Lionel Lincoln

Lionel Lincoln presented Cooper with the problems of writing a Revolutionary tale with a Loyalist American hero, and of two mentally disordered characters; as part of his intention for a Revolutionary series. The author himself was dissatisfied with his work. In his own opinion, a tale connected with the wonderful siege of Boston, and the memorable battle of Bunker Hill, should have presented some more striking character to the reader than that of Lionel Lincoln. James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) was an American novelist, travel writer, and social critic, regarded as the first great American writer of fiction. He was famed for his action-packed plots and his vivid, if somewhat idealized, portrayal of American life in the forest and at sea.