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James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. His historical romances of frontier and Indian life in the early American days created a unique form of American literature. He lived most of his life in Cooperstown, New York, which was founded by his father William on property he owned. Cooper was a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church and in his later years contributed generously to it.〔Phillips, 1913, pp. 6–7〕 He attended Yale University for three years, where he was a member of the Linonian Society, but was expelled for misbehavior.〔Lounsbury, 1883, pp. 7–8〕 Before embarking on his career as a writer he served in the U.S. Navy as a Midshipman, which greatly influenced many of his novels and other writings. The novel that launched his career was ''The Spy'', a tale about counterespionage set during the Revolutionary War and published in 1821.〔Clary, Suzanne, "James Fenimore Copper and Spies in Rye", My Rye, 2010, http://www.myrye.com/my_weblog/2010/11/james-fenimore-cooper-and-spies-in-rye.html〕 He also wrote numerous sea stories and his best-known works are five historical novels of the frontier period known as the ''Leatherstocking Tales''. Among naval historians Cooper's works on the early U.S. Navy have been well received, but they were sometimes criticized by his contemporaries. Among his most famous works is the Romantic novel ''The Last of the Mohicans'', often regarded as his masterpiece.〔Hale, 1896, p. 657〕 ==Early life and family== James Fenimore Cooper was born in Burlington, New Jersey in 1789, to William Cooper and Elizabeth (Fenimore) Cooper, the eleventh of 12 children, most of whom died during infancy or childhood. He was descended from James Cooper, of Stratford-upon-Avon, England, who emigrated to the American colonies in 1679. James and his wife were Quakers who purchased plots of land in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Seventy-five years after his arrival in America, his great-grandson, William, was born on December 2, 1754.〔Phillips, 1913, p. 2〕〔Lounsbury, 1883, p. 2〕 Shortly after James' first birthday, his family moved to Cooperstown, New York, a community founded by his father on a large piece of land which he had bought for development. Later his father was elected as a United States Congressman from Otsego County. Their town was in a central area of New York that had previously been occupied by the Iroquois of the Six Nations. The Iroquois were forced to cede their territory after British defeat in the Revolutionary War, as they had been allies.〔 Shortly after the American Revolutionary War, the state opened up these former Iroquois lands for sale and development. Cooper's father purchased several thousand acres of land in upstate New York along the head-waters of the Susquehanna River. By 1788, William Cooper had selected and surveyed the site where Cooperstown would be established. He erected a home on the shore of Otsego lake, and in the autumn of 1790 moved his family there. He soon began construction of the mansion that would be known as Otsego Hall. It was completed in 1799 when James was ten.〔 At the age of 13, Cooper was enrolled at Yale, but, after inciting a dangerous prank that involved blowing up another student's door (after having already locked a donkey in a recitation room 〔McCullough p. 70〕), Cooper was expelled in his third year without completing his degree. Disenchanted with college, he obtained work in 1806 as a sailor and at the age of 17 joined the crew of a merchant vessel.〔〔J.F. Cooper Biography〕 By 1811, he obtained the rank of midshipman in the fledgling United States Navy, conferred upon him on an officer's warrant signed by Thomas Jefferson.〔〔Franklin, 2007, p.101〕 At 20, Cooper inherited a fortune from his father. On January 1, 1811, at age 21, he married Susan Augusta de Lancey, at Mamaroneck, Westchester County, New York.〔Clymer, 1900, p. ''xii''〕 She was the daughter of a wealthy family who remained loyal to Great Britain during the American Revolution. They had seven children, five of whom lived to adulthood. Their daughter Susan Fenimore Cooper was a writer on nature, female suffrage, and other topics. She and her father often edited each other's work.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://essays.quotidiana.org/cooper_s/ )〕 Among his descendants was Paul Fenimore Cooper (1899–1970), who also became a writer.〔Wright, 1983, Cooper Genealogy, NYS Historical Association〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「James Fenimore Cooper」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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