Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Leatherstocking Tales

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Author
  
James Feni Cooper

Number of books
  
5

Leatherstocking Tales httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Characters
  
Natty Bumppo, Magua, Cora Munro

Books
  
The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, The Pathfinder - or The Inl, The Pioneers, The Prairie

The Leatherstocking Tales is a series of five novels by American writer James Fenimore Cooper. Each novel features Natty Bumppo, known to European settlers as "Leatherstocking," "The Pathfinder," and "the trapper"; to Native Americans he is known as "Deerslayer," "La Longue Carabine" and "Hawkeye."

Contents

Publication history

The "Story Dates" are derived from dates given in the tales, but do not necessarily correspond with the actual dates of the historical events described in the series. This may have been done for convenience's sake, for instance to avoid making Leatherstocking 100 years old when he traveled the Kansas plains in The Prairie.

The Natty Bumppo character is generally believed to have been inspired, at least in part, by the real-life Daniel Boone or the lesser known David Shipman.

Characters

  • Natty Bumppo is the protagonist of the series: an Anglo-American raised in part by Native Americans, and later a near-fearless warrior (his chief weapon is the long rifle). He and his Mohican "brother" Chingachgook are constant companions. He is known as "Deerslayer" in The Deerslayer, "Hawkeye" and "La Longue Carabine" in The Last of the Mohicans, "Pathfinder" in The Pathfinder, "Leatherstocking" in The Pioneers, and "the trapper" in The Prairie. The novels recount significant events in Natty Bumppo's life from 1740-1806. Critic Georg Lukacs identified Bumppo as similar to the middling characters of Sir Walter Scott, who, because they don't represent the extremes of society, can act as tools for social and cultural examination of historical events, without portraying the history itself.
  • Chingachgook is a Mohican chief and companion of Bumppo. His son Uncas, "last of the Mohicans", grew to manhood, but was killed in a battle with the hostile scout Magua.
  • In other media

    Many depictions of Natty Bumppo and his adventures appear on film. Most used one of his nicknames, most often Hawkeye. In the 1992 film version of Last of the Mohicans, Hawkeye's name was changed from Bumppo to Poe. Bumppo is also featured in the comic book series Jack of Fables, along with Slue-Foot Sue, as trackers hired to capture other "Fables". In Alan Moore's graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Natty Bumppo is a member of the group assembled by Lemuel Gulliver alongside other literary characters including Dr Syn, Fanny Hill, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Orlando.

    References

    Leatherstocking Tales Wikipedia