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The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea

The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in January 1824 (though the earliest edition is actually dated 1823). Its subject is the life of a naval pilot during the American Revolution. It is often considered the earliest example of nautical fiction in American literature.

First edition title page

Background

The Pilot was Cooper's fourth novel and his first sea tale. A sailor by profession, Cooper had undertaken to surpass Walter Scott's Pirate (1821) in seamanship.

Plot

The hero of the book is John Paul Jones, who appears as always brooding upon a dark past and a darker fate. Yet he is not so morbid but that he can occasionally rouse himself to terrific activities in his raids along the English coast. Another character is Long Tom Coffin, of Nantucket, comparable to Harvey Birch and Natty Bumppo from Cooper's other novels.

Characters

  • John Paul Jones – America's First Naval Hero
  • Captain Munson – Commander of frigate. Ariel ship
  • Edward Griffith – Lieutenant, who is in love with Katherine Plowden
  • Richard Barnstable – Lieutenant, who is in love with Ceclia Howard.
  • Long Tom Coffin – Coxswain, Who directs the boat, He is six feet tall.
  • Katherine Plowden – Richard Barnstable's lover.
  • Ceclia Howard – Cousin of Katherine and lover of Edward Griffith.
  • Captain Manual – American Marine
  • Colonel Howard – Father of Cecilia, Howard Owner of St. Ruth Abbey.
  • Christopher Dillon – Attorney, a morose, self-centered and malign man
  • Captain Borroughchiffe – A Recruiting Officer, Commander of a company of Green Troop, Guardian of the Abbey, A British Soldier.
  • Alice Dunscombe – Old companion to Katherine and Cecilia
  • Peters – One of the guardian in the Navy who is killed by Edward Griffith
  • Colonel Fitzgerald – Colonel
  • Caeser – Black Slave from St. Ruth Abbey
  • Pompey – Black Slave from St. Ruth Abbey
  • Merry – Midshipman and cousin of Katherine and Cecilia, who newly took charge of Ariel, the ship of American Navy.

Notes

References

  • The "keen-eyed critic of the ocean": James Fenimore Cooper's Invention of the Sea Novel, by Luis Iglesias at the Cooper Panel of the 2006 Conference of the American Literature Association in San Francisco.
  • Carl Van Doren (1920). "Pilot, The" . In Rines, George Edwin (ed.). Encyclopedia Americana.

External links

  • The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea at Project Gutenberg

pilot, tale, historical, novel, james, fenimore, cooper, first, published, january, 1824, though, earliest, edition, actually, dated, 1823, subject, life, naval, pilot, during, american, revolution, often, considered, earliest, example, nautical, fiction, amer. The Pilot A Tale of the Sea is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper first published in January 1824 though the earliest edition is actually dated 1823 Its subject is the life of a naval pilot during the American Revolution It is often considered the earliest example of nautical fiction in American literature First edition title page Contents 1 Background 2 Plot 3 Characters 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksBackground EditThe Pilot was Cooper s fourth novel and his first sea tale A sailor by profession Cooper had undertaken to surpass Walter Scott s Pirate 1821 in seamanship Plot EditThe hero of the book is John Paul Jones who appears as always brooding upon a dark past and a darker fate Yet he is not so morbid but that he can occasionally rouse himself to terrific activities in his raids along the English coast Another character is Long Tom Coffin of Nantucket comparable to Harvey Birch and Natty Bumppo from Cooper s other novels Characters EditJohn Paul Jones America s First Naval Hero Captain Munson Commander of frigate Ariel ship Edward Griffith Lieutenant who is in love with Katherine Plowden Richard Barnstable Lieutenant who is in love with Ceclia Howard Long Tom Coffin Coxswain Who directs the boat He is six feet tall Katherine Plowden Richard Barnstable s lover Ceclia Howard Cousin of Katherine and lover of Edward Griffith Captain Manual American Marine Colonel Howard Father of Cecilia Howard Owner of St Ruth Abbey Christopher Dillon Attorney a morose self centered and malign man Captain Borroughchiffe A Recruiting Officer Commander of a company of Green Troop Guardian of the Abbey A British Soldier Alice Dunscombe Old companion to Katherine and Cecilia Peters One of the guardian in the Navy who is killed by Edward Griffith Colonel Fitzgerald Colonel Caeser Black Slave from St Ruth Abbey Pompey Black Slave from St Ruth Abbey Merry Midshipman and cousin of Katherine and Cecilia who newly took charge of Ariel the ship of American Navy Notes EditThis article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations July 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message References EditThe keen eyed critic of the ocean James Fenimore Cooper s Invention of the Sea Novel by Luis Iglesias at the Cooper Panel of the 2006 Conference of the American Literature Association in San Francisco Carl Van Doren 1920 Pilot The In Rines George Edwin ed Encyclopedia Americana External links EditThe Pilot A Tale of the Sea at Project Gutenberg This article about a historical novel is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte This article about an 1820s novel is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Pilot A Tale of the Sea amp oldid 1130018178, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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