IV. COOPER AND GERMAN CRITIC fSM 



Cooper had all his life to sutl'er comparison with his great 

 British contemporary, Sir Walter Scott. This was certainly 

 unfortunate and yet inevitable. When Cooper 'fe first novel 

 appeared Scott was at the height of his fame and even more 

 popular in America than abroad. Cooper's second novel, 'The 

 Spy,' had to bear comparison with Scott's 'Antiquary,' which was 

 published simultaneously. Yet there were many literary people 

 in England who looked upon Cooper as the equal of Scott. The 

 latter himself was much impresed with 'The Pilot,' which Cooper 

 had published in 1823 to convince his friends that the author of 

 'The Pirate' (1821) Avas not a seaman. The English periodicals, 

 however, were very sparing with their eulogies and thought it 

 sufficient praise to call him "the American Scott," an epithet 

 which has adhered to Cooper ever since. At times this term was 

 used as complimentary to Cooper, but sometimes, too, to express 

 Cooper's inferiority and dependence. It has been pointed out 

 that Continental critics favored Cooper as the equal and even 

 the superior of Scott. In contemporary German reviews 

 Cooper's relations to Scott are frequently dwelt upon. Of course, 

 the German reviewers were sometimes dependent upon the re- 

 view's in English periodicals, Avhich were often antagonistic to 

 Cooper. The following reviews culled from German periodicals, 

 may serve as interesting examples of contemporary criticism : 



'Literarisehes Conversations-Blatt. ' Nr. 167. 21. Juli, 1824. 

 'Der Ansiedler, oder die Quellen des Susquehanna.' Aus dem Eng. 

 des Amerikaners Cooper, von *r. Drei Theile. Lpz. 1821:. 8. — 

 Und ware es nur der Neuheit wegen, indem der Roman einen 

 wenig bekannten Schauplatz uns eroffnet, mirde das Buch an- 

 ziehen; aber es hat reellere Yerdienste, die ihm bleibende Werth- 

 schatzung versichern. Der Yerfasser fiihrt uns mit der Lehen- 

 digkeit und der edeJn Einfalt eines Scott die Gegenden von einem 

 Theile seines Yaterlandes und deren Bewohner vor; wir erken- 

 nen aus der Art der Darstellung audi ihre Wahrheit, gleich wie 

 man aus dem trefflch gemalten Bildniss einer uns unbekannten 

 Person die Treue der Abbilding behaupten kann ; . . . Wash- 

 ington Irving hat uns Europaern bereits bewiesen, dass unsre Ge- 

 genf ussier es kiihnlich mit unsern besten Romanendichtern auf- 



i^Cf. R. W. Griswold. -The Prose Writers of America." riiiln.. 1847. 2tl Ed. 

 Also T. R. Lounsbury. Mames Fonimore Cooper.' 1888. 



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