The Water-Witch
1830 novel by James Fenimore Cooper
The Water-Witch is an 1830 novel by James Fenimore Cooper. Set in 17th-century New York and the surrounding sea, the novel depicts the abduction of a woman, Alida de Barbérie, by the pirate captain of the brigantine Water-Witch, and the subsequent pursuit of that elusive ship by her suitor, Captain Ludlow.[1][2]
Cooper wrote the novel while on an extended tour of Europe, during his stay in the villa Palazzu detta del Tasso near Naples.[1] Cooper tried to print the novel while he was in Italy in 1829 but Papal censors forbade its publication there.[1] He was eventually able to print the novel in Dresden before also sending copies to his publishers in the US and England.[1] Critic Allan Axelrad describes the novel as heavily influenced by the Italian context of its writing, noting that it even compares the landscapes of New York with that of Italy.[3]
The unincorporated community of Waterwitch, New Jersey is named after the novel.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d Baym, Max I.; Matenko, Percy (January 1970). "The Odyssey of The Water-Witch and a Susan Fenimore Cooper Letter". New York History. LI (1): 33–41 – via James Fenimore Cooper Society.
- ^ "The Great Snow Storm: Extract for a Letter from William E. Waples, Esq". The Register of Pennsylvania. Vol. 7, no. 16. April 16, 1831. p. 246. ProQuest 91284032.
- ^ Axelrad, Allan M. (July 1993). James D. Wallace (ed.). Epiphany at Ischia: The Effect of Italy on James Fenimore Cooper's Literary Landscape Painting. 9th Cooper Seminar, James Fenimore Cooper: His Country and His Art. State University of New York College at Oneonta. pp. 1–27.
- ^ Paul T. Hellmann (14 February 2006). Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Routledge. p. 722. ISBN 1-135-94859-3.
Further reading
- Lampe, David (July 2013). Steven Harthorn (ed.). Double Dutch Delights: Irving's Knickerbocker History and Cooper's Water Witch. 19th Cooper Seminar, James Fenimore Cooper: His Country and His Art. State University of New York College at Oneonta. pp. 18–24.
External links
- The Water-Witch at Project Gutenberg
- Scans and transcription of the Original Dresden printing of the novel
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Works by James Fenimore Cooper
- The Deerslayer
- The Last of the Mohicans
- The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea
- The Pioneers
- The Prairie
- Afloat and Ashore
- Autobiography of a Pocket-Handkerchief
- The Bravo
- The Chainbearer
- The Crater
- The Headsman: The Abbaye des Vignerons
- The Heidenmauer
- Homeward Bound
- Home as Found
- Jack Tier, or the Florida Reef
- Lionel Lincoln
- Mercedes of Castile
- Miles Wallingford
- The Monikins
- The Oak Openings
- The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea
- Precaution
- The Red Rover
- The Redskins
- Satanstoe
- The Sea Lions
- The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral Ground
- The Two Admirals
- The Water-Witch
- The Ways of the Hour
- The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish
- The Wing-and-Wing
- Wyandotté
- Tales for Fifteen
- No Steamboats
- Upside Down
- The Lake Gun
- The Chronicles of Cooperstown
- The Eclipse
- The History of the Navy of the United States of America
- Lives of Distinguished American Naval Officers
- Ned Myers
- New York: or The Towns of Manhattan
- Notions of the Americans
- Old Ironsides
- Proceedings of the Naval Court-Martial in the Case of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, &c.
- Letter to General Lafayette
- A Letter to His Countrymen
- The American Democrat
- Gleanings in Europe: Switzerland
- Gleanings in Europe: The Rhine
- A Residence in France
- Gleanings in Europe: France
- Gleanings in Europe: England
- Gleanings in Europe: Italy
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