The Deerslayer

ThoughÊThe DeerslayerÊ(1841) was the last of CooperÕs five Leather-stocking tales to be written, it is the first in the chronology of Natty BumppoÕs life. Set in the 1740s before the start of the French and Indian War, when CooperÕs rugged frontiersman is in his twenties, CooperÕs novel shows us how ÒDeerslayerÓ becomes ÒHawkeye.Ó It remains the best point of entry into the series for modern readers.

In his introduction, Ezra Tawil examines CooperÕs motivations in writing The Deerslayer, the static nature of Natty, and CooperÕs vexed racial politics. The John Harvard Library edition reproduces the authoritative text of The Deerslayer in The Writings of James Fenimore Cooper (State University of New York Press).

Since 1959 The John Harvard Library has been instrumental in publishing essential American writings in authoritative editions.