James Fenimore Cooper published The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 in 1826. A historical romance set during the French and Indian War, specifically the events surrounding the siege of Fort Willam Harry, it tells the story of the transport of Colonel Munro's two daughters, Alice and Cora, to that fort. Among the caravan guarding the women are the frontiersman Natty Numppo, Major Duncan Heyward, singing teacher David Gamut, and the Indians Chingachgook and Uncas, the latter two being the novel's title characters.
Last of the Mohicans has been one of the most popular English-language novels since its publication and is frequently assigned reading in American Literature courses, but it is only one of five books in the Leatherstocking Tales. Its sequel, The Pathfinder, was published 14 years later in 1840, and The Deerslayer, which prequels Mohicans, a year after that. Books 4 and 5, The Pioneers and The Prairie were published in 1823 and 1827, respectively.
What brings these stories together is the protaganist Natty Bumppo, believed to be modeled, at least in part, after Daniel Boone. He is a white man raised in part by Native Americans, and later a near-fearless warrior. He and his Mohican "brother" Chingachgook are constant companions. He is known as "Deerslayer" in The Deerslayer, "Hawkeye" and "La Longue Carabine" in The Last of the Mohicans, "Pathfinder" in The Pathfinder, "Leatherstocking" in The Pioneers, and "the trapper" in The Prairie. The novels recount significant events in his life from 1740 to 1806; though the historical events' dates are tweaked, so as not to make him 100 years old in The Prairie.
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