such as the Caribbean, Central America, and even from the perspective of the Japanese forces during the Russo-Japanese War. Davis died following a heart attack on 11th April, 1916, at the age of 51.

As published by A.L. Burt Co., New York. No date. Sized 8x5 inches, bound in red ribbed cloth, bright gilt titles. Great condition. 427 pages. Back inside hinge is loose. Some writing on back flyleaf. Previous owner’s name and address stamped in front flyleaf. Pages are clean. No DJ. Cover is like new! “The Spy: a Tale of the Neutral Ground” was James Fenimore Cooper's second novel, published in 1821. This was the first American novel to win wide and permanent fame.