James Fenimore Cooper was inspired by a tale related to him by neighbor and family friend John Jay. It was more successful and became a bestseller; the setting of this Revolutionary War tale is widely believed to have been John Jay's family home "The Locusts" in Rye, New York. In 1823, Cooper published "The Pioneers", the first of the "Leatherstocking" series. The series features Natty Bumppo, a resourceful American woodsman at home with the Delaware Indians and their chief Chingachgook. Bumppo was also the main character of Cooper's most famous novel "The Last of the Mohicans" (1826), written in New York City where
The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea morbid but that he can occasionally rouse himself to terrific activities in his raids along the English coast. Another character is Long Tom Coffin, of Nantucket, comparable to Harvey Birch and Natty Bumppo from Cooper's other novels. The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in January 1824 (the earliest edition is actually dated 1823). Its subject is the life of a naval pilot during the American Revolution. "The Pilot" was Cooper's fourth novel and his first sea tale. A sailor by profession, Cooper