Excerpt from The North American Review, Vol. 46
It would be unjust to ascribe much of Mr. Cooper's suc cess to the fact that he entered an untrodden field, and was the first to employ the copious materials for fiction afforded by the history of this country, and the character of its early inhabitants. Endowed with considerable power of Observa tion, a talent for lively description, and great facility in imagin ing incidents and weaving them together in clear and spirited narrative, he was sure of exciting curiosity and giving interest to whatever subject be touched. He has that skill in narra tion, the first requisite of a novelist, which, fastening the reader's attention on the issue of events immediately before him, will not allow him to observe any improbability in the plot, or incongruity in the character and actions of the agents. Take, for instance, that scene of breathless interest from The Last Of the Mohicans, the attack and defence of the island at Glenn's Falls. When we almost hear the sharp crack of the rifles, mingling with the sullen and continued roar of the cataract, and see each new expedient of the sav age assailants met and foiled by the skill and activity of the scout and his Indian associates, who can pause to think on the gross improbability Of the events, by which the party were betrayed into their exposed situation? It must be owned, however, that the author abuses his power. The imminent dangers and hair-breadth escapes occur too frequently, till we lose the feeling of concern and suspense, and confide too much in the courage and sagacity of the actors, for effecting their own deliverance.
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