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susquesus
Mad Hermit of the North Woods
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
September 03 2003
Status: offline
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 Posted - September 03 2003 : 01:52:12 AM
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Has anyone read Cooper's "The Littlepage Manuscripts", the first 2 in the series are excellent, the third a little dry. They document several generations of the Littlepage family and their role in the transformation of the York Colony to New York state. The first book, "Satanstoe" introduces us to Cornelius Littlepage. We follow him through the French and Indian war, meet Susquesus (or the "Trackless") an Onandago warrior who plays a role in all three books. If you loved the Leatherstocking Tales these can be a great follow up, of course they pale in comparison, but they do take care of your Cooper fix. Also the romance element is excellent.
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
November 27 2002
Status: offline
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 Posted - September 03 2003 : 12:46:07 PM
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Hmmmmmm... now this sounds interesting! I have never heard of these manuscripts. Do you know if they are currently in print and available to purchase?
I live in New York State and my ancestral roots go very deep here, so this topic sounds good to me. However, I am not a fan of Cooper's style of writing, finding it very difficult to get through. Would you say that these are any different, perhaps less "flowery" than his Leatherstocking Tales? (Hope springs eternal! LOL!) If not, I would be willing to give them a try. Perhaps I will check my public library. |
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susquesus
Mad Hermit of the North Woods
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
September 03 2003
Status: offline
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Posted - September 03 2003 : 7:57:16 PM
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| I found a copy of the "Coopers Works", a ten volume series, at my local used book store(Half-Price books). I haven't seen any new editions anywhere, I imagine it might be out of print. I would have to say that it is written a bit differently than the "Leatherstocking Tales", more engaging. The characters are more human, Hawkeye and Chingachgook are monumental, ideal types while the characters in "The Littlepage Manuscripts" are riddled with flaws and prejudices. The language is still a bit stilted, but it's more conversational than Hawkeye and Chingachgook more poetic speech. I'm a huge history buff and definitely enjoyed all the nuggets of historical info in the series. You can definitely find it online and I bet if you called around to a few used bookstores someone would have it. The three volumes are titled "Satanstoe", "The Chainbearer"(the bulk of which takes place just after the Revolution, and "The Redskins"(takes place in the 1840's). Good luck finding them, they definitely did the trick for me. |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
November 27 2002
Status: offline
Donating Member |
Posted - September 04 2003 : 9:42:16 PM
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Good news! At least the first two books are in print. They can be purchased from Amazon as new paperbacks or there are several used copies available through their used books resources.
It seems Cooper's popularity has risen somewhat. Could LOTM the movie have had anything to do with that, do you suppose? |
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hmacdougall
Pathfinder
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
June 30 2003
Status: offline
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Posted - September 04 2003 : 9:51:57 PM
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The 10-volume set of Cooper's Works published in 1892 by P.F. Collier of New York was the last "complete" edition of his 32 novels to be issued -- and the one most commonly found, because it can't be broken up into separate novels. Actually is it missing one Cooper novel -- his first, "Precaution," first published in 1820. The Littlepage trilogy was written in response to the so-called anti-rent wars in New York State in the 1840s, and is the first series of novels in literature to carry a single family through a number (in this case four) generations. "Satanstoe" -- set in colonial New York -- is generally considered one of Cooper's finest novels. "The Chainbearer," set just after the Revolution, is also pretty good, but many readers find "The Redskins" to be too political for comfort -- as well having two of the characters pretending to be German and speaking a rather phoney "German dialect."
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Hugh MacDougall
James Fenimore Cooper Society |
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susquesus
Mad Hermit of the North Woods
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
September 03 2003
Status: offline
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Posted - September 05 2003 : 01:05:23 AM
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| To do "The Redskins" justice I must say that excepting Hugh and Rogers extended political rants it is just as strong as "The Chainbearer". It nicely closes on the life stories of both Susquesus and Jaap, two of my favorite characters in the works of Cooper I've read. In addition I enjoyed seeing another generation of the Newcome clan. I especially enjoyed Hughs assertion that poor manners and morals breed even poorer manners and morals in future generations. Seneca and Opportunity are the logical progression from Mr. Jason Newcome and his provincial attitudes. Though in an earlier post I asserted that this volume is comparitively dry it would be difficult to read "Satanstoe" and "Chainbearer" and not complete the cycle. |
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littlepage manuscripts
