''Precaution'' (1820) is the

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

by American author

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonial and indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

Plot

''Precaution'' is set in the spring of 1815 in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, England. It follows the relationship of Emily Moseley and George Denbigh.

Development history

The novel was written after a challenge made by his wife Susan. Cooper was reading aloud to her from an English novel but found it dull. He threw the book aside and declared he could write a better book than that himself. Susan Cooper challenged her husband to make good on the statement. The result was ''Precaution'', which was published anonymously and instead accredited to an English woman. The publisher, A. T. Goodrich, later surprised the public by revealing that ''Precaution'' was authored by a man from New York. Cooper later noted that, in writing ''Precaution'', he "embraced a crude effort to describe foreign manners". He responded to critics who thought he should focus on American topics by using a more patriotic theme in his next book, '' The Spy''. Auguste Defauconpret translated ''Precaution'' into French in 1825.

Literary significance and reception

''Precaution'' was written in imitation of contemporary English domestic novels like those of

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

and

Amelia Opie Amelia Opie (born Amelia Alderson; 12 November 1769 – 2 December 1853) was an English author and abolitionist who published numerous novels in the Romantic period up to 1828. A Whig supporter and Bluestocking, Opie was also a leading abolit ...

, and it did not meet with contemporary success. It did, however, make Cooper realize his potential as a writer. Phillips, 1913 James Fenimore Cooper p.78 The author went on to have great success with works such as '' The Pathfinder'' (1841) and ''

The Deerslayer ''The Deerslayer, or The First War-Path'' was James Fenimore Cooper's fifth and last novel published in 1841 in his '' Leatherstocking Tales''. Its 1740–1745 time period makes it the first installment chronologically and in the lifetime of t ...

'' (1840). The American reading public responded most to ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is an 1826 historical romance novel by James Fenimore Cooper. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinder'', ...

'' (1826).

References

Sources

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Precaution (Novel) 1820 American novels Novels by James Fenimore Cooper Novels set in England