The Last of the Mohicans

by James Fenimore Cooper

The most popular of Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, The Last of the Mohicans takes place in 1757 during the French and Indian War and recounts the story of an unarmed massacre, the kidnapping of two sisters, and their rescue by Hawk-eye and his two Mohican friends Uncas and Chingachook. The novel was quite popular when published (1826) and is still a staple in most American Literature courses, and a great example of Romanticism.

Featured in our collection of 25 Great American Novels. You may enjoy reading D.H. Lawrence's chapter about Cooper's most famous novel in Studies in Classic American Literature.

The illustration is by N.C. Wyeth, 1919.

AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION