List of Works by James Fenimore Cooper

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James Fenimore Cooper was a popular American author. Born in 1789 in New Jersey, he became part of the Romantic literary movement. Many of his novels were influenced by the years he spent in the U.S. Navy. He was a prolific writer producing something almost every year from 1820 until his death in 1851. He is perhaps most well known for his novel The Last of the Mohicans, which is considered to be an American classic. 

James Fenimore Cooper Books

Cooper published his books over the course of a little more than three decades, from 1820 to 1851. The list is divided by decade for ease of reading.

1820: "Precaution" to 1829: "The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish"

  • 1820: Precaution (novel set in England, 1813-1814)
  • 1821: The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral Ground (novel located in Westchester County, New York, 1778)
  • 1823: The Pioneers: or The Sources of the Susquehanna (novel, part of the Leatherstocking series, set in Otsego County, New York, 1793-1794)
  • 1823: Tales for Fifteen: or Imagination and Heart (two short stories, written under the pseudonym: "Jane Morgan")
  • 1824: The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea (novel about John Paul Jones, England, 1780)
  • 1825: Lionel Lincoln: or The Leaguer of Boston (novel set during the Battle of Bunker Hill, Boston, 1775-1781)​
  • 1826: The Last of the Mohicans: A narrative of 1757 (novel, part of the Leatherstocking series, set during the French and Indian War, Lake George and Adirondacks, 1757)
  • 1827: The Prairie (novel, part of the Leatherstocking series, set in the American Midwest, 1805)
  • 1828: The Red Rover: A Tale (novel set in Newport, Rhode Island, and Atlantic Ocean, about pirates, 1759)
  • 1828: Notions of the Americans: Picked up by a Travelling Bachelor (non-fiction about America for European readers)
  • 1829: The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish: A Tale (novel set in Western Connecticut, about Puritans and Indians, 1660-1676)

1830: "The Water-Witch" to 1839: "Old Ironsides"

  • 1830: The Water-Witch: or the Skimmer of the Seas (novel set in New York, about smugglers, 1713)
  • 1830: Letter to General Lafayette (politics, about France vs. US and cost of government)
  • 1831: The Bravo: A Tale (novel set in 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 set in Geneva, Switzerland, & Alps, 18th century)
  • 1834: A Letter to His Countrymen (politics)
  • 1835: The Monikins (a satire on British and American politics set in Antarctica, 1830s)
  • 1836: The Eclipse (memoir about the Solar eclipse in Cooperstown, New York 1806)
  • 1836: Gleanings in Europe: Switzerland (Sketches of Switzerland, travel writings about hiking in Switzerland, 1828)
  • 1836: Gleanings in Europe: The Rhine (Sketches of Switzerland, travel writings from France, Rhineland & Switzerland, 1832)
  • 1836: A Residence in France: With an Excursion Up the Rhine, and a Second Visit to Switzerland (travel writings)
  • 1837: Gleanings in Europe: France (travel writings, 1826-1828)
  • 1837: Gleanings in Europe: England (travel writings in England, 1826, 1828, 1833)
  • 1838: Gleanings in Europe: Italy (travel writings, 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, set in Cooperstown, New York)
  • 1838: Homeward Bound: or The Chase: A Tale of the Sea (novel set on the Atlantic Ocean & North African coast, 1835)
  • 1838: Home as Found: Sequel to Homeward Bound (novel set in New York City and Otsego County, New York, 1835)
  • 1839: The History of the Navy of the United States of America (US Naval history to date)
  • 1839: Old Ironsides (history of the Frigate USS Constitution, first pub. 1853)

1840: "The Pathfinder" to 1849: "The Sea Lions"

  • 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 and English Channel, Scottish uprising, 1745)
  • 1842: The Wing-and-Wing: le Le Feu-Follet (novel, Italian coast, Napoleonic Wars, 1745)
  • 1843: Autobiography of a Pocket-Handkerchief (novelette, social satire, France and New York, 1830s)
  • 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 and worldwide, 1795-1805 
  • 1844: Miles Wallingford: Sequel to Afloat and Ashore (novel, Ulster County and worldwide, 1795-1805)
  • 1844: Proceedings of the Naval Court-Martial in the Case of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie
  • 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)
  • 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 (novel, Philadelphia and Bristol Pennsylvania, deserted Pacific island, early 1800s)
  • 1848: Jack Tier: or the Florida Reefs (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 and Antarctica, 1819-1820)

1850: "The Ways of the Hour" to 1851: "New York"

  • 1850: The Ways of the Hour (novel, "Dukes County, New York", murder/courtroom mystery, 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 (unfinished history of New York City, first pub. 1864)
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Lombardi, Esther. "List of Works by James Fenimore Cooper." ThoughtCo, Sep. 30, 2021, thoughtco.com/james-fenimore-cooper-list-of-works-739374. Lombardi, Esther. (2021, September 30). List of Works by James Fenimore Cooper. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/james-fenimore-cooper-list-of-works-739374 Lombardi, Esther. "List of Works by James Fenimore Cooper." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/james-fenimore-cooper-list-of-works-739374 (accessed April 18, 2024).