Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offences

Fenimore Cooper – author of The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohicans, etc – has often been praised, but just as often been criticised for his writing. Mark Twain wrote a funny, vicious little essay on the subject, in which he states: “In one place in ‘Deerslayer,’ and in the restricted space of two-thirds of a page, Cooper has scored 114 offences against literary art out of a possible 115.” (Summary by Gesine)