The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in 1840. It is the fourth novel Cooper wrote featuring Natty Bumppo, his fictitious frontier hero, and the third chronological episode of the "Leatherstocking Tales". The inland sea of the title is Lake Ontario. "The Pathfinder" was written 13 years after Natty Bumppo had ended his career in "The Prairie". Cooper had questioned the wisdom of reviving this hero, and he was at the time engaged in fierce litigations with newspapers. The adventures of the plot on the
Historical romance many of his novels and other writings. The novel that launched his career was "The Spy", set during the Revolutionary War and published in 1821. He also wrote numerous sea stories and his best-known works are five historical novels known as the "Leatherstocking Tales". Though some scholars have hesitated to classify Cooper as a strict Romantic, Victor Hugo pronounced him greater than the great master of modern romance. This verdict was echoed by a multitude of less famous readers, such as Balzac and Rudolf Drescher of Germany, who were satisfied with no title for their favourite less than that of