| The Last of the Mohicans | |
| Author | James Fenimore Cooper |
|---|---|
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Series | Leatherstocking |
| Genre(s) | Historical novel |
| Publisher | H.C. Carey & I. Lea |
| Publication date | February 1826 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 2 vol. |
| ISBN | NA |
| Preceded by | The Pioneers (1823) |
| Followed by | The Prairie (1827) |
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. 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.[1]
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.[2] 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 the United Kingdom battled for control of the American and Canadian 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.
Contents |
The story is set in the British province of New York during the French and Indian War, and concerns a Huron massacre (with passive French acquiescence) of from 500 to 1,500 Anglo-American 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 Tamanend: "I have lived to see the last warrior of the wise race of the Mohicans".[3]
A number of films have been based on the lengthy book, with numerous cuts, compressions, and distortions occurring in the story. The adaptations include The Last of the Mohicans (1920 film), The Last of the Mohicans (serial), The Last of the Mohicans (1936 film), and The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film). The 1920 version directed by Clarence Brown and Maurice Tourneur is well regarded, as is George Brackett Seitz's 1936 starring Randolph Scott as "Hawk-eye". The 1920 film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film), directed by Michael Mann, and starring Daniel Day-Lewis as "Nathaniel Poe" and Madeleine Stowe as "Cora Munro", was, according to Mann, based more on the 1936 film version than on Cooper's book. Many of the scenes from the 1992 movie did not follow the book.
A number of television movies and serials have also been made, including the 1932 12-chapter motion picture serial starring Harry Carey as "Hawkeye", the 1957 ITC Entertainment series Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans starring John Hart as "Nat 'Hawkeye' Cutler" and Lon Chaney Jr. as "Chingachgook", and a 1977 made-for-TV version starring Steve Forrest as "Hawkeye", Andrew Prine as "Duncan Heyward", Ned Romero as "Chingachgook" and Don Shanks as "Uncas".
The British Broadcasting Corporation made an eight chapter TV serial of the book in 1971, which had notable performances from Philip Madoc as "Magua", Kenneth Ives as "Hawkeye", John Abineri as "Chingachgook" and Patricia Maynard as "Cora Munro". This serial popularized the term "Mohican hairstyle" in Britain for what is known as a Mohawk hairstyle in the US, although this hairstyle was actually worn by the Hurons, not the Mohicans, in the serial.
The usual deletions from cinematic versions of The Last of the Mohicans are the extensive sections about the Indians themselves, thus confounding Cooper's purpose. Further, romantic relationships, non-existent or minimal in the novel, are generated between the principal characters, and the roles of some characters are reversed or altered, as are the events.
A children's edition was published in 1962 with illustrations by René Follet.
In 1977, Lake George Opera presented an opera version The Last of the Mohicans by composer Alva Henderson.[5]
Marvel Comics has published two versions of the story: in 1976 a one-issue version as part of their Marvel Classics Comics series (issue #13); and in 2007 a six-issue mini-series to start off the new Marvel Illustrated series..