The Last of the Mohicans

‘I am on the hill-top, and must go down into the valley;
and when Uncas follows in my footsteps there will no
longer be any of the blood of the Sagamores, for my
boy is the last of the Mohicans’

July 1757. disillusioned with the white man’s life and choosing to live in the wilderness, Hawk-eye – also known as Natty Bumppo – is a frontier scout in the French-Indian War. While making his way through the forests of upstate New York, he comes across two English sisters, Cora and Alice Munro, who are travelling to their father’s garrison at Fort William Henry, accompanied by Major Heyward. Their guide is an Indian runner called Magua, who is leading them into a trap. Their only hope lies with Hawk-eye and his two companions, Chingachgook and Uncas – the last of the Mohican tribe.

The most widely read book of its day when first published in 1826, The Last of the Mohicans ensured James Fenimore Cooper’s reputation as America’s first popular novelist. The story is partly based on historical events, notably the terrible massacre at Fort William Henry. It is a breathtaking tale of captures and escapes, betrayal and revenge, played out against the spectacular setting of the lakes and forests of the Hudson River Valley. It evokes the beauty of the landscape and American Indian culture, particularly through the Mohican elder, Chingachgook: ‘Foot by foot, they were driven back from the shores, until I, that am a chief and a Sagamore, have never seen the sun shine but through the trees, and have never visited the graves of my fathers.’

Cooper was born in 1789, just six years after the end of the American War of Independence. He was fascinated by America’s colonial past and captured it truthfully in all its bloodshed and complexity, showing how Indian tribes fought against each other, as well as against the pioneers. Academic and American culture critic Sarah Churchwell provides a new introduction, whilst the detail and realism of the story is captured in a series of atmospheric oil paintings by Robert Hunt.