The Red Rover. A Tale
by Cooper, James Fenimore (1789-1851)
- Used
- good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Good
- Seller
-
Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
3 volumes. ix+336 pages; 309 pages; 341 pages. Small octavo (7 1/2" x 4 3/4") bound in full leather with black labels in gilt lettering to spine and blindstamped coat of arms to covers with gilt edge rule. Marbled page ends. (BAL 3838) First English edition.
James Fenimore Cooper was born on September 15, 1789 in Burlington, New Jersey, the eleventh of twelve children. When he was one year old, he moved with parents William and Elizabeth to Cooperstown on Ostego Lake in central New York. During Cooper's boyhood, there were few backwoods settlers left and even fewer Indians. However, Cooper's early experiences in this frontier town gave him the background knowledge used in the Pioneers (1923). After boarding school in Albany, Cooper attended Yale College from 1803 - 1805 but was expelled. Apparently his expulsion stemmed from a dangerous prank that involved him blowing up another student's door. There Cooper acquired his lifelong distaste for New Englanders. In 1806, he became a sailor and then a midshipman in the Navy. At twenty, he inherited a fortune from his father and married Susan Augusta De Lancey, the daughter of a wealthy family that had remained Loyalist during the Revolution. Cooper married De Lancey New Years Day, 1811 and for two years he led the life of a country gentleman. When all five of his older brothers died, leaving widows and children behind, Fenimore began searching for work and wealth. In 1820, Cooper's wife bet him that he could write a book better than the one she was reading. What followed was Precaution (1820) a novel of morals and manners that showed the influence of Jane Austen. With a pleasant enough reception, he published The Spy: A Tale of Neutral Ground (1821) the first historical romance about the American Revolution. Then, on its success, Fenimore moved to New York City to pursue writing as a career. While in New York, he founded the Bread and Cheese Club and became the center of a circle that included notable painters of the Hudson River School as well as writers like William Cullen Bryant. In 1823, Cooper published The Pioneers which eventually consisted of five books about Natty Bumppo called The Leatherstocking Tales. With this, he created what can be critically viewed as the first American novel and hero. He also brought up the thematic complexities of natural right versus legal right, order versus change, and wilderness versus civilization which still fill the pages of American writing today. In 1826, at the height of his popularity, he sailed for Europe for what became a seven year stay. He wrote The Prairie (1827) and Notions of the Americans (1828) a defense of the United States against the attacks of European travelers. Under the half-patronizing epithet of "the American Scott" he wrote three historical novels that mimicked the writing of Sir Walter Scott. Returning to the US in 1833, Cooper was so hurt by a review that he penned A Letter to his Countrymen (1834) which was a bitter attack on American provincialism. He also became involved in disputes in Cooperstown where he was attacked by newspapers as a false aristocrat poisoned by European influences. In response, Cooper immersed himself in law suits aimed at gaining damages that would tame the irresponsibility of the press. Cooper established the principle that reviewers must work within the bounds of truth when they deal with an author rather than the book. Even with this scandal at his heels, Cooper continued to write a school primer, The American Democrat (1838) and three more Leatherstocking Tales: The Last of the Mohicans (1826), The Pathfinder (1840), and The Deerslayer (1841). Then came Cooper's obsession with the sea from his previous experience in the Navy. He penned The History of the Navy of the United States of America (1839), The Cruise of Sommers (1844), and The Distinguished American Naval Officers (1846). At the time of his death on September 14, 1851, Cooper was more successful and respected abroad than at home. Out of step with his countrymen, his work was very influential to European writers like Honore de Balzac and Leo Tolstoy. Yet, the weaknesses of Fenimore's fiction are quite well known and wide-spread. Mark Twain tore apart Fenimore's romanticism in Fenimore Coopers Literary Offenses (1895). Clearly, Fenimore's tone was criticized as being reactionary, romantic, and pedagogical in tone. However, Cooper did contribute a great deal to the genre of American fiction. In the grand enterprise, even today, everyone has read books and seen films that are directly and indirectly affected by Cooper's conception of Natty Bumppo and his creation of the American novel.
Condition:
Some signatures sprung, rubbing to extremities, corners bumped, some scuffing, book plates to front pastedowns. Volume one lacks spine label at volume number, inner hinge cracked. Volume 3 front heal hinge cracked else a good set housed in an acrylic case
James Fenimore Cooper was born on September 15, 1789 in Burlington, New Jersey, the eleventh of twelve children. When he was one year old, he moved with parents William and Elizabeth to Cooperstown on Ostego Lake in central New York. During Cooper's boyhood, there were few backwoods settlers left and even fewer Indians. However, Cooper's early experiences in this frontier town gave him the background knowledge used in the Pioneers (1923). After boarding school in Albany, Cooper attended Yale College from 1803 - 1805 but was expelled. Apparently his expulsion stemmed from a dangerous prank that involved him blowing up another student's door. There Cooper acquired his lifelong distaste for New Englanders. In 1806, he became a sailor and then a midshipman in the Navy. At twenty, he inherited a fortune from his father and married Susan Augusta De Lancey, the daughter of a wealthy family that had remained Loyalist during the Revolution. Cooper married De Lancey New Years Day, 1811 and for two years he led the life of a country gentleman. When all five of his older brothers died, leaving widows and children behind, Fenimore began searching for work and wealth. In 1820, Cooper's wife bet him that he could write a book better than the one she was reading. What followed was Precaution (1820) a novel of morals and manners that showed the influence of Jane Austen. With a pleasant enough reception, he published The Spy: A Tale of Neutral Ground (1821) the first historical romance about the American Revolution. Then, on its success, Fenimore moved to New York City to pursue writing as a career. While in New York, he founded the Bread and Cheese Club and became the center of a circle that included notable painters of the Hudson River School as well as writers like William Cullen Bryant. In 1823, Cooper published The Pioneers which eventually consisted of five books about Natty Bumppo called The Leatherstocking Tales. With this, he created what can be critically viewed as the first American novel and hero. He also brought up the thematic complexities of natural right versus legal right, order versus change, and wilderness versus civilization which still fill the pages of American writing today. In 1826, at the height of his popularity, he sailed for Europe for what became a seven year stay. He wrote The Prairie (1827) and Notions of the Americans (1828) a defense of the United States against the attacks of European travelers. Under the half-patronizing epithet of "the American Scott" he wrote three historical novels that mimicked the writing of Sir Walter Scott. Returning to the US in 1833, Cooper was so hurt by a review that he penned A Letter to his Countrymen (1834) which was a bitter attack on American provincialism. He also became involved in disputes in Cooperstown where he was attacked by newspapers as a false aristocrat poisoned by European influences. In response, Cooper immersed himself in law suits aimed at gaining damages that would tame the irresponsibility of the press. Cooper established the principle that reviewers must work within the bounds of truth when they deal with an author rather than the book. Even with this scandal at his heels, Cooper continued to write a school primer, The American Democrat (1838) and three more Leatherstocking Tales: The Last of the Mohicans (1826), The Pathfinder (1840), and The Deerslayer (1841). Then came Cooper's obsession with the sea from his previous experience in the Navy. He penned The History of the Navy of the United States of America (1839), The Cruise of Sommers (1844), and The Distinguished American Naval Officers (1846). At the time of his death on September 14, 1851, Cooper was more successful and respected abroad than at home. Out of step with his countrymen, his work was very influential to European writers like Honore de Balzac and Leo Tolstoy. Yet, the weaknesses of Fenimore's fiction are quite well known and wide-spread. Mark Twain tore apart Fenimore's romanticism in Fenimore Coopers Literary Offenses (1895). Clearly, Fenimore's tone was criticized as being reactionary, romantic, and pedagogical in tone. However, Cooper did contribute a great deal to the genre of American fiction. In the grand enterprise, even today, everyone has read books and seen films that are directly and indirectly affected by Cooper's conception of Natty Bumppo and his creation of the American novel.
Condition:
Some signatures sprung, rubbing to extremities, corners bumped, some scuffing, book plates to front pastedowns. Volume one lacks spine label at volume number, inner hinge cracked. Volume 3 front heal hinge cracked else a good set housed in an acrylic case
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Details
- Bookseller
- The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- L0078a
- Title
- The Red Rover. A Tale
- Author
- Cooper, James Fenimore (1789-1851)
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Henry Colburn
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1827
- Pages
- 3 volumes
- Size
- Small octavo
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Classic Literature
- Bookseller catalogs
- Literature;
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
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About the Seller
The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA
Biblio member since 2005
Fort Worth, Texas
About The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA
The Book Collector specializes in the finest collections of Chess, Anthropology, Americana and American Literature. Visit our website at www.bookcollectorshop.com
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Spine Label
- The paper or leather descriptive tag attached to the spine of the book, most commonly providing the title and author of the...
- Hinge
- The portion of the book closest to the spine that allows the book to be opened and closed.
- Cracked
- In reference to a hinge or a book's binding, means that the glue which holds the opposing leaves has allowed them to separate,...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....