James Fenimore Cooper
The Spy
(IDB Productions Jan. 1, 2019)
The Spy
"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. But it was published anonymously,
and dealt with English society in so much the same way as the average
British novel of the time that its author was thought by many to be an
Englishman. It had no originality and no real merit of any kind. Yet it
was the means of inciting Cooper to another attempt. And this second
novel made him famous.
When Precaution appeared, some of Cooper's friends protested against
his weak dependence on British models. Their arguments stirred his
patriotism, and he determined to write another novel, using thoroughly
American material. Accordingly he turned to Westchester County, where he
was then living, a county which had been the scene of much stirring
action during a good part of the Revolutionary War, and composed The
Spy--A Tale of the Neutral Ground. This novel was published in 1821,
and was immediately popular, both in this country and in England. Soon
it was translated into French, then into other foreign languages, until
it was read more widely than any other tale of the century. Cooper had
written the first American novel. He had also struck an original
literary vein, and he had gained confidence in himself as a writer.
Following this pronounced success in authorship, Cooper set to work on a
third book and continued for the remainder of his life to devote most of
his time to writing. Altogether he wrote over thirty novels and as many
m
"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. But it was published anonymously,
and dealt with English society in so much the same way as the average
British novel of the time that its author was thought by many to be an
Englishman. It had no originality and no real merit of any kind. Yet it
was the means of inciting Cooper to another attempt. And this second
novel made him famous.
When Precaution appeared, some of Cooper's friends protested against
his weak dependence on British models. Their arguments stirred his
patriotism, and he determined to write another novel, using thoroughly
American material. Accordingly he turned to Westchester County, where he
was then living, a county which had been the scene of much stirring
action during a good part of the Revolutionary War, and composed The
Spy--A Tale of the Neutral Ground. This novel was published in 1821,
and was immediately popular, both in this country and in England. Soon
it was translated into French, then into other foreign languages, until
it was read more widely than any other tale of the century. Cooper had
written the first American novel. He had also struck an original
literary vein, and he had gained confidence in himself as a writer.
Following this pronounced success in authorship, Cooper set to work on a
third book and continued for the remainder of his life to devote most of
his time to writing. Altogether he wrote over thirty novels and as many
m
- ISBN
- 177678202X / 9781776782024
- Weight
- 3.5 oz.
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