The Water-Witch

by James Fenimore Cooper

The Water-Witch was first published in America in 1830. If less brilliant than The Red Rover the spirit and interests pervading The Water-Witch are very striking; there is an atmosphere of romance infused into the narrative singularly different from the sober coloring of Puritan life in its predecessor, Wish-ton-Wish. It is strikingly picturesque. But on the other hand there is less of high moral tone than was usual with Cooper; it carries a carnival aspect about it; the shell is gay and brilliant, but the kernel is less nourishing than usual.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Novels, American

359 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.