The Deerslayer

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Set in the 1740s, just after the start of the French and Indian wars, James Fenimore Cooper's The Deerslayer tells the story of a young Natty Bumppo, most famously known as 'Hawkeye', and his Mohican 'brother' Chingachgook, as they attempt to rescue Chingachgook's betrothed, Wah-ta-Wah, from the Hurons. When Bumppo's friends Harry March and Tom Hutter are also captured, Bumppo must go on his first warpath in order to rescue them.

Cooper's final addition to his classic Leatherstocking series is one of the earliest novels to be considered truly 'American', due in no small part to the novel's protagonist, who embodied the popular American ideals of individualism and liberty. The novel is a worthy prequel to the popular The Last of the Mohicans, full of adventure, suspense and romance.