24 h 6 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 24 h 6 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What is a man's honour worth when the wilderness demands that he fight to survive?
On Glimmerglass, a quiet lake in the hills of New York, young Natty Bumppo stands on the edge of his first warpath. Known as Deerslayer, he is a skilled hunter who has not yet killed a man. In James Fenimore Cooper's adventure, set before the American Revolution, his simple code meets a world where greed can turn neighbours into enemies.
Thomas Hutter lives with his daughters, Judith and Hetty, in a house on stilts. His plan with Hurry Harry to take Huron scalps for money threatens the lake's peace. Meanwhile, the Delaware warrior Chingachgook seeks to rescue his betrothed, Wah-ta-Wah, from the Hurons. Among canoes, ambushes, and divided loyalties, Deerslayer must decide what honesty asks of him when lives are at stake.
What you’ll discover
- A hunter's first test Meet a young hero whose skill with weapons cannot settle every question of right and wrong.
- Life upon the lake Enter the Castle, Hutter's wooden home, where the surrounding water offers no promise of safety.
- A rescue among enemies Follow Chingachgook's search for Wah-ta-Wah, whose courage matters as much as his own.
- Honour across divided loyalties Explore competing laws and loyalties, and the question of what settlers owe the people whose land they enter.
- A wilderness worth lingering in Watch canoes cross Glimmerglass as Cooper dwells on forest light and the shape of the shore.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love wilderness adventure, canoe chases and ambushes, friendships tested by danger, and a hero whose honesty is his greatest strength.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two woodsmen reach the lake and clash
- A castle on stilts and the family inside
- Hutter's greed leads to a first kill
- Lovers, a lost sister and a locked chest
- A night rescue ends in capture
- A prisoner on furlough keeps his word
- Torture, taunts and a woman in brocade
- Gifts, color and the argument over right
- Vanity, innocence and two kinds of home
- How Cooper paints the wilderness and the voices
Who’s who
- DeerslayerA young, honest hunter raised among the Delawares, who has never killed a man and wants to keep his conscience clear in war.
- Hurry HarryHenry March, a giant, boastful trapper who admires Judith, hates Indians and cares most about his own interests.
- Judith HutterA beautiful, quick-witted young woman who loves fine things and wants a better life, and who comes to value Deerslayer's honesty.
- Hetty HutterJudith's gentle, weak-minded younger sister, who trusts the Bible and believes that kindness can soften even enemies.
- Thomas HutterFloating Tom, the stern, secretive owner of the castle and ark, who is ready to take scalps for the colony's bounty.
- ChingachgookThe Great Serpent, a young Delaware chief and Deerslayer's closest friend, who comes to the lake to free his promised bride.
- HistWah-ta-Wah, a bright and brave Delaware girl held by the Hurons, who is determined to return to the man she loves.
- RivenoakThe shrewd Huron chief who prefers persuasion to cruelty and hopes to win Deerslayer over to his tribe.
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The Deerslayer
by James Fenimore Cooper · 1841
A young hunter who has killed his first enemy gives his word to a Huron war party and must keep it.
ChallengingOver 20 hours to readEnglish
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In short
Two men stumble out of a swamp into a sunny forest clearing in June, lost for an hour and already arguing. One is a giant called Hurry Harry.
The Deerslayer at a glance
- Reading time
- About 13 h 25 min10 h 35 min fast, 15 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 191,000 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1841by James Fenimore Cooper
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Two woodsmen reach the lake and clash
Hurry Harry and Deerslayer rest beside a spring after losing their path in a swamp. Hurry is over six feet tall and strong to match. Deerslayer is younger and lighter, with a plain, honest face that wins trust slowly.
Hurry teases his friend for never shooting anything but animals. Deerslayer answers that he will take a human life only in open and honorable war. He has lived ten years among the Delawares and defends their courage against Hurry's scorn. A war has just begun, so his answer will soon matter.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1841
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 15 h 40 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Cooper, James Fenimore. The Deerslayer. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-deerslayer.
Cooper, J. F. (2026). The Deerslayer. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-deerslayer (Original work published 1841)
Cooper, James Fenimore. The Deerslayer. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-deerslayer.
@book{cooper2026deerslayer,
author = {Cooper, James Fenimore},
title = {The Deerslayer},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-deerslayer},
note = {First published 1841}
}
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What is The Deerslayer about?
It tells of a young frontier hunter named Natty Bumppo, called Deerslayer, on his first warpath in 1740s New York. He helps a Delaware friend, protects two sisters on a lake, and faces a Huron war party with courage and honesty.
Who is Deerslayer and why is he called that?
Deerslayer is the name the Delawares gave to a young white hunter, because he is a sharp-eyed, quick-footed shot who has killed many deer but never a man. He later earns the name Hawkeye.
Is The Deerslayer a true story?
No, it is a novel, though it is set in a real region and period. Cooper wrote about the early 1740s in New York, and he published it in 1841.
The author
James Fenimore Cooper
1789–1851 · American historical novelist
James Fenimore Cooper was an American writer born in Burlington, New Jersey, in 1789. He grew up in Cooperstown, New York, and lived in Europe from 1826 to 1833. He wrote The Spy (1821), The Pioneers (1823), The Last of the Mohicans (1826), and The Deerslayer (1841). He died in Cooperstown in 1851.
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