Audiobook · read by volunteers
Last Of The Mohicans - A Narrative of 1757
James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851)
Read by Gary W. Sherwin · 34 chapters · 17 h 17
About the book
It is the summer of 1757, and the French and British are at war in the forests of northern New York. Two young women, the daughters of a British colonel, travel through the wilderness to join their father at Fort William Henry, escorted by an officer and guided by a Native American scout who may not be trustworthy. They are soon joined by Hawkeye, a frontiersman, and by his friends Chingachgook and Uncas, the last of the Mohicans. What follows is a story of ambushes, escapes, captivity and pursuit on lakes and forest trails. James Fenimore Cooper’s novel is a founding classic of American adventure, vivid in its landscapes and heroic in its tone, and it has inspired countless retellings. It is an epic that has shaped how generations picture the frontier.
Introduction
James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) was one of the first American writers to win an international readership. The Last of the Mohicans, published in 1826, is the second of five novels featuring the frontiersman known as Natty Bumppo, or Hawkeye. It was among the most popular English-language novels of its day and helped establish Cooper as a world-famous author. It is set during the French and Indian War, part of the larger Seven Years’ War.
The thirty-four recordings begin with an introduction and then follow the chapters in order. Cooper’s prose is formal and long-breathed, and readers have often noted his tendency toward romantic idealisation, particularly in his portrayal of Native peoples, a subject that deserves a critical ear today. Yet the action is vigorous, the landscapes are memorable, and the book played a major part in forming the American idea of the frontier. It is a long listen, well suited to those who enjoy adventure with a historical background.
Beyond the chases and battles, the book gives a vivid sense of the forest and the lakes, and of the clash of cultures on the American frontier. Hawkeye, with his rifle and woodland skills, is one of the best-known figures in American fiction, and his friendship with Chingachgook and Uncas is the heart of the story.
In all there are 34 recordings, about 17.3 hours, read by a single LibriVox volunteer. Cooper’s long chapters of pursuit and ambush work well as serial listening, a few at a time, with the forest and the lakes easy to picture with the eyes closed. Part of the pleasure is the contrast between the lakes and forests of the northern frontier, drawn in long descriptive passages, and the sudden speed of the chase and the fight, which a good reader can make thrilling.
Public domain
James Fenimore Cooper died in 1851: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text