James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) lived most of his life in Cooperstown, New York, established by his father William. He was a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church and in his later years contributed generously to it. He attended Yale University for three years, where he was a member of the Linonian Society, but was expelled for misbehavior. Before embarking on his career as a writer he served in the U.S. Navy as a Midshipman which greatly influenced many of his novels and other writings. He is probably better known for his frontiersmen novels such as ‘The Last of the Mohicans'.
However, he also wrote factual books and novels about the age of sail.
Many of his novels are not copyright in many countries and some are available as free eBooks in the online store.
Age of Sail: Fiction
AOS Naval Fiction |
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| Series: n/a | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| The Pilot | About the life of a naval pilot during the Revolution of 1775-1783 | |
| The Red Rover | A Rhode Island pirate captures a British frigate | |
| Homeward Bound: Or The Chase: A Tale of the Sea |
The story of an American packet ship | |
| 1745 | The Two Admirals | Set in 1745 during the Jacobite rebellion |
| Jack Tier: or The Florida Reef (aka Captain Spike: or The Islets of the Gulf) |
A Merchant Brig seeks to avoid a Revenue cutter and a sloop-of-war | |
AOS Privateer Fiction |
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| Series: n/a | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| 1799 | The Wing-and-Wing: Or, Le Feu-Follet | About a French privateer off the Italian coast in 1799 |
AOS Other Nautical Fiction |
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| Series: n/a | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| The Sea Lions, or, The Lost Sealers | Two schooners sealing are caught in the ice. | |
| The Water-Witch: Or the Skimmer of the Seas | A story of smuggling in the New York/New Jersey area, set around 1711 | |
| Series: Miles Wallingford | ||
| Afloat and Ashore: or The Adventures of Miles Wallingford | Miles Wallingford runs away to sea to embark on a career as a merchant sailor in the Pacific | |
| Miles Wallingford | Continues the adventures Miles Wallingford, this time set in the Atlantic | |
Non-Fiction
AOS Naval Non-Fiction |
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| Series: n/a | ||
| Year | Book | Comment |
| The History of the Navy of the United States of America | A history of the US Navy (Up to 1839) | |
| Old Ironsides | A history of the American frigate USS Constitution (Up to 1835) | |
| Ned Myers: or Life before the Mast | A biography of a shipmate of Cooper's during the 1813 naval campaign in Upper Canada | |
| Lives of Distinguished American Naval Officers | The careers, battles, commands, and characters of Bainbridge, Somers, Shaw, Shubrick, and Preble. | |