The Last of the Mohicans

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ABOUT

The Last of the Mohicans is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in January 1826.

It was one of the most popular English-language novels of its time. Its narrative flaws were criticized from the start, and its length and elaborately formal prose style have reduced its appeal to later readers. Mark Twain, in particular, was critical of the author's style: "Cooper’s art has some defects. In one place in ‘Deerslayer,’ and in the restricted space of two-thirds of a page, Cooper has scored 114 offences against literary art out of a possible 115. It breaks the record." Regardless, The Last of the Mohicans is widely read in American literature courses. This second book of the Leatherstocking Tales pentalogy is the best known. The Pathfinder, written 14 years later in 1840, is its sequel.

Cooper named a principal character Uncas after a real person. Uncas was a Mohegan, not a Mohican, and Cooper's usage has helped to confuse the names of two tribes to the present day. When John Uncas, his last surviving male descendant, died in 1842, the Newark Daily Advertiser wrote "Last of the Mohegans Gone" lamenting the extinction of the tribe. The writer was not aware that Mohegans still existed then, as they do to the present day.

The story takes place in 1757 during the Seven Years' War (known in America as the French and Indian War), when France and Great Britain battled for control of the North American colonies. During this war, the French often allied themselves with Native American tribes in order to gain an advantage over the British, with unpredictable and often tragic results.


PLOT

The story is set in the British province of New York during the French and Indian War, and concerns—in part—a Huron massacre (with passive French acquiescence) of between 2,000 to 2,500 Anglo-American and British troops, who had honorably surrendered at Fort William-Henry, plus some women and servants; the kidnapping of two sisters, daughters of the British commander; and their rescue by the last two Mohicans, and others. Parts of the story may have been derived from the capture and death of Jane McCrea in July 1777 near Fort Edward, New York, by members of an Algonquian tribe.

The title of the book comes from a quote by Tamenund: "I have lived to see the last warrior of the wise race of the Mohicans". In addition, Chingachgook himself provides the title with the words "when Uncas follows in my footsteps, there will no longer be any of the blood of the sagamores, for my boy is the last of the Mohicans."

(From Wikipedia)