The two admirals. A tale. By J. Fenimore Cooper.

by Michigan Historical Reprint Series

The Two Admirals is an 1842 nautical fiction novel by James Fenimore Cooper. The novel was written after the Leatherstocking Tales novel The Deerslayer. Set during the 18th century and exploring the British Royal Navy, Cooper wrote the novel out of encouragement of his English publisher, who recommended writing another sea novel. Cooper had originally intended to write a novel where ships were the main characters, though eventually decided not to. The novels is one of three novels which Cooper would revise for editions following their first printing, the other two being The Pathfinder and Deerslayer. When republishing the novel in the 1860s, Cooper's Daughter, Susan Fenimore Cooper, described the novel as "the least successful of his romances of the sea." Despite the novel not having a large legacy, critic Stev Harthorn describes the novel as one of Cooper's deepest studies of masculinity.

Genres: Classics, Historical Fiction, Novels, Fiction, American

484 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1842

Reviews

[Krysta · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Two Admirals does not rank as one of Cooper’s best works. Its lack of organization and sheer contempt for the rules of writing threaten the interest of the modern reader, accustomed to focused narratives with fast pacing and tidy plot lines. Cooper begins the story slowly, describing first obscure English law and then a number of characters who will ultimately prove only secondary to the plot. This introduction sets the tone of the entire book as often the amount of space given to certain characters and scenes suggests their importance to the plot when Cooper never meant them to have any significance at all. The belated introduction of the titular characters does little to advance the work if one assumes the author meant it as a nautical adventure; only after three hundred pages do the men finally take to sea. The book lacks so greatly in unity that a coherent summary of it requires the omission of most of the plot.

None of this means, however, that the story will prove uninteresting to readers, especially those who already know and love Cooper. Disappointment comes largely from the expectation that the author, in mentioning admirals in his title, meant to tell a sea tale. However, if one understands the title as referring to the friendship of the admirals and the book as a character study and not necessarily an adventure (though Cooper does ultimately deliver an exciting naval engagement), The Two Admirals provides a solid and satisfying reading experience.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most of Cooper's works, it's very descriptive. It would be better if I knew the difference between the main mast &the mizzen mast, but that's my problem. I used a reader so I could easily look up the definitions of words &have the French phrases translated. I liked this better than some ood his other works

[Annm · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started slow, but got better and better. It definitely helps if you have some knowledge of sailing.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun saga by a great author. I was worried the "old" English might be a problem and others commented that the Kindle quality of Cooper's old books left much to be desired. I found no fault with either. Simply a delightful read with multiple plots. I may look to additional classics in the near future.