The Water-Witch: Or, the Skimmer of the Seas

by James Fenimore Cooper

Alderman Myndert Van Beverout is Alida's uncle and steward, and he intends to have her marry the Patroon of Kindhook. He takes the whole wedding party on a boat to cross the river, but to his dismay they speak little to each other. When the boat is mismanaged by the crew, a young unnamed stranger takes over and expertly handles the small boat until the danger passes. While he does this, discourse ensues and they hear the story of The Water-Witch, a brigantine that sails the rivers so expertly that it must be manned by a supernatural crew -- or so the story goes. But it was also said that The Water-Witch was also a boatload of buccaneers, pirating goods and selling them elsewhere. Alida is fascinated by this stranger who knows so much about the sea, but she is too much a lady to ask any more questions of this knowledgeable stranger. She thinks nothing more of him after they leave the boat. Until he reappears into her life -- and she learns that the stranger is much more dangerous than she ever imagined.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, Classics, American

348 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1830

About the author

James Fenimore Cooper was a popular and prolific American writer. He is best known for his historical novel The Last of the Mohicans, one of the Leatherstocking Tales stories, and he also wrote political fiction, maritime fiction, travelogues, and essays on the American politics of the time. His daughter Susan Fenimore Cooper was also a writer.

Series:
* The Leatherstocking Tales
* The Littlepage Manuscripts
* Afloat and Ashore
* Homeward Bound

Reviews

[Erth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bravo! A good fast read! now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.

The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.

i would highly recommend this author and this book.

[Anise · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, this book appeared to be shaping up to be a retelling of The Red Rover, with many of its characters seeming to have parallels in that story: the loyal officer of the Royal Navy, the supremely-skilled smuggler captain whose roguishness is contrasted with his noble spirit, the stolid landlubber whose point-of-view introduces the story, the woman who cross-dresses in order to go to sea on the smuggler's ship. However similar the characters may be to those found in The Red Rover, they do end up in a different plot with a different ending. I did enjoy Cooper's narratives of naval action; unfortunately, I found his land-based narratives much less exciting. Too bad that so much of the book's plot takes place on land...

[42day · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being as JFC's mother is a blood relative I am more than obligated to read his books.

[Daniela Niehues · Rating 4 out of 5]

es ist eine schöne geschichte zum einschlafen.