The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea
by James Fenimore Cooper
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The setting is the American Revolutionary War, and the action begins as two ships enter a bay in England to pick up a pilot. Who is the mysterious figure who they will be plucking from the rocky cliffs, and what role will he play in the battles ahead? Take off with James Fenimore Cooper's The Pilot if gripping nautical adventure is your desired destination..
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Cooper isn't my favorite 1800s writer by a long shot, but I can't deny that there's a certain charm to this book. The plot, in many ways, feels modern, and I think it is as close as anyone will ever come to reading modern literature written by a rather old-school author. This justaposition is awkward at times, though I am not sure it would have been so when the book was first published. At any rate, this is a good story in the traditional sense of the word, though today's reader may find his or her eyebrows raising a bit.
Takes place during the American Revolutionary War off the coast of England, where a whaleboat is put ashore from the schooner Ariel. The goal of the boat is pick up a pilot known only as Mr. Gray. Mr. Gray is not the real identity of this pilot. There are many plot twists and turns before the pilot is deposited on the shores of Holland. There was a bit too much of naval life and strategies for me and as all of Fenimore's works that I have read, he is even more wordier than Charles Dickens. Reason for reading: to clear my shelf! No idea why I would have purchased this book. Oh yeah, probably because it was 99 cents on Amazon! 281 pages,
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Fiction (Mostly) in Selective Bibliography of American Literature 1775-1900
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Author Information
500+ Works 30,600 Members
James Fenimore Cooper, acclaimed as one of the first American novelists, was born in Burlington, N.J., on September 15, 1789. When he was one year old, his family moved to Cooperstown, N.Y., which was founded by his father. Cooper attended various grammar schools in Burlington, Cooperstown, and Albany, and entered Yale University in 1803 at the show more age of 13. In 1806, Cooper was expelled from Yale for pushing a rag with gunpowder under a classmate's door, causing it to explode. He then spent some time as a merchant seaman and served as a midshipman in the U.S. Navy from 1808-1811. In 1811, Cooper married Susan De Lancey, and lived the life of a country gentleman until one day in 1820. Cooper and his wife were reading a book together. When Cooper told Susan that he could write a better book than the one they were reading, she challenged him to do so. Thus began his career as an author, with Precaution (first published anonymously). Cooper is known for writing more than 50 works under his own name, Jane Morgan, and Anonymous. His works included fiction, nonfiction, history, and travel sketches. He gained insight for his travel works while the Cooper family lived in Europe from 1826 to 1833. Cooper is best known for the novel The Last of The Mohicans, which has been made into several motion picture adaptations, the most recent starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Hawkeye. The Last of the Mohicans is part of The Leatherstocking Tales, which includes the other novels, The Pioneers, The Deerslayer, and The Pathfinder. Hawkeye, whose given name is Nathaniel Bumpo, is a recurring character in the series which accurately chronicles early American pioneering life and events during the French and Indian War. In 1851, Cooper developed a liver condition, dying on September 14th of that year, just one day before his 62nd birthday. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Pilot; Der Lotse oder: Abenteuer an Englands Küste; The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea
- Original title
- The Pilot
- Original publication date
- 1824
- First words
- A single glance at the map will make the reader acquainted with the position of the eastern coast of the Island of Great Britain, as connected with the shores of the opposite continent.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Perceiving her husband to rise, and carefully collect the papers in a bundle, before he left the room, Cecilia made no further remark at the time, nor was the subject ever revived between them.
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- Members
- 348
- Popularity
- 90,423
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.22)
- Languages
- 8 — Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Lithuanian, Russian, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 58
- ASINs
- 46
