1830
Reads Jefferson’s letters and writes to a friend: “Have we not had a false idea of that man? I own he begins to appear to me, to be the greatest man, we ever had.” Coopers leave Rome in mid-April, travel slowly north, pausing ten days in Venice, and arrive late in May in Dresden, where Cooper supervises the printing of The Water-Witch. August, returns to Paris (“. . . the revolution which was consummated in Paris . . . induced me to come post haste”). Through Lafayette, a prime mover in the events of the July revolution, follows closely the course of the new monarchy of Louis Philippe, to whom he is presented. Interests himself also in revolutionary movements in Belgium, Italy, and particularly Poland, whose struggle with Russia he actively supports.
1831
Decides to stay at least another year in Europe so daughters can finish their education, and in April takes large, unfurnished flat at 59 St. Dominique in the Faubourg St. Germain. Undertakes to revise and write new prefaces to his previously published works for Colburn and Bentley, who pay him £50 per title. Receives additional money from European translations of his works. No longer encumbered by debts, expects to earn $20,000 during the year. September, tours Belgium and the Rhine with wife, Paul, and Frances. Sends nephew William, who has been ill, to Le Havre in the hope that sea air may cure him. William dies of consumption October 1. The Bravo, first novel in a European trilogy chronicling the decline of feudalism and the rise of popular institutions, published October 15. At Lafayette’s urging, enters the “Finance Controversy” (provoked by an article in the Revue Brittanique on the French national budget that claims monarchy is less expensive than the American republic) by writing a “Letter to General Lafayette,” dated November 25 (published in English by Baudry in December, and in French translation in the Revue des Deux Mondes in January), citing official records to prove the republic is less expensive.
1832
Letter becomes focus of debate in the January session of the Chamber of Deputies, and further exchanges of letters are published. Cooper suspects, incorrectly, that the American minister to France, William C. Rives, has taken a view contrary to his. Goes less into society; spends much time with Samuel Morse after he comes to Paris in September, visiting galleries, viewing and discussing art. Writes to William Dunlap: “I have cut all Kings & Princes, go to no great Officers and jog on this way from the beginning to the end of the month.” Considers visiting America to decide whether family should ever return permanently. Feels “heart-sick” about unfavorable American criticism of his political actions in Europe and of The Bravo. Cholera epidemic breaks out in Paris in April. Morse returns to America in July. The Heidenmauer, second volume in European trilogy, published (London, July; Philadelphia, September). From July to October the Coopers travel in Belgium, the Rhineland, and Switzerland for Mrs. Cooper’s health and a long-deferred vacation. On return to Paris, works on The Headsman. Arranges for Bentley’s publication of William Dunlap’s History of the American Theatre. Becomes increasingly restive as European attacks on his republicanism are published in America together with adverse reviews of his books. Resents what he calls “this slavish dependence on foreign opinion” and determines to abandon writing after The Headsman.
1833
June 15, goes to London to supervise the printing of The Headsman, last volume of the European trilogy (published London, September; Philadelphia, October). Soon after returning to Paris at the end of July, family leaves for America, stopping en route for a few weeks in England. Arrives in New York November 5, and moves family temporarily into a house on Bleecker Street rented for them by Samuel Morse. Sensing a chill in homecoming reception, Cooper declines testimonial dinner in his honor proposed by the Bread and Cheese. Enters speculative cotton market with James de Peyster Ogden and makes tour of Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia in December for business reasons and to observe firsthand the effects of five years of Jacksonian democracy. Concludes that country has changed but not improved and that there is “a vast expansion of mediocrity.” Writes a friend that “were it not for my family, I should return to Europe, and pass the remainder of my life there.”
1834
Spring, family moves to townhouse at 4 St. Marks Place. Publication, in June, of A Letter to His Countrymen (arguing that American “practice of deferring to foreign opinion is dangerous to the institutions of the country”) increases unpopularity and provokes widespread attacks in the Whig press. After seventeen years’ absence, revisits Cooperstown in June; October, purchases the family seat, Otsego Hall, and sets about renovating it for possible permanent occupancy. “My pen is used up—or rather it is thrown away,” he writes a correspondent. “This is not a country for literature, at least not yet.” Resumes the writing of The Monikins, allegorical satire on England, France, and America begun in Paris in 1832. Writes the first of a series of political articles in December—dealing mainly with the payment of the French debt, the differences between American constitutional government and the French system, and the functions of the three branches of government in America—for the New York Evening Post under the pseudonym “A.B.C.”
1835
Sends manuscript chapter of The Bravo to Princess Victoria (later Queen of England) when asked for autograph. The Monikins, published July, fails with critics and public. Family spends summer in Cooperstown, winter in New York City.
1836
Family leaves house at St. Marks Place in May and moves the remainder of their furniture to Cooperstown. Cooper goes to Philadelphia in July to see Sketches of Switzerland through the press (a practice he will continue with many of his future works). Part I published May; Part II, October.
1837
Becomes involved in a misunderstanding with townspeople over public use of Three Mile Point, a picnic ground on Lake Otsego owned by the Cooper family for which Cooper is trustee. After users damage the property, Cooper publishes No Trespass Notice, offending those who assumed the Point was public property. Local excitement subsides after Cooper sends two letters to the Freeman’s Journal explaining the situation. Some county newspaper editors disregard explanation and publish articles attacking him. When offending newspapers refuse to retract statements, Cooper sues for libel. (Before these suits come to trial, publishes Home as Found, a novel of social criticism, in which a fictionalized version of the incident caricatures a newspaper editor. Major New York Whig editors now join in the quarrel against Cooper, justifying their attacks by maintaining that he put himself into the book and has thus made himself a legitimate target. Cooper begins suits against them. Though eventually winning most of these suits, it is at the cost of much time, energy, and popularity. Awarded $400 in damages in May 1839, writes to a correspondent, “We shall bring the press, again, under the subjection of the law. When one considers the characters, talents, motives and consistency of those who control it, as a body, he is lost in wonder that any community should have so long submitted to a tyranny so low and vulgar. When it is rebuked thoroughly, it may again become useful.”) Travel books drawn from his European letters and journals are published under the general title Gleanings in Europe (France: London, January, Philadelphia, March; England: London, May, Philadelphia, September; and Italy, published as Excursions in Italy in London, February 28, 1838, Philadelphia, May 1838).
1838
Publishes The American Democrat (Cooperstown, April), Chronicles of Cooperstown, Homeward Bound (London, May; Philadelphia, August) and its sequel Home as Found (November). Attacked in Whig press for his condescending portrayal of American manners. Meanwhile, works on History of the Navy of the United States of America, a project contemplated for more than a decade. December, goes with wife and four daughters to Philadelphia to research and see the work through the press. Stays until May 1839.
1839
Begins friendship with historian George Bancroft. History of the Navy, published May, sells well until it is attacked in the press by partisans of Commodore Olive
r Hazard Perry for its account of the controversial Battle of Lake Erie. Defends account in letters to the Freeman’s Journal and sues his critics (particularly William A. Duer). Suits for libel continue to occupy much of his time for the next several years. Writes The Pathfinder and goes to Philadelphia in December to see it through the press.
1840
The Pathfinder published (London, February; Philadelphia, March). It is well received, and Balzac writes an admiring tribute to Cooper’s work. Goes again to Philadelphia to see Mercedes of Castile (his “Columbus book”) through the press in October, taking a cruise during this time with old friend Commodore Shubrick on the Macedonian. The work is published in November in Philadelphia, and a month later in London.
1841
Continues to purchase old family property. June, tries once again, unsuccessfully, to interest publishers in a “sea story all ships and no men.” August, delivers the commencement address at Geneva College, where son Paul is a student, on the thesis “Public Opinion is a Despot in a Democracy.” Travels to Philadelphia in June, and again in August, to see works through the press. The Deerslayer and a short version of History of the Navy published in September.
1842
Addresses a series of letters to “Brother Jonathan” (begun December 1841) defending Homeward Bound and Home as Found as fictions. (“When a work professes to be fiction, the reader is bound to consider all those parts fiction, which cannot be proved otherwise.”) Wins judgments in court in libel suits against William Leete Stone of the Commercial Advertiser (for the William A. Duer articles on the Battle of Lake Erie) and against Thurlow Weed and Horace Greeley (for articles on Three Mile Point). Large audience attends the Duer-Stone trial and Cooper speaks eloquently for himself. Publishes The Two Admirals (May) and The Wing-and-Wing (Jack O’Lantern in England, November). Persuaded by editor Rufus Wilmot Griswold to write for Graham’s Magazine, agrees to do a series of brief biographies of naval officers, for the first time receiving pay for serial publication (sketches appear in 1842–45, beginning with “Richard Somers,” October).
1843
Becomes engrossed with the Somers mutiny case and the proceedings against Captain Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, on whose orders one midshipman and two crew members, presumed mutineers, had been executed at sea, the midshipman being the son of the Secretary of War in Tyler’s cabinet. Writes eighty-page review of the case (published as an annex to the Proceedings of the naval court-martial in 1844). Autobiography of a Pocket Handkerchief (or Le Mouchoir) serialized in Graham’s January through April. After thirty-six years hears from old shipmate, Edward (Ned) Meyers, and brings him for five-month stay in Cooperstown. Writes Ned’s biography, using his own words as much as possible. Journeys with John Pendleton Kennedy and William Gilmore Simms to Philadelphia. Publishes The Battle of Lake Erie (June), Wyandotté (London, August; Philadelphia, September), Ned Myers, or a Life Before the Mast (November). Income from writings begins to diminish seriously because of cheap reprints from abroad and difficult economic conditions at home.
1844
Writes in January to William Gilmore Simms, “We serve a hard master, my dear Sir, in writing for America.” Afloat and Ashore published by Cooper himself in America and by Bentley in London, June. Second part, entitled Miles Wallingford, published October (September in England, with title Lucy Hardinge). Begins work on the anti-rent (or Littlepage) trilogy, tracing the history of four generations of a landed New York family that culminates in conflict between tenants and landlords.
1845
First two volumes of the trilogy, Satanstoe (June) and The Chainbearer (November), published and criticized on the grounds that Cooper is too partial to the interests of landed proprietors. John Pendleton Kennedy family visits Otsego in August. Attends Annual Diocesan Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in September, to consider the charge against Bishop Benjamin Tredwell Onderdonk of “immorality and impurity.” Convinced of the truth of the charges, speaks at the convention, offering a solution to the tangled procedural system, but without success.
1846
Final volume of the anti-rent trilogy, The Redskins (Ravensnest in England), published July. The Lives of Distinguished Naval Officers, originally serialized in Graham’s, published in two volumes in Philadelphia, March and May. Jack Tier serialized in Graham’s and Bentley’s Miscellany, November 1846–March 1848, under title “The Islets of the Gulf” (published March 1848; English title, Captain Spike).
1847
Begins a series of trips in June to Michigan in connection with unfortunate land investments and is impressed with the unspoiled country. August, publishes The Crater. (“It is a remarkable book, and ought to make a noise.”) October, goes again to Detroit on business.
1848
Enters debate concerning the circumstances of General Nathaniel Woodhull’s death during the American Revolution, writing several letters to the Home Journal, February–June. Writes letters on the new French republic in March and April for the Albany Argus. June and October, travels to Michigan. Publishes The Oak Openings; or the Bee Hunter, set in frontier Michigan, in August.
1849
Writes a long appreciative letter to Louis Legrand Noble about Thomas Cole: “As an artist, I consider Mr. Cole one of the very first geniuses of the age.” Daughter Caroline Martha marries Henry Frederick Phinney in Cooperstown, February 8. Though Cooper has quarreled with members of the groom’s family and is unhappy about the match, he writes his daughter: “. . . your happiness will be the first consideration . . . Under no circumstances must there be coldness, alienation, or indifference. You are my dearly beloved child.” Publishes The Sea Lions, April, which does well in America but fails in England. The success of the collected edition of Washington Irving’s writings encourages G. P. Putnam to begin issuing a uniform edition of Cooper, extending only to eleven volumes. Spends most of the time from October through April at the Globe Hotel, New York City, mainly to be close to the publishing center. Works on The Ways of the Hour and renews old acquaintances.
1850
Last novel, The Ways of the Hour, published in April. Cooper’s only play, Upside Down, or, Philosophy in Petticoats, a satire on socialism, is performed June 18–21 at Burton’s Chambers Street Theatre, New York, featuring actor-producer William E. Burton. Works on a projected third volume of his History of the Navy. July, travels to Niagara and Michigan with wife and daughter Charlotte. Goes to New York City in November to consult Dr. John Wakefield Francis about health problems: sharp pains in heels, with other symptoms, such as numbness of hands and feet. Daughter Maria Francis marries cousin Richard Cooper, December 10, in Cooperstown.
1851
Works on a history of greater New York, The Towns of Manhattan (unfinished, though he dictates a chapter in August after he is too ill to hold a pen). Writes to friend that he has lost twenty-two pounds. Continues to suffer from ailments, and in March goes to New York on business, and also to consult doctor. Consents to receive sacraments of the Protestant Episcopal Church. With great effort, travels the short distance to Christ Church, July 27, to be confirmed by Bishop De Lancey (his wife’s brother). Sends introduction and eight chapters of The Towns of Manhattan to Putnam in July. Handwriting fails, and he dictates letters and work in progress to wife and daughters. Condition worsens, though he feels little pain. Dies at 1:30 P.M., September 14, 1851, in Otsego Hall. Buried in the family plot in Cooperstown.
Note on the Texts
This volume contains two novels by James Fenimore Cooper, both set against the background of the American Revolution, The Spy (1821) and Lionel Lincoln (1825).
In the spring of 1820, while his first novel, Precaution, was being printed, Cooper had already begun to write its successor, The Spy: A Tale of The Neutral Ground, a narrative of the American Revolution far removed from his earlier exercise in fashionable romantic fiction. To the publisher Andrew T. Goodrich he wrote, “I
take more pains with it—as it is to be an American novel professedly—I think it far better than ‘Precaution’—more interest—and better writing.” The novel was published in December 1821 by Wiley and Halsted of New York, one of whose partners, Charles Wiley, had become a close acquaintance of Cooper. The book was an immediate success and was quickly issued in two further printings, each incorporating authorial revisions, in January and March 1822. A fourth printing by Wiley and Halsted, in 1824, was published without involvement by Cooper, nor did he intervene in a fifth printing published in 1827 by Carey, Lea & Carey of Philadelphia.
When Cooper’s authorized British publisher, Colburn and Bentley, undertook to include a number of his works in their Standard Novels Series, Cooper set about an extensive revision and correction of the text of The Spy, correcting errors introduced in earlier printings, deleting some passages, and making substantive alterations: “I have greatly improved the style,” he wrote to Colburn and Bentley in April 1831, later adding that, had the publishing schedule allowed him more time, “I could have made a good book of the Spy, but it would require material changes, in the text, and some in the story— As it is, I think it very materially improved.” This revised edition was published in 1831.
In May 1849 a further edition of The Spy was published by the New York publisher George P. Putnam as part of a proposed collected Cooper edition, which was abandoned after the appearance of the first ten titles. There is indication that Cooper contributed some revisions to this edition, although not on the scale of those undertaken for the 1831 Colburn and Bentley edition.
The text of The Spy printed here is that established for The Writings of James Fenimore Cooper under the general editorship of Kay Seymour House, with James P. Elliott, Lance Schachterle, and Jeffrey Walker as textual editors, published in 2002 by AMS Press, Connecticut, and in a corrected paperback edition in 2016. In a textual note the editors wrote: “In establishing the present text, the editors have conflated Cooper’s efforts at revision over a thirty-year span with their own efforts to eliminate mistakes originating with compositors, printers, and proofreaders.” Full details of the editorial principles governing this edition can be found in the AMS Press edition of The Spy, now published by the State University of New York Press. The only way in which the present edition departs from that edition is that it restores the original text for Cooper’s chapter epigraphs, which in the AMS Press edition are altered to provide fuller bibliographical information; such information can be found in the notes to the present edition.
James Fenimore Cooper's Five Novels Page 97