James Fenimore Cooper

Starred review from July 1, 2007
Dulled since Mark Twain's literary lampoon, "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses", Cooper's once-glowing reputation is finally returned to luster with this magnificent study by Franklin (English & American studies, Univ. of Connecticut). In the first of a two-volume work, Franklin gives a terrifically detailed account of how Cooper ran afoul of a crew of duplicitous businessmen while embarking on his writing career and ends the volume in 1826, as the 36-year-old Cooper, having wrapped up his worrisome financial affairs and written some dozen chapters of his soon-to-be-fabulously successful "The Last of the Mohicans", leaves America for a seven-year sojourn in Europe. Franklin's researchthere are 152 pages of notes for this volume aloneis staggering. He is best when serving up the details of Cooper's life and circle of New York society. And though he includes, e.g., literary criticism of the "Leatherstocking Tales" series, Franklin never tries to stuff his overriding theses down readers' throats. Geared toward educated adults, this is also a good choice for those looking for an introduction to Cooper's life and work. Highly recommended.Charles C. Nash, formerly with Cottey Coll., Nevada, MO

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2007
cholars long expected the first full biography of James Fenimore Cooper to come from James Beard, named the authors literary executor 50 years ago. But, absorbed in editing Coopers work, Beard finished only fragments of such a biography before his death, in 1989. Fortunately, Franklin has stepped into the breach. In this deeply satisfying first volume of a definitive biography, Franklin develops a nuanced portrait that exposes the falsity of popular caricatures. Mark Twains wickedly funny attack on Cooper, for instance, loses credibility as readers learn how Cooper single-handedly invented novelistic genres (including the western and the sea tale) in books gratefully praised by Melville and Conrad. Even in the defects of Coopers work, Franklin discerns a heroic response to the challenge of commercial authorship in culturally backward America. Although acknowledging that debt drove Cooper to write too fast, Franklin still lauds the novelist for fiction that captures the tensions of a turbulent society in the making. Ending with Coopers departure for Europe in 1826, this volume profoundly enriches our understanding of how the young writer helped forge our national mythology in works such as The Last of the Mohicans and The Pioneers. Appreciative readers will eagerly await the second and concluding volume.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)