The Red Rover: A Tale

Turning to his own extensive maritime experience, Cooper's novel, written in Paris in 1827, reflects his immersion in the romantic movement that was sweeping the Continent. European readers enjoyed his poetic and imaginative portrayal of the sea, while American readers were interested in how he depicted the early stirrings of nationalism in the New World decades prior to the Revolution.

Cooper's striking association of the sublime power of nature with the rebellious spirit of his pirate-hero established and defined the sea novel as a literary genre. By far the most influential of his maritime tales, The Red Rover was read and admired by Goethe and Berlioz, Melville and Conrad.

This edition, the first to be based on Cooper's original manuscript, offers the modern reader a major document of romanticism and a compelling narrative of adventure at sea.

James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. His historical romances of frontier and Indian life in the early American days created a unique form of American literature. He lived most of his life in Cooperstown, New York, which was founded by his father William on property that he owned. Cooper was a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church and, in his later years, contributed generously to it. He attended Yale University for three years, where he was a member of the Linonian Society, but was expelled for misbehavior.