Hudson River reading group: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
To everyone who is interested in participating in a reading group:
I have finally decided that the book for the Hudson River School reading group will be "The Last of the Mohicans" by James Fenimore Cooper.
The reasons for this choice are:
(1) Thomas Cole painted a series of scenes from the novel, one of which is included in the upcoming exhibition.
(2) The book is an action story that also illustrates the period's attitudes toward nature and the native american, both of which were already vanishing at the time. It also presents a new type of "spiritualism" that was not simply about Christianity. All of these issues were also very relevant to the Hudson River School.
(3) It is a fairly readable book, and an American classic, that will interest a wide readership. (hopefully)
(4) It's very affordable and easy to find.
(1) Thomas Cole painted a series of scenes from the novel, one of which is included in the upcoming exhibition.
(2) The book is an action story that also illustrates the period's attitudes toward nature and the native american, both of which were already vanishing at the time. It also presents a new type of "spiritualism" that was not simply about Christianity. All of these issues were also very relevant to the Hudson River School.
(3) It is a fairly readable book, and an American classic, that will interest a wide readership. (hopefully)
(4) It's very affordable and easy to find.
The single negative aspect of this book is that it is approximately 400 pages in the paper-back -- which is lengthy, but it is an easy read, if I remember correctly.
I wasn't able to find any books that were directly about the Hudson River School, and that I felt were also appealing for general reading and discussion.
For the discussion group in November, I will come up with a list of topics, and I'll email those to everyone a few weeks in advance.
In terms of getting a copy of the book, it should be very easy to find at bookstores (new or second-hand), and I'm sure that every library will have a copy too.
It's available at Amazon.com for $5 to $10 for a paper-back copy. It's also available on Amazon.com as an "e-book" for $2.75 but I don't think it is printable, so you would have to read it on a computer screen.
Here is a short synopsis of the "The Last of the Mohicans" by James Fenimore Cooper:
In 1757, the third year of the French and Indian War, Hawkeye, a colonial scout, and his friends, Chingachkook, a chief of the Mohicans, and his son Uncas risk their lives to guide two English sisters through hostile territory and evade the evil Huron, Magua, who is determined to destroy them.At the centre of the novel is the celebrated 'Massacre' of British troops and their families by Indian allies of the French at Fort William Henry in 1757. Around this historical event, Cooper built a romantic fiction of captivity, sexuality, and heroism, in which the destiny of the Mohican Chingachgook and his son Uncas is inseparable from the lives of Alice and Cora Munro and of Hawkeye the frontier scout. It also tells of the cynical exploitation of the native tribes, setting Indian against Indian, Mohican against Huron.
If anyone in the docent group has any comments about this book-choice or about anything else related to the reading group, you can email me directly or call me at 761-1094.
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posted by eConsultant at 2:25 PM
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