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." .
As his reputation as a successful writer grew Cooper continued to write. The Pioneers was Coopers third work using a literary technique called "A descriptive tale." The Pioneers isn't descriptive in terms of a literal account of persons and things, but descriptive as regards to general characteristics, usages, and the state of a new country. The Pioneers draws it's fundamental meaning from the description of the society it portrays and the relation of that society to the natural environment. By this time Coopers reputation as a writer was becoming more popular.
The Pilot was Coopers third success since Precaution was a failure. The Pilot was written in answer to Sir Walter Scott's The Pirate to show what a real sailor would write of ships and the sea. The Pilot is a story that Cooper himself told and has never been repeated. Lionel Lincoln was Coopers second failure written in 1825.
