内容简介
The library of America is dedicated to publishing America's best and most significant writing in handsome, enduring volumes, featuring authoritative texts. Hailed as the "finest-looking, longest-lasting editions ever made" (The New Republic), Library of America volumes make a fine gift for any occasion. Now, with exactly one hundred volumes to choose from, there is a perfect gift for everyone.
作者简介
James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) grew up at Otsego Hall, his father’s manorial estate near Lake Otsego in upstate New York. Educated at Yale, he spent five years at sea, as a foremast hand and then as a midshipman in the navy. At thirty he was suddenly plunged into a literary career when his wife challenged his claim that he could write a better book that the English novel he was reading to her. The result was Precaution (1820), a novel of manners. His second book, The Spy (1821), was an immediate success, and with The Pioneers (1823) he began his series of Leatherstocking Tales. By 1826 when The Last of the Mohicans appeared, his standing as a major novelist was clearly established. From 1826 to 1833 Cooper and his family lived and traveled in France, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany. Two of his most successful works, The Prairie and The Red Rover, were published in 1827. He returned to Otsego Hall in 1834, and after a series of relatively unsuccessful books of essays, travel sketches, and history, he returned to fiction – and to Leatherstocking – with The Pathfinder (1840) and The Deerslayer (1841). In his last decade he faced declining popularity brought on in part by his waspish attacks on critics and political opponents. Just before his death in 1851 an edition of his works led to a reappraisal of his fiction and somewhat restored his reputation as the first of American writers.
精彩书评
The first full-scale imaginer, the progenitor of a literature. -- The Village Voice
前言/序言
《最后的莫希干人:森林的呼唤与边疆的硝烟》 作者: 詹姆斯·芬尼莫尔·库珀 译者: [此处可填入知名译者姓名,如需] 装帧: [此处可填入实际装帧信息,如:精装/平装,具体年份] ISBN/出版号: [此处可填入实际ISBN信息] --- 内容简介: 这部史诗般的作品,承载着十八世纪中叶北美殖民地与原住民之间那段波谲云诡、充满血与火的历史。它并非仅仅是一部冒险故事,更是一幅关于文明冲突、忠诚与背叛、自然力量与人性光辉的宏大画卷。我们跟随主角“鹰眼”纳特·邦波——一个在白人社会中格格不入,却被莫希干人视为兄弟的传奇猎人——深入到广袤无垠、危机四伏的纽约北部边境。 故事背景设定在英法之间为争夺北美控制权而爆发的“七年战争”的阴影之下,尤其聚焦于1757年那段关键时期。法国人联合了阿尔冈昆语系的部落,与英国殖民者及其盟友——忠诚的莫希干部落——展开了殊死较量。边境地带的堡垒,如偏远而孤立的亨德里克堡(Fort Henry),成为了文明世界与蛮荒之地的交界点。 主要情节与人物群像: 小说围绕着护送英国总督女儿科拉·蒙罗(Cora Munro)和爱丽丝·蒙罗(Alice Munro)前往其父驻守的乔治堡(Fort William Henry)的艰难旅程展开。这次护送任务由一位自负而鲁莽的英国军官邓肯·海沃德少校(Major Duncan Heyward)负责,他怀揣着对科拉的爱慕,却对边境的危险一无所知。 “鹰眼”纳特·邦波的复杂性: 纳特·邦波,这位“林中幽灵”(Leatherstocking,虽然此书并非“皮袜子故事集”的核心,但其人物原型和精神内核紧密相连),是人类与自然和谐共处的理想化身。他精通印第安人的生存法则,却拒绝完全融入任何一方。他的存在本身就是一种矛盾:他热爱自然,却又不得不卷入人类之间的战争;他对文明社会保持警惕,却又怀有一颗维护正义的骑士之心。他与他的莫希干养父老酋长秦戈(Chingachgook)和其子乌卡斯(Uncas),构成了小说中“自然人”的代表。他们对白人社会的鄙夷,与他们对荣誉和承诺的恪守,形成了鲜明的对比。 冲突与阴谋: 旅途中,他们遭遇了残酷而狡猾的休伦部落向导马圭尔(Magua)。马圭尔是一个被白人残酷对待后心怀不轨的复仇者,他利用对地形的熟悉和对白人习性的洞察,设下了无数陷阱。他成了贯穿全书的黑暗势力,代表着被压迫者扭曲后的仇恨,以及不择手段的生存哲学。 小说的高潮部分,便是围绕着乔治堡的陷落和随后发生的“血腥屠杀”(Massacre at Fort William Henry)展开的。当堡垒在法国人的围攻下被迫投降后,马圭尔利用法军的“保护失职”,对放下武器的英国士兵和家属发动了残酷的攻击。纳特、秦戈和乌卡斯,在这种几乎绝望的境地中,展现了非凡的勇气与智谋,试图营救科拉和爱丽丝。 主题的深度挖掘: 《最后的莫希干人》深刻探讨了以下几个核心主题: 1. 文明与野蛮的界限: 库珀通过对比英法士兵的僵硬教条、殖民者的傲慢与莫希干人的原始智慧,挑战了当时欧洲社会对“文明”的定义。他暗示,真正的“野蛮”往往隐藏在光鲜的制服之下,而真正的“高贵”可能存在于森林深处。 2. 忠诚与身份认同: 纳特·邦波的困境是身份认同危机的一个缩影。他既不是完全的印第安人,也无法完全融入欧洲社会。他的忠诚对象是边疆的自由和正义本身,而非某一特定的旗帜。 3. 爱情与宿命: 科拉·蒙罗与海沃德少校的浪漫关系,以及科拉与纳特之间那份无法言说的精神共鸣,为血腥的战争增添了一层悲剧色彩。小说探讨了在生死存亡关头,爱情如何与阶级偏见、文化差异纠缠在一起。 4. 自然的崇高与残酷: 森林不仅是故事的背景,更是一个有生命的、充满挑战的角色。它既能提供庇护,也能吞噬生命。对自然的敬畏与理解,是生存下去的唯一法则。 艺术特色: 库珀以其独特的浪漫主义叙事风格,将细致入微的自然描写与紧张刺激的动作场面完美结合。他对北美荒野环境的描绘栩栩如生,无论是对植被、河流还是天气变化的刻画,都充满了原始而厚重的质感。同时,小说中对印第安语境和习俗的引入,极大地丰富了文学想象力,尽管现代读者会注意到其中可能存在的时代局限性,但其开创了美国文学中“边疆传奇”这一重要流派的地位无可动摇。 总结: 这部小说是美国文学的奠基之作之一,它不仅捕捉了一个时代的精神面貌——一个欧洲殖民势力与北美原住民文化激烈碰撞的时代——更塑造了美国文学中最具标志性的原型人物之一。它是一部关于失落、关于坚守、关于在动荡中寻找人性之光与永恒自由的伟大叙事。阅读它,如同亲自踏上那片被硝烟和古老传说笼罩的边境土地。