Home as Found

Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.6

Word count: 889K words
Chapters: 89

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Home as Found by James Fenimore CooperAuthor: Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 1, 2003

Editor's review

Home as Found is a novel Cooper wrote as a sequel to Homeward Bound, centered on the experiences of the wealthy American gentleman the Effingham family after their return from Europe to their homeland. Through the family's "homecoming" perspective, Cooper observes American social customs, the situation of the gentry class, and the cultural anxieties of the democratic era. The book offers delicate depictions of domestic life and social intercourse while also carrying commentary on the press, social mores, and public life. The plot moves slowly and carries a substantial proportion of discussion and dialogue, but precisely for this reason it presents the spiritual complexion of nineteenth-century America during its social transformation, and is of considerable value for understanding Cooper's late work and his reflections on the direction of American civilization. This is a public-domain ebook, with the English original provided by Project Gutenberg; it is suited to close reading and social-historical approaches rather than to pure entertainment as a plot-driven novel.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nineteenth-century American literature and social customs
Readers who have read Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales and wish to explore his social novels
Students of English and American literature researching Cooper's late work and social criticism
Readers who enjoy slow-paced classics weighted toward dialogue and discussion

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting tense adventure plots and fast narrative pacing
Beginning readers not yet proficient in English who rely on translations or annotations
Those interested only in Cooper's frontier adventure stories and not in social themes

Reading tips

Read Homeward Bound first, then this book, to better understand the characters' relationships and prior events.
Read alongside background materials on nineteenth-century American social history, paying attention to the discursive passages in the narrative.
Keep a dictionary at hand when reading the English original; read through the plot first, then return to the social commentary.
Take reading notes around the two themes of "homecoming" and "American social mores."

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book related to Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales?

Not directly. The Leatherstocking Tales focus on frontier adventure and hunter life, whereas this book belongs to Cooper's social novels, concerned with how an American family returning from Europe faces its own society; the subject matter and characters are entirely different.

Can this book be read on its own, or must one read the predecessor first?

It can be read on its own, but it is a sequel to Homeward Bound, with continuing characters and prior events. Reading the predecessor first reduces confusion about relationships and backstory and makes Cooper's overall arrangement of the homecoming theme clearer.

What level of English is needed to read this book?

The original is in nineteenth-century English, with long sentences and dialogue carrying social commentary and historical context. A fairly proficient reading level in English is recommended, along with a dictionary or annotations. Beginners are better served by an annotated edition or relevant Chinese introductions before tackling it.

Is this book suitable for learning about American history?

It is a work of literature rather than a history book, but it reflects nineteenth-century American social mores, the situation of the gentry, and the climate of public opinion. It works well as supplementary material for understanding the social mentality of the time, but should not be read as a systematic history.

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About the author

Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851 Author

James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) was an American novelist, with 47 works held in this collection. He is best known for the Leatherstocking Tales, among which The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 is the most widely read; the series also includes The Pioneers, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer, all centered on frontier and wilderness life. Cooper's fiction often draws on the North American frontier, the sea, and historical events, with intricate plots and vivid characters, and it has had a lasting influence on later American adventure and frontier novels. Some of his works are classified here under inspirational growth. Because public information is limited, biographical details are omitted, and this introduction focuses on his subjects, style, and influence.