The Last of the Mohicans

What It's About

Set in 1757 during the French and Indian War, this novel follows two sisters, Cora and Alice Munro, as they travel through the forests of upstate New York to join their father at Fort William Henry. Their escort, Major Duncan Heyward, is led astray by a treacherous guide, and the party's survival comes to depend on the frontiersman Hawkeye and his Mohican companions, Chingachgook and Uncas. What follows is a pursuit through forest, river and mountain, set against a real historical conflict between the French, the British and their Native allies.

Key Concepts

The novel is a foundational work of American frontier fiction, and it explores the clash between wilderness and "civilisation", loyalty and honour across cultural lines, and the fate of Native peoples as European powers contest their lands. It has also drawn lasting criticism. Cooper's portrayal of Native characters relies heavily on the "noble" and "savage" stereotypes of his day, and the story treats Native decline as a foregone tragedy. Mark Twain also mocked the book's plotting and prose style in his essay "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses". Even so, it remains one of the most influential and widely adapted American novels of the nineteenth century.

About the Author

James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) was an American novelist born in Burlington, New Jersey, and raised in Cooperstown, New York, a frontier settlement founded by his father. He spent time at Yale and served as a midshipman in the US Navy before turning to writing. He became one of the first American novelists to win an international readership.