In 1823 Cooper began what is now known as the Leather-stocking Series with The Pioneers, for he did not compose the famous five romances in their natural chronological order. Early in the next year he published The Pilot, thus prac tically for the first time joining the ocean to the domain of fiction, ilia as he had previously added the backwoods, and as he was soon to add the prairie. He also added to Harvey Birch and Natty Bumppo his third great character. Long Tom Coffin. He now removed to New Ynrk City, and shortly after had a serious illness. next novel was Lionel Lincoln (1S05), a story of Boston during the Revolution. This was not specially successful, but in 1S26 The Last of the Mohicans placed him at the summit of his popu larity and probably represented his highest achievement.
In 1826 he changed his name, in compliance with the wishes of his grandmother, from simple James Cooper to James Fenimore Cooper, but soon dropped the hyphen. He could not so easily get rid of the misappre hensions caused by his act in a crude society. linmediately afterwards he went abroad and re sided there for seven years, during which time he was the recipient in foreign capitals of many at tentions from distinguished people. but felt called upon, as in The Bravo (1831), to proclaim vigor ously the beneficent greatness of republican in stitutions. liis pride in the better features of American government and society did not, how ever, prevent him from being one of the first Americans to perceive how really crude his fel low--citizens were, and he told them their faults with a frankness that was not discreet. He exploited his prejudices against New England and in favor of the Episcopal Church, and soon became in his native land a synonym of all that was unpopular and snobbish. His honest, if over-emphatic, strictures outweighed with his comically sensitive critics such fine romances as The Prairie (1827). The Red Rorer (1828—the dates of Cooper's books are often hard to deter mine exactly). and the less interesting, but credi table, Water Witch (1830). But the fault was not entirely on the side of his countrymen, for he took an injudicious part in more or less unnecessary foreign discussions of American political affairs.
On his return to America, in 1833, he at first spent his winters in New York City, but soon took up his permanent abode at Cooperstown. Here he published several vohunes of travels, and still not restraining himself from criticism of his countrymen, especially in his story, Home as Found (1838). he was again embroiled in bitter controversy and exposed to almost incomprehen sible vituperation, which was increased through the fact that in 1837 a dispute had arisen with regard to the claims of his townspeople upon a certain tract of the Cooper estate. The great
author's determination to enforce his plain rights was distorted by the newspapers into a heinous crime. And, ironically enough, just at that time this proud aristocrat •fis being denounced in England for his obtrusive republicanism. But Cooper still plied his pen and produced his History of the Nary of the United States (1839), his Pathfinder (18401. his Deerslayer (1841), The Two Admirals (1842), and Wing-and-Wing (1842). For the admirable English and Medi terranean setting of the last two stories he was as much indebted to his European stay as he was to his return to the home of his boyhood for his equally admirable setting of the two novels pre ceding. Mention should he made here of an 'anti-rent series' of novels, dealing with the well known demagogic agitation against the proprie tors of certain large estates in New York. These were Satanstoe, The Chain-Bcarcr, and The Red skins (1845-46). The first of them contains one of the best pictures that we have of life in colonial New York.
Yet, while Cooper was thus composing novels which have been translated into many languages, and have gained him an undying reputation abroad. especially in France, he was bringing libel suits against many of the Whig editors of his native State, among. them Horace Greeley, Thurlow Weed, and James Watson Webb. He was Quixotic enough to conduct these suits himself, and he proved able to win verdicts which finally brought his critics to their senses, although they did little to restore his popularity. A later gen eration smiles wonderingly at the whole matter, but sympathizes with the pugnacious author. The last few years of Cooper's life saw the pub lication of enough novels to occupy an ordinary lifetime, but they added little to his reputation. Ile maintained his proud independence to the last, and just before his death forbade his family to give any biographer access to his papers, an in junction which has been obeyed.but which has.not prevented the life written by Prof. '1'. R. Louns bury (q.v.) in the "American Men of Letters Se ries" (Boston, 1885) from being an admirable piece of work. Cooper died at. Cooperstown, N. Y., September 14, 1S51. Six months after his death a public meeting in New York, addressed by Dan iel Webster and William Cullen Bryant did some thing to atone for the evil treatment America had accorded one of the very greatest of her writers.