Just after he published the work now considered his masterpiece, the epic 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans, the popular American writer JAMES FENIMORE COOPER (1789-1851) decamped for Europe, where he would live and travel for several years. Here, in this little-read collection of letters from his travels, Cooper shares his wry insights on life as an American abroad for readers back home.
Unappreciated as a travel writer, Cooper turns his keen eye upon:
. custom-house civility
. fashion in America and English costume
. London pickpockets
. horse-racing in Paris
. ladies in coffee-houses
. diplomatic etiquette
. English prejudice against Americans
. the gardens of Versailles
. on being presented at foreign courts
. Continental manners
. and much more.
