The Prairie (Classic Reprint)

The Prairie: A Tale is the third novel written by James Fenimore Cooper in what is known as the Leatherstocking Tales. Chronologically, it is actually the fifth novel in the series, however it was originally published before The Pathfinder and The Deerslayer. The novel tells the tale of the final days of the trapper (referred to in The Prairie by only this name), who is known to be the character Nathaniel "Natty" Bumppo of Cooper's other novels.

Modern movie fans will be familiar with the Leatherstocking Tales and Natty Bumppo through The Last of the Mohicans, the 1992 film starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Hawkeye (another alias of Natty Bumppo). The Prairie finds the trapper as more of a periphery character, with greater focus given to several other characters.

Cooper's novel presents both white settlers and the native Indian tribes in a fairly stereotypical light. The idea of "the noble savage" is certainly alive and well, not only in this novel, but throughout The Leatherstocking Tales. The plot itself is also fairly slow moving. While the descriptive language and the beautiful picture it can sometimes paint is to be appreciated, this book is simply overly deliberate in its pacing a time. You may find yourself trudging through parts of the book in order to get to the few action sequences that were the highlights.

Ultimately, those that have invested time in Cooper's other works will likely want to read The Prairie, if only to learn the final fate of Natty Bumppo. For those simply interested in a story of westward expansion and the American frontier, there are certainly better, more captivating, reads available.

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