Coordinates	44°27′″N84°38′″N
name	Jules Gabriel Verne
birth name	Jules Gabriel Verne
birth date	February 08, 1828
birth place	Nantes, France
death date	March 24, 1905
death place	Amiens, France
occupation	Author
language	French
nationality	French
genre	Science-fiction
notableworks	''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'', ''A Journey to the Center of the Earth'', ''Around the World in Eighty Days'', ''The Mysterious Island''
spouse	Honorine Hebe du Fraysse de Viane (Morel) Verne
children	Michel Verne and step-daughters Valentine and Suzanne Morel
influences	Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Józef Sękowski, Edgar Allan Poe, James Fenimore Cooper, Jacques Arago, Daniel Defoe, Johann David Wyss, George Sand, Erckmann-Chatrian, Adolphe d'Ennery
influenced	H.G. Wells, Hugo Gernsback, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Donald G. Payne, Steampunk, Emilio Salgari, Paschal Grousset,
signature	Firma de Julio Verne.svg
portaldisp	}}

Jules Gabriel Verne (; February 8, 1828 – March 24, 1905) was a French author who pioneered the science-fiction genre. He is best known for his novels ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'' (1870), ''A Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (1864), and ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (1873). Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before air travel and practical submarines were invented, and before practical means of space travel had been devised. He is the second most translated individual author in the world, according to Index Translationum. Some of his books have also been made into live-action and animated films and television shows. Verne, along with Hugo Gernsback and H. G. Wells, is often popularly referred to as the "Father of Science Fiction".

Early life

Jules Gabriel Verne was born in Nantes, Brittany () in France, to Pierre Verne, an attorney, and his wife, Sophie Allote de la Fuÿe. Jules spent his early years at home with his parents in the bustling harbor city of Nantes. The family spent summers in a country house just outside the city, in Brains on the banks of the Loire River. Here Jules and his brother Paul would often rent a boat for a Franc a day. The sight of the many ships navigating the river sparked Jules's imagination, as he describes in the autobiographical short story "Souvenirs d'Enfance et de Jeunesse". At the age of nine, Jules and Paul, of whom he was very fond, were sent to boarding school at the Saint Donatien College (Petit séminaire de Saint-Donatien). As a child, he developed a great interest in travel and exploration, a passion he showed as a writer of adventure stories and science fiction. His interest in writing often cost him progress in other subjects.

At the boarding school, Verne studied Latin, which he used in his short story "Le Mariage de Monsieur Anselme des Tilleuls" in the mid 1850s. One of his teachers may have been the French inventor Brutus de Villeroi, professor of drawing and mathematics at the college in 1842, and who later became famous for creating the US Navy's first submarine, the USS ''Alligator''. De Villeroi may have inspired Verne's conceptual design for the Nautilus in ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'', although no direct exchanges between the two men have been recorded.

Verne's second French biographer, his grand-niece Marguerite Allotte de la Fuÿe, formulated the rumor that Verne was so fascinated with adventure at an early age that he stowed away on a ship bound for the West Indies, but that Jules's voyage was cut short when he found his father waiting for him at the next port.

Literary debut

After completing his studies at the ''lycée'', Verne went to Paris to study for the bar. Around 1848, in conjunction with Michel Carré, he began writing libretti for operettas. For some years, his attentions were divided between the theatre and work, but some travelers' stories which he wrote for the ''Musée des familles'' revealed to him his true talent: the telling of delightfully extravagant voyages and adventures to which cleverly prepared scientific and geographical details lent an air of verisimilitude.

When Verne's father discovered that his son was writing rather than studying law, he promptly withdrew his financial support. Verne was forced to support himself as a stockbroker, which he hated despite being somewhat successful at it. During this period, he met Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas, père, who offered him writing advice.

Verne also met Honorine de Viane Morel, a widow with two daughters. They were married on January 10, 1857. With her encouragement, he continued to write and actively looked for a publisher. On August 3, 1861, their son, Michel Jules Verne, was born. A classic ''enfant terrible'', Michel would marry an actress over Verne's objections, had two children by his underage mistress, and buried himself in debts. The relationship between father and son did improve as Michel grew older.

Verne's situation improved when he met Pierre-Jules Hetzel, one of the most important French publishers of the 19th century, who also published Victor Hugo, George Sand, and Erckmann-Chatrian, among others. They formed an excellent writer-publisher team until Hetzel's death. Hetzel helped improve Verne's writings, which until then had been repeatedly rejected by other publishers. Hetzel read a draft of Verne's story about the balloon exploration of Africa, which had been rejected by other publishers for being "too scientific". With Hetzel's help, Verne rewrote the story, which was published in 1863 in book form as ''Cinq semaines en ballon'' (''Five Weeks in a Balloon''). Acting on Hetzel's advice, Verne added comical accents to his novels, changed sad endings into happy ones, and toned down various political messages.

From that point, Hetzel published two or more volumes a year. The most successful of these include ''Voyage au centre de la Terre'' (''Journey to the Center of the Earth'', 1864); ''De la Terre à la Lune'' (''From the Earth to the Moon'', 1865); ''Vingt mille lieues sous les mers'' (''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'', 1869); and ''Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours'' (''Around the World in Eighty Days''), which first appeared in ''Le Temps'' in 1872. The series is collectively known as "Voyages Extraordinaires" ("extraordinary voyages"). Verne could now live on his writings. But most of his wealth came from the stage adaptations of ''Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours'' (1874) and ''Michel Strogoff'' (1876), which he wrote with Adolphe d'Ennery. In 1867, Verne bought a small ship, the ''Saint-Michel'', which he successively replaced with the ''Saint-Michel II'' and the ''Saint-Michel III'' as his financial situation improved. On board the ''Saint-Michel III'', he sailed around Europe. In 1870, he was appointed as "Chevalier" (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur. After his first novel, most of his stories were first serialised in the ''Magazine d'Éducation et de Récréation'', a Hetzel biweekly publication, before being published in the form of books. His brother Paul contributed to ''40th French climbing of the Mont-Blanc'' and a collection of short stories – ''Doctor Ox'' – in 1874. Verne became wealthy and famous. According to the Unesco Index Translationum, Jules Verne regularly places among the top five most translated authors in the world.

Later years

On March 9, 1886, as Verne was coming home, his twenty-five-year-old nephew, Gaston, shot him with a gun. One bullet missed, but the second entered Verne's left leg, giving him a limp that would not be cured. The incident was hushed up by the media, and Gaston spent the rest of his life in an asylum.

After the deaths of Hetzel and his beloved mother Sophie Henriette Allotte de la Fruye in 1887, Jules began writing darker works. This may partly be due to changes in his personality, but an important factor is the fact that Hetzel's son, who took over his father's business, was not as rigorous in his corrections as Hetzel had been. In 1888, Jules Verne entered politics and was elected town councillor of Amiens, where he championed several improvements and served for fifteen years. In 1905, while ill with diabetes, Verne died at his home, 44 Boulevard Longueville (now Boulevard Jules-Verne). Michel oversaw publication of his novels ''Invasion of the Sea'' and ''The Lighthouse at the End of the World''. The "Voyages extraordinaires" series continued for several years afterwards in the same rhythm of two volumes a year. It has later been discovered that Michel Verne had made extensive changes in these stories, and the original versions were published at the end of the 20th century.

In 1863, Jules Verne wrote a novel called ''Paris in the Twentieth Century'' about a young man who lives in a world of glass skyscrapers, high-speed trains, gas-powered automobiles, calculators, and a worldwide communications network, yet cannot find happiness and comes to a tragic end. Hetzel thought the novel's pessimism would damage Verne's then-booming career, and suggested he wait 20 years to publish it. Verne put the manuscript in a safe, where it was discovered by his great-grandson in 1989. It was published in 1994.

Reputation in English-speaking countries

While Verne is considered in many countries such as France as an author of quality books for young people, with a good command of his subjects, including technology and politics, his reputation in English-speaking countries suffered for a long time from poor translation.

Characteristic of much of late 19th-century writing, Verne's books often took a chauvinistic point of view. The British Empire was notably portrayed in a bad light in ''The Mysterious Island'', as Captain Nemo was revealed to be an Indian nobleman fighting the British Empire, which had not been mentioned in ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea''. The first English translator of ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'' and ''From the Earth to the Moon, and a Trip Around It'', Reverend Lewis Page Mercier, working under a pseudonym, removed passages describing the political actions of Captain Nemo. However, such negative depictions were not invariable in Verne's works; for example, ''Facing the Flag'' features Lieutenant Devon, a heroic, self-sacrificing Royal Navy officer worthy of comparison with any written by British authors. Another example of a positive depiction of an Englishman is the brave and resourceful Phileas Fogg, the protagonist of ''Around the World in Eighty Days''.

Mercier and subsequent British translators also had trouble with the metric system that Verne used, sometimes dropping significant figures, at other times keeping the nominal value and only changing the unit to an Imperial measure. Thus Verne's calculations, which in general were remarkably exact, were converted into mathematical gibberish. Also, artistic passages and whole chapters were cut because of the need to fit the work in a constrained space for publication. (London author Cranstoun Metcalfe (1866–1938) translated most of Verne's work into English during the first half of the 20th century.)

For those reasons, Verne's work initially acquired a reputation in English-speaking countries for not being fit for adult readers. This, in turn, prevented him from being taken seriously enough to merit new translations, leading to those of Mercier and others being reprinted decade after decade. Only from 1965 on were some of his novels re-translated more accurately, but even today Verne's work has still not been fully rehabilitated in the English-speaking world.

Verne's works also reflect the bitterness France felt in the wake of defeat in the Franco-Prussian War from 1870 to 1871, and the loss of Alsace and Lorraine. ''The Begum's Millions'' (''Les Cinq cents millions de la Begum'') of 1879 gives a highly stereotypical depiction of Germans as monstrous cruel militarists. By contrast, almost all the protagonists in his pre-1871 works, such as the sympathetic first-person narrator in ''Journey to the Centre of the Earth'', are German.

Memorials

A restaurant built into the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France is named Le Jules Verne Restaurant. In June 1989, the Jules Verne Food Court opened at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in the West Midlands of England; however, it had closed by the mid 1990s due to disappointing trade.

Hetzel's influence

Hetzel substantially influenced the writings of Verne, who was so happy to finally find a willing publisher that he agreed to almost all changes that Hetzel suggested. Hetzel rejected at least one novel (''Paris in the Twentieth Century'') and asked Verne to significantly change his other drafts. One of the most important changes Hetzel enforced on Verne was the adoption of optimism in his novels. Verne was in fact not an enthusiast of technological and human progress, as can be seen in his works created before he met Hetzel and after Hetzel's death. Hetzel's demand for optimistic texts proved correct. For example, ''Mysterious Island'' originally ended with the survivors returning to the mainland forever nostalgic about the island. Hetzel decided that the heroes should live happily, so in the revised draft, they use their fortunes to build a replica of the island. Many translations are like this. Also, in order not to offend France's then-ally, Russia, the origin and past of the famous Captain Nemo were changed from those of a Polish refugee avenging the partitions of Poland and the death of his family in the January Uprising repressions to those of an Indian prince fighting the British Empire after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Bibliography

Verne wrote numerous works, most famous of which are the 54 novels comprising the ''Voyages Extraordinaires''. He also wrote short stories, essays, plays, and poems.

His very first and better known works include: ''A Voyage in a Balloon (Un Voyage en ballon, August 1851 as published in ''Musee des familles'').

''Five Weeks in a Balloon'' (''Cinq semaines en ballon'', 1863)

''Paris in the Twentieth Century'' (''Paris au XXe siècle'', 1863, not published until 1994)

''A Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (''Voyage au centre de la Terre'', 1864)

''From the Earth to the Moon'' (''De la Terre à la Lune'', 1865)

''The Adventures of Captain Hatteras'' (''Voyages et aventures du capitaine Hatteras'', 1866)

''In Search of the Castaways'' or ''Captain Grant's Children'' (''Les Enfants du capitaine Grant'', 1867–1868)

''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'' (''Vingt mille lieues sous les mers'', 1870)

''Around the Moon'' (''Autour de la lune'', a sequel to ''From the Earth to the Moon'', 1870)

''A Floating City'' (''Une ville flottante'', 1871)

"Dr. Ox's Experiment" (''Une Fantaisie du Docteur Ox'', 1872)

''The Adventures of Three Englishmen and Three Russians in South Africa'' (''Aventures de trois Russes et de trois Anglais'', 1872 )

''The Fur Country'' (''Le Pays des fourrures'', 1873)

''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (''Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours'', 1873)

''The Survivors of the Chancellor'' (''Le Chancellor'', 1875)

''The Mysterious Island'' (''L'Île mystérieuse'', 1875)

"The Blockade Runners", (1876)

''Michael Strogoff'' (''Michel Strogoff'', 1876)

''Off on a Comet'' (''Hector Servadac'', 1877)

''The Child of the Cavern'', also known as ''Black Diamonds'' or ''The Black Indies'' (''Les Indes noires'', 1877)

''Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen'' (''Un Capitaine de quinze ans'', 1878)

''The Begum's Millions'' (''Les Cinq cents millions de la Bégum'', 1879)

''The Steam House'' (''La Maison à vapeur'', 1879)

''Tribulations of a Chinaman in China'' (''Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine''), 1879

''Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon'' (''La Jangada'', 1881)

''The Green Ray'' (''Le Rayon vert'', 1882)

''Kéraban the Inflexible'' (1883)

"Frritt-Flacc" (1884)

''The Vanished Diamond'' (''L’Étoile du sud'', 1884)

''The Archipelago on Fire'' (''L’Archipel en feu'', 1884)

''Mathias Sandorf'' (1885)

''Robur the Conqueror'' or ''The Clipper of the Clouds'' (''Robur-le-Conquérant'', 1886)

''Ticket No. "9672"'' (''Un Billet de loterie'', 1886 )

''North Against South'' (''Nord contre Sud'', 1887)

''The Flight to France'' (''Le Chemin de France'', 1887)

''Family Without a Name'' (''Famille-sans-nom'', 1888)

''Two Years' Vacation'' (''Deux Ans de vacances'', 1888)

''The Purchase of the North Pole'' (''Sans dessus dessous'', the second sequel to ''From the Earth to the Moon'', 1889)

''Mistress Branican'' (1891)

''The Carpathian Castle'' (''Le Château des Carpathes'', 1892)

''Claudius Bombarnac'' (''Claudius Bombarnac'', 1893)

''Propeller Island'' (''L’Île à hélice'', 1895)

''Facing the Flag'' (''Face au drapeau'', 1896)

''Clovis Dardentor'' (1896)

''The Sphinx of the Ice Fields'' or ''An Antarctic Mystery'' (''Le Sphinx des glaces'', a sequel to Edgar Allan Poe's ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym'', 1897)

''The Mighty Orinoco'' (''Le Superbe Orénoque'', 1897)

''The Village in the Treetops'' (''Le Village aérien'', 1901)

''The Kip Brothers'' (''Les Frères Kip'',1902)

''Master of the World'' (''Maître du monde'', sequel to ''Robur the Conqueror'', 1904)

''Invasion of the Sea'' (''L’Invasion de la mer'', 1904)

''A Drama in Livonia'' (''Un Drame en Livonie'', 1904)

''The Lighthouse at the End of the World'' (''Le Phare du bout du monde'', 1905)

''The Chase of the Golden Meteor'' (''La Chasse au météore'', 1908)

''The Danube Pilot'' (''Le Pilote du Danube'', 1908)

''The Survivors of the "Jonathan"'' (''Les Naufragés du « Jonathan »'', 1909)

See also

Paschal Grousset

Karl May

Zane Grey

B. Traven

Emilio Salgari

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Osip Senkovsky

Oshikawa Shunro

Steampunk, a style that took inspiration from Verne.

References

Further reading

William Butcher, Arthur C. Clarke (Introduction) (2006). ''Jules Verne: The Definitive Biography''. ISBN 1-56025-854-3

Herbert R. Lottman (1997). ''Jules Verne: An Exploratory Biography''. ISBN 0-312-14636-1

Philippe Melot, Jean-Marie Embs (2005).''Le Guide Jules Verne''. Les Editions de l'Amateur, Paris.ISBN 2-85917-417-6

Françoise Schiltz (2011). ''The Future Revisited: Jules Verne on Screen in 1950s America''. Chaplin Books, Gosport. ISBN 0-9565595-2-2

:*Translated as

External links

Bibliography

Les Voyages Extraordinaires – list of Verne works Compiled by Dennis Kytasaari. Bibliography.

Sources

Jules Verne's works: text, concordances and frequency list

A Jules Verne Centennial 1905–2005: A selection of early Jules Verne books and illustrations at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries edited by Norman M. Wolcott.

Zvi Har'El's Jules Verne Collection, including the Jules Verne Virtual Library, online sources of 51 of Jules Verne's novels translated into eight languages.

The Jules Verne Collecting Resource Page, complete online sources, posters, cards, autographs, first edition covers, etc..

Biography

Biography of Jules Verne

Reviews

"Jules Verne: Father of Science Fiction?", John Derbyshire, ''The New Atlantis'', Number 12, Spring 2006, pp. 81–90. A review of four new Jules Verne translations from the "Early Classics of Science Fiction" series by Wesleyan University Press.

''Jules Verne: An Exploratory Biography'', by Herbert R. Lottman – a review.

Misc

The maps from the Voyages Extraordinaires, scans of all the maps that were included in the original editions of Jules Verne’s novels.

Category:French science fiction writers Category:Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees Category:French Roman Catholics Category:Operetta librettists Category:People from Nantes Category:Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Category:Roman Catholic writers Category:1828 births Category:1905 deaths Category:Maritime writers

af:Jules Verne ar:جول فيرن an:Jules Verne ast:Jules Verne az:Jül Vern bn:জুল ভের্ন zh-min-nan:Jules Verne be:Жуль Верн be-x-old:Жуль Вэрн bs:Jules Verne br:Jules Verne bg:Жул Верн ca:Jules Verne cs:Jules Verne da:Jules Verne de:Jules Verne et:Jules Verne el:Ιούλιος Βερν es:Julio Verne eo:Jules Verne ext:Jules Verne eu:Jules Verne fa:ژول ورن fr:Jules Verne fy:Jules Verne ga:Jules Verne gl:Jules Verne ko:쥘 베른 hi:जूल्स वर्न hr:Jules Verne io:Jules Verne id:Jules Verne ia:Jules Verne ie:Jules Verne os:Верн, Жюль is:Jules Verne it:Jules Verne he:ז'ול ורן jv:Jules Verne ka:ჟიულ ვერნი kk:Жюль Верн la:Iulius Verne lv:Žils Verns lb:Jules Verne lt:Jules Verne li:Jules Verne hu:Jules Verne mk:Жил Верн ml:ജൂൾസ് വേൺ mr:जूल वेर्न mzn:ژول ورن mn:Жюль Верн my:ဂျို့စ် ဂေဗီယို ဗမ်းန် nl:Jules Verne ja:ジュール・ヴェルヌ no:Jules Verne nn:Jules Verne oc:Jules Verne uz:Jules Verne pms:Jules Verne nds:Jules Verne pl:Juliusz Verne pt:Júlio Verne ro:Jules Verne rm:Jules Verne qu:Jules Verne ru:Верн, Жюль stq:Jules Verne sq:Jules Verne simple:Jules Verne sk:Jules Verne sl:Jules Verne szl:Jules Verne sr:Жил Верн sh:Jules Verne fi:Jules Verne sv:Jules Verne tl:Jules Verne (ATV) ta:ழூல் வேர்ண் tt:Жюль Верн th:ฌูล แวร์น tg:Жюл Габриэл Верн tr:Jules Verne uk:Жуль Верн ur:جولس ورن ug:ژىيۇل ۋېرن vi:Jules Verne war:Jules Verne yo:Jules Verne bat-smg:Žiolės Verns zh:儒勒·凡尔纳

Coordinates	44°27′″N84°38′″N
name	James Fenimore Cooper
birth date	September 15, 1789
birth place	Burlington, New Jersey
death date	September 14, 1851
death place	Cooperstown, New York
occupation	Novelist
movement	Colonial Realism
genre	Historical fiction
notableworks	''The Last of the Mohicans''
influenced	}}

James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the ''Leatherstocking Tales'', featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo. Among his most famous works is the Romantic novel ''The Last of the Mohicans'', often regarded as his masterpiece.

Biography

Early life

James Fenimore Cooper was born in Burlington, New Jersey, the son of William and Elizabeth (Fenimore) Cooper. His father was a United States Congressman. Shortly after his first birthday, his family moved to Cooperstown, New York, a community founded by his father.

At 13, Cooper was enrolled at Yale, but he did not obtain a degree due to being expelled. His expulsion stemmed from a dangerous prank that involved him blowing up another student's door. Another less dangerous prank consisted of training a donkey to sit in a professor's chair. He obtained work as a sailor on a merchant vessel, and at 18, joined the United States Navy. He obtained the rank of midshipman before leaving in 1811.

At age 21, he married Susan DeLancey. They had seven children, five of whom lived to adulthood. The writer Paul Fenimore Cooper was a great-grandson.

Writings

He anonymously published his first book, ''Precaution'' (1820). He soon issued several others. In 1823, he published ''The Pioneers''; this was the first of the ''Leatherstocking'' series, featuring Natty Bumppo, the resourceful American woodsman at home with the Delaware Indians and especially their chief ''Chingachgook''. Cooper's most famous novel, ''Last of the Mohicans'' (1826), became one of the most widely read American novels of the 19th century. The book was written in New York City, where Cooper and his family lived from 1822 to 1826.

In 1826 Cooper moved his family to Europe, where he sought to gain more income from his books as well as provide better education for his children. While overseas, he continued to write. His books published in Paris include ''The Red Rover'' and ''The Water Witch''—two of his many sea stories.

In 1832 he entered the lists as a political writer; in a series of letters to the ''National'', a Parisian journal, he defended the United States against a string of charges brought against them by the ''Revue Britannique''. For the rest of his life, he continued skirmishing in print, sometimes for the national interest, sometimes for that of the individual, and not infrequently for both at once.

This opportunity to make a political confession of faith reflected the political turn he already had taken in his fiction, having attacked European anti-republicanism in ''The Bravo'' (1831). Cooper continued this political course in ''The Heidenmauer'' (1832) and ''The Headsman: or the Abbaye of Vigneron'' (1833). ''The Bravo'' depicted Venice as a place where a ruthless oligarchy lurks behind the mask of the "serene republic". All were widely read on both sides of the Atlantic, though ''The Bravo'' was a critical failure in the United States.

In 1833 Cooper returned to the United States and immediately published ''A Letter to My Countrymen'', in which he gave his own version of the controversy and sharply censured his compatriots for their share in it. He followed up with novels and several sets of notes on his travels and experiences in Europe. His ''Homeward Bound'' and ''Home as Found'' are notable for containing a highly idealized self portrait.

In June 1834, Cooper decided to reopen his ancestral mansion, Otsego Hall, at Cooperstown. It had long been closed and falling into decay; he had been absent from the mansion nearly 16 years. Repairs were begun, and the house was speedily put in order. At first, he wintered in New York City and summered in Cooperstown, but eventually he made Otsego Hall his permanent home.

Reaction

His books related to current politics and Cooper's self promotion increased the ill feeling between author and public. The Whig press was virulent in its comments about him, and Cooper filed legal actions for libel, winning all his lawsuits.

After concluding his last case in court, Cooper returned to writing with more energy and success than he had had for several years. He wrote a history of the US Navy, and returned to the Leatherstocking series with ''The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea'' (1840) and ''The Deerslayer'' (1841) and other novels. He wrote again on maritime themes, including ''Ned Myers, or A Life Before the Mast'', which is of particular interest to naval historians.

Later life

He turned again from pure fiction to the combination of art and controversy in which he had achieved distinction with the ''Littlepage Manuscripts'' (1845–1846). His next novel was ''The Crater, or Vulcan's Peak'' (1847), in which he attempted to introduce supernatural machinery. ''Jack Tier'' (1848) was a remaking of ''The Red Rover'', and ''The Ways of the Hour'' was his last completed novel.

Cooper spent the last years of his life back in Cooperstown. He died of dropsy on September 14, 1851, the day before his 62nd birthday. His interment was in Christ Episcopal Churchyard, where his father, William Cooper, was buried. Several well-known writers, politicians, and other public figures honored Cooper's memory with a dinner in February 1852; Washington Irving served as a co-chairman for the event, alongside William Cullen Bryant and Daniel Webster.

Legacy and criticism

Cooper was one of the most popular 19th-century American authors, and his work was admired greatly throughout the world. While on his death bed, the Austrian composer Franz Schubert wanted most to read more of Cooper's novels. Honoré de Balzac, the French novelist and playwright, admired him greatly. Cooper's stories have been translated into nearly all the languages of Europe and into some of those of Asia.

Cooper's work is read carefully by law and literature scholars such as Nan Goodman, who argues that several of Cooper's novels, particularly ''The Pioneers'' and ''The Pilot'', demonstrate an early 19th century American preoccupation with prudence and negligence in a country where property rights were often still in dispute. However, despite his close association with the period, he also innovated in several ways. Amongst these, Cooper was the first major American Novelist to include African and African American characters. Though these black characters often fell into stereotypical roles, he still used slaves, free Negroes and mulattoes throughout his books.

Furthermore, Cooper was innovative in his use and portrayal of Native Americans, who play central roles in his Leatherstocking Tales. However, his treatment of this group is a complex and highlights the tenuous relationship between frontier settlers and Indians. Often, he gives contrasting views of Native characters to emphasize their potential for good, or conversely, their potential for mayhem. In ''Last of the Mohicans'', the stereotypical, nineteenth century view of the native is seen in the character of Magua, who is devoid of almost any redeeming qualities. In comparison, Chingachgook, the last chief of the Mohicans, is portrayed as noble, courageous, and heroic.

Though some scholars may dispute Cooper being classified as a Romantic, Victor Hugo pronounced him greater than the great master of modern romance, and this verdict was echoed by a multitude of less famous readers, who were satisfied with no title for their favorite less than that of the "American Scott.” ''The Deerslayer'' and ''The Pathfinder'' were criticized by Mark Twain in a satirical but vicious essay, "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses" (1895), which has often been criticized as unfair and distorted. As scholars Schachterle and Ljungquist write, "Twain's deliberate misreading of Cooper has been devastating....Twain valued economy of style (a possible but not necessary criterion), but such concision simply was not a characteristic of many early nineteenth-century novelists' work. Writing with the expectation that their readers would often read their works aloud, Scott, Dickens, Thackeray, Cooper, and Melville favored a full, sometimes orotund, style that Twain and his fellow Realists a generation later spurned."

His reputation today rests upon the five Leatherstocking tales and some of the maritime stories. Literary scholar Leslie Fiedler, however, noted that Cooper's "collected works are monumental in their cumulative dullness."

Cooper was also criticized heavily for his depiction of women characters in his work. James Russell Lowell, Cooper's contemporary and a critic, referred to it poetically in ''A Fable for Critics'', writing, ". . . the women he draws from one model don't vary / All sappy as maples and flat as a prairie."

Three dining halls at the State University of New York at Oswego are named in Cooper's remembrance (Cooper Hall, The Pathfinder, and Littlepage) because of his temporary residence in Oswego and for setting some of his works there. The gilded and red tole chandelier hanging in the library of the White House in Washington DC is from the home of James Fenimore Cooper. It was brought there through the efforts of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in her great White House restoration.

Bibliography

{|class="wikitable" !Date !Title: Subtitle !Genre !Topic, Location, Period |- |1820 |''Precaution'' |novel |England, 1813–1814 |- |1821 |''The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral Ground'' |novel |Westchester County, New York, 1778 |- |1823 |''The Pioneers: or The Sources of the Susquehanna'' |novel |''Leatherstocking'', Otsego County, New York, 1793–1794, |- |1823 |''Tales for Fifteen: or Imagination and Heart'' |2 short stories |written under the pseudonym: Jane Morgan |- |1824 |''The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea'' |novel |John Paul Jones, England, 1780 |- |1825 |''Lionel Lincoln: or The Leaguer of Boston'' |novel |Battle of Bunker Hill, Boston, 1775–1781 |- |1826 |''The Last of the Mohicans: A narrative of 1757'' |novel |''Leatherstocking'', French and Indian War, Lake George & Adirondacks, 1757 |- |1827 |''The Prairie'' |novel |''Leatherstocking'', American Midwest, 1805 |- |1828 |''The Red Rover: A Tale'' |novel |Newport, Rhode Island & Atlantic Ocean, pirates, 1759 |- |1828 |''Notions of the Americans: Picked up by a Travelling Bachelor'' |non-fiction |America for European readers |- |1829 |''The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish: A Tale'' |novel |Western Connecticut, Puritans and Indians, 1660–1676 |- |1830 |''The Water-Witch: or the Skimmer of the Seas'' |novel |New York, smugglers, 1713 |- |1830 |''Letter to General Lafayette'' |politics |France vs. US, cost of government |- |1831 |''The Bravo: A Tale'' |novel |Venice, 18th century |- |1832 |''The Heidenmauer: or, The Benedictines, A Legend of the Rhine'' |novel |German Rhineland, 16th century |- |1832 |''No Steamboats'' |short story |  |- |1833 |''The Headsman: The Abbaye des Vignerons'' |novel |Geneva, Switzerland, & Alps, 18th century |- |1834 |''A Letter to His Countrymen'' |politics |Why Cooper temporarily stopped writing |- |1835 |''The Monikins'' |novel |Antarctica, aristocratic monkeys, 1830s; a satire on British and American politics. |- |1836 |''The Eclipse'' |memoir |Solar eclipse in Cooperstown, New York 1806 |- |1836 |''Gleanings in Europe: Switzerland (Sketches of Switzerland)'' |travel |Hiking in Switzerland, 1828 |- |1836 |''Gleanings in Europe: The Rhine (Sketches of Switzerland, Part Second)'' |travel |Travels France, Rhineland & Switzerland, 1832 |- |1836 |''A Residence in France: With an Excursion Up the Rhine, and a Second Visit to Switzerland'' |travel |  |- |1837 |''Gleanings in Europe: France'' |travel |Living, travelling in France, 1826–1828 |- |1837 |''Gleanings in Europe: England'' |travel |Travels in England, 1826, 1828, 1833 |- |1838 |''Gleanings in Europe: Italy'' |travel |Living, travelling in Italy, 1828–1830 |- |1838 |''The American Democrat : or Hints on the Social and Civic Relations of the United States of America'' |non-fiction |US society and government |- |1838 |''The Chronicles of Cooperstown'' |history |Local history of Cooperstown, New York |- |1838 |''Homeward Bound: or The Chase: A Tale of the Sea'' |novel |Atlantic Ocean & North African coast, 1835 |- |1838 |''Home as Found: Sequel to Homeward Bound'' |novel |Eve Effingham, New York City & Otsego County, New York, 1835 |- |1839 |''The History of the Navy of the United States of America'' |history |US Naval history to date |- |1839 |''Old Ironsides'' |history |History of the Frigate USS Constitution, 1st pub. 1853 |- |1840 |''The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea'' |novel |''Leatherstocking'', Western New York, 1759 |- |1840 |''Mercedes of Castile: or, The Voyage to Cathay'' |novel |Christopher Columbus in West Indies, 1490s |- |1841 |''The Deerslayer: or The First Warpath'' |novel |''Leatherstocking'', Otsego Lake 1740-1745 |- |1842 |''The Two Admirals'' |novel |England & English Channel, Scottish uprising, 1745 |- |1842 |''The Wing-and-Wing: le Le Feu-Follet'' (Jack o Lantern) |novel |Italian coast, Neopolitan Wars, 1745 |- |1843 |''Autobiography of a Pocket-Handkerchief'' , also published as

''Le Mouchoir: An Autobiographical Romance''

''The French Governess: or The Embroidered Handkerchief''

''Die franzosischer Erzieheren: oder das gestickte Taschentuch''

|novelette |Social satire, France & New York, 1830s |- |1843 |''Richard Dale'' |  |  |- |1843 |''Wyandotte: or The Hutted Knoll. A Tale'' |novel |Butternut Valley of Otsego County, New York, 1763–1776 |- |1843 |''Ned Myers: or Life before the Mast'' |biography |of Cooper's shipmate who survived an 1813 sinking of a US sloop of war in a storm |- |1844 |''Afloat and Ashore: or The Adventures of Miles Wallingford. A Sea Tale'' |novel |Ulster County & worldwide, 1795–1805 |- |1844 |''Miles Wallingford: Sequel to Afloat and Ashore'' British title: ''Lucy Hardinge: A Second Series of Afloat and Ashore'' (1844) |novel |Ulster County & worldwide, 1795–1805 |- |1844 |''Proceedings of the Naval Court-Martial in the Case of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, &c.;'' |  |  |- |1845 |''Satanstoe: or The Littlepage Manuscripts, a Tale of the Colony'' |novel |New York City, Westchester County, Albany, Adirondacks, 1758 |- |1845 |''The Chainbearer; or, The Littlepage Manuscripts'' |novel |Westchester County, Adirondacks, 1780s (next generation) |- |1846 |''The Redskins; or, Indian and Injin: Being the Conclusion of the Littlepage Manuscripts'' |novel |Anti-rent wars, Adirondacks, 1845 |- |1846 |''Lives of Distinguished American Naval Officers'' |biography |  |- |1847 | ''The Crater; or, Vulcan's Peak: A Tale of the Pacific'' (''Mark's Reef'') |novel | Philadelphia, Bristol (PA), & deserted Pacific island, early 19th century |- |1848 |''Jack Tier: or the Florida Reefs'' a.k.a. ''Captain Spike: or The Islets of the Gulf'' |novel |Florida Keys, Mexican War, 1846 |- |1848 |''The Oak Openings: or the Bee-Hunter'' |novel |Kalamazoo River, Michigan, War of 1812 |- |1849 |''The Sea Lions: The Lost Sealers'' |novel |Long Island & Antarctica, 1819–1820 |- |1850 |''The Ways of the Hour'' |novel |"Dukes County, New York", murder/courtroom mystery novel, legal corruption, women's rights, 1846 |- |1850 |''Upside Down: or Philosophy in Petticoats'' |play |satirization of socialism |- |1851 |''The Lake Gun'' |short story |Seneca Lake in New York, political satire based on folklore |- |1851 |''New York: or The Towns of Manhattan'' |history |Unfinished, history of New York City, 1st pub. 1864 |}

References

External links

Works by or about James Fenimore Cooper at Internet Archive (scanned books original editions color illustrated)

(plain text and HTML)

James Fenimore Cooper at Open Library

James Fenimore Cooper Society Homepage

James Fenimore Cooper Society Website

Essay on Fenimore Cooper: Works in biographical/historical context

Thomas R. Lounsbury: ''James Fenimore Cooper''. 6th Edition. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1886 (American Men of Letters). PDF from the Arno Schmidt Reference Library

Category:1789 births Category:1851 deaths Category:People from Burlington, New Jersey Category:American people of English descent Category:American novelists Category:American historical novelists Category:Writers of historical fiction set in Modern Age Category:American naval historians Category:Romanticism Category:United States Navy officers Category:People from Otsego County, New York Category:People from Scarsdale, New York Category:Deaths from edema

az:Ceyms Fenimor Kuper br:James Fenimore Cooper bg:Джеймс Фенимор Купър ca:James Fenimore Cooper cs:James Fenimore Cooper da:James Fenimore Cooper de:James Fenimore Cooper et:James Fenimore Cooper el:Τζέιμς Φένιμορ Κούπερ es:James Fenimore Cooper eo:James Fenimore Cooper fr:James Fenimore Cooper fy:James Fenimore Cooper gl:James Fenimore Cooper ko:제임스 페니모어 쿠퍼 hy:Ջեյմս Ֆենիմոր Կուպեր it:James Fenimore Cooper he:ג'יימס פנימור קופר lv:Džeimss Fenimors Kūpers lt:James Fenimore Cooper hu:James Fenimore Cooper nl:James Fenimore Cooper ja:ジェイムズ・フェニモア・クーパー no:James Fenimore Cooper pl:James Fenimore Cooper pt:James Fenimore Cooper ro:James Fenimore Cooper ru:Купер, Джеймс Фенимор sk:James Fenimore Cooper sh:James Fenimore Cooper fi:James Fenimore Cooper sv:James Fenimore Cooper th:เจมส์ เฟนิมอร์ คูเปอร์ tg:Ҷеймс Фенимор Купер tr:James Fenimore Cooper uk:Джеймс Фенімор Купер