Cooper was the eleventh of twelve children. James father, William Cooper founded Cooperstown NY. In 1796 James Cooper’s father was determined to make his home permanently in the town he had founded, which by that time promised to become a thriving settlement. William began the construction of a mansion, completed in 1799, which he named Otsego Hall. James married Susan Augusta Delancey on January 1,1811 and had 5 daughters and 2 sons with Susan. Between 1813 and 1819 his mother and all five of Coopers brothers died. Cooper was a traditional man and agreed to support his brothers w

In 1826 Cooper added Fenimore as his middle name legally. Fenimore was Cooper’s mothers maiden name. Cooper also named his first son, Fenimore, in memory of his mother. Cooper began his literary career with Precaution. Cooper’s wife Susan bet Cooper that he could write a better book then the one she was reading. Cooper modeled this book after Sir Walter Scott’s Waverle Novels. Precaution imitated the style of Jane Austen.(Classic,1) Critics claim Precaution is a weak book. “Cooper’s apprentice novel, however, showed no such promise and most critics have been only happy to dismiss it at once and get on to his better work. In a sense they are right and no one would recommend it to the general reader.”(Ringe,7) Precaution was very unsuccessful. In another attempt as a writer Cooper wrote The Spy in 1821. In The spy the physical environment defines the central conflict, sets the moral and ethical tone that dominates the book. The Spy was Cooper’s first successful book. The Spy demonstrates the neutral ground between the British and American outposts that is a moral waste board where conflicting principles are at war and the only law is might.(Ringe,12) In the opening chapter of The Spy Cooper expresses this by stating, “The law was momentarily extinct in that particular district and justice was administered subject to the bias of personal interests and the passions of the strongest.”

Many people disagreed with Coopers work and criticized him in many of their writings so in September 1837 Cooper began many suits of libel against the Whigs and opposing press. These suits at first caused much merriment among the defendants, but when jury after jury was obliged, in most cases, reluctant to return a verdict for the plaintiff, there was a decided change in the tone of the press. Cooper won most of his cases, but the damages awarded were usually small. Cooper failed to secure a verdict in this instance for the reason that, while the jury would probably of always assessed damages, they could not agree to send the defendant to prison. In these suits Cooper acted as his own counsel. With regular professional assistance he proved himself an advocate and an excellent jury-lawyer.

After Coopers long travel the Cooper family returned to Cooperstown where he retired as a novelist in A Letter to His Countymen in 1834. Even after Coopers retirement in novels he continued to write satire and nonfiction. Cooper published The Monikins in 1835. The book is a satire which the story is completely subordinated to social purposes. Cooper developed his satire in a number of directions, but mostly involving the social and political systems in two Monikin countries, Leaphigh and Leaplow which represent England and America. The land of the Monikins consisted of a race of monkeys who have evolved from men and established a civilization deep in Antarctica. Clearly The Monikins was a failure.

As his reputation as a successful writer grew Cooper continued to wr

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