The Last of the Mohicans Lea, of Philadelphia. According to Susan Cooper, its success was "greater than that of any previous book from the same pen" and "in Europe the book produced quite a startling effect." Cooper's novels were popular, but reviewers were often critical, or dismissive. For example, the reviewer of the "London Magazine" (May 1826) described the novel as "clearly by much the worst of Mr Cooper's performances." Mark Twain notably derided the author in his essay "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses", published in "North American Review" (July 1895). Twain complained that Cooper lacked a variety of style and was overly wordy. In the
The Last of the Mohicans escapes, and in the (correct) belief that Magua will return with Huron reinforcements, Hawk-eye and the Mohicans lead their new companions to a hidden cave on an island in a river. They are attacked there by the Hurons, and when ammunition is exhausted, Hawk-eye and the Mohicans escape, with a promise to return for their companions. Magua and the Hurons capture Heyward, Gamut, and the Munro sisters, and Magua admits that he is seeking revenge against Cora's father Colonel Munro for turning him into an alcoholic with whiskey (causing him to be initially cast out of the Hurons) and then