The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea by James Fenimore Cooper (1840)

The Pathfinder may well be the best of the three Leather Stocking series I've read so far.
Extremely typical of JFC writing in that it may take a page or two to define a small point but what are we reading for anyway?

Being from Michigan and having spent 1000's of hours on the Great (and other) Lakes I really enjoyed the sea fairing parts.

This book even more than the others has Natty constantly describing everyone's "nature." JFC living in a time and place where this must have been the only way of dealing with the Melting Pot that the North American Continent was (hmmm, still is.)

Just as in "The Last of the Mohicans and The Dearslayer we have Hawkeye delivering distressed white men & women from the dangers within the sparsely inhabited North American Continent. Much less warfare in the writing and much more sailing and danger in place.
We talk so little about this time in American history, its as if American History started with the civil war.

I have also come to believe that JFC was trying to create a desperately needed America myth. It hasn't stayed with us the way that Wister's "The Virginian"did however.

My copy is abused, maybe from the 30's.

Some of the Passages I like:

Mabel looks out upon Lake Ontario for the fist time...

Part of the reason I love this old writing is the Grandeur that that was everywhere, the sense of small that one had when adventuring. Now its a bit different; when I flew to Oregon it was the world that was small.
And again; to have a world laid out in front of you that was Endless, and there for the taking. Now its a bit different...

 Here we have a scene from the Fort where the Men have a shooting contest...

JFC certainly nails the deception of the young by the old in this passage. The belief that fairness and for an outcome as dictated by providence is what we have when we are young. It is later that we notice a finger on the scale.

The character of "Cap" is a wonderful "blowhard" from the East, your classic "expert at one thing knows and applies it to everything sort of load mouth." A great piece in the story's puzzle.

Its the last sentence that illustrates JFC's insightful and humorous snap at the end of a moment sharpening the human side of the scene.

In a long passage we witness Mabel's father dying of wounds received thru indiscretion of impatiences (as pointed out by Cap several times.)

My takeaway however relates to the inevitability of our parents leaving us alone on this earth.

In this scene The Pathfinder is resolved to give Mabel (whom he has every wright to) up to Jasper.

The part that strikes me has been a favorite subject of mine (one that doesn't interest others to talk about)  Its the way in which we aggrandize our friends; we give them all sorts of superior powers over and above other mortals, we wish only the best for them and excuse every transgression.

Ultimately The Pathfinder falls victim to the very thing he adheres to most; his insistence in "one's nature" this is the reason that he cannot take Mabel for his wife. And so with all kindness hands her over to Jasper for the all the reasons that are natural.

Daphnis and Chloe by Longus, 200AD

Daphnis and Chloe, was my idea of a break from "The Whale"

Typical of early works it is simple but provides human insights that never seem to change even over 1800 years.

This 1949 publication is illustrated by Aristede Mailol

 Basically a coming of age tale.
With the classic by the way we are actually (abandoned at birth) royalty; this plot devise always provides for a happy ending.
The erotic passages are very clipped or short but good. It is entertaining to see not much has changed. These two young people have not been educated in the birds and the bees so they are on their own for a while.
Daphnis receives training in the basics of love making (as all young men should) from an older woman. Daphnis also learns about men that "like" boys; this is clearly indicated as being despicable behavior.

Living in paradise they have a complete peasants world. But like any fruitful land it is invaded by pirates and the like.

A couple of passages that I like:

But Daphnis for his life could not be merry, because he had seen Chloe naked, and that Venus of her beauty, which before was not unveiled. His heart was gnawed, as with a secret poison; and had deep sentiments of grief and anguish: insomuch, that sometimes he puffed and blowed thick and short, as if some body had been in a close pursuit of him: sometimes again, he breathed so faintly, as if he had been quite spent in running. That washing seemed to him more dangerous and formidable, then the Sea: And he thought his life was still in the hands, and at the dispose of the Tyrian Pirates, as being but a young Rustic, and yet unskilled in the Assassinations and Robberies of Love.

Ah, Love that makes you so happy, you are sad!

 It was the beginning of Spring, and all the flowers of the Lawns, Meadows, Valleys, and Hills, were now blowing; all was fresh, and green, and odorous. The Bee's humming from the flowers, the Bird's warbling from the groves, the Lamb's skipping on the hills, were pleasant to the ear, and eye. And now when such a fragrancy had filled those blest and happy fields, both the old men and the young, would imitate the pleasant things they heard, and saw; and hearing how the birds did chant it, they began to carrell too; and seeing how the Lambs skipped, triped their light and nimble measures; then to emulate the Bees, they fall to cull the fairest flowers.

Spring is always the same... 

Moby Dick or The Whale by Herman Melville (1851) Illu. by Rockwell Kent (2nd reading)

The 2nd reading is far better than the 1st; you are fully aware of what you are in for / up against, can sit back and savor the details better than in the headless slog of the 1st reading. The reading is not unlike the progress of the 80 foot leviathan; slowly, deliberately through the ocean swells, then dive deep, then come up for air.

Its like reading a hundred short stories, or maybe like a thousand ideas that could be turned into short stories.

Hint for you aspiring Writers, take any one page and create a story from the depths of insight that little Herman provides free for the taking.

The Rockwell Kent illustrated version is more pleasing than the previous version I read. The illustrations are more woodcut like and invoke the earlier time being portrayed. Kent also illustrated one of my other readings Candide

One quote that spoke to me:

I try all things; I achieve what I can.

The reading is a wild experience in that there are so many complex statements that if you stopped at each of them to ponder the depth you might never finish.

This is typical of the 19th cent. heroic language that Melville loved to use:
The wind that made great bellies of their sails, and rushed the vessel on by arms invisible as irresistible; this seemed the symbol of that unseen agency which so enslaved them to the race.

Kent took a more realistic (in most instances) look at MD than in Candide because MD one being pure fantasy and the other not so much. 

 Arrrgh... the Spouter-Inn

 Queequeg

 Rendering of the vast South Pacific

 Moby D takes revenge!

 Everyone up on the yard arms

There are now several web based outlines of the passage.

Yvain, the Knight of the Lion (1170) by Chrétien de Troyes

What a great story, this Burton Raffel translation is very readable. By not attempting to rhyme I believe that the story comes thru better. For the tops in English rhyming, try The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott

Classic love story with the reality of life and death at every corner. Yvain kicks ass on a local bully and gets that guys wife to fall in love with him. His childhood buddy (drinking buddy) Gawain, convinces him to on an adventure and that's when the marriage falls apart. Yvain really loves his wife and so goes mad when he looses her. He is restored to sanity when when a young maiden rubs a magic potion all over his body (always does it for me.) After numerous death defying adventures he is reunited with his wife.

The local reader and I were motivated to read Yvain because the GPPL Friends invited Peggy McCracken,

(Domna C. Stanton Collegiate Professor of French, Women’s Studies, and Comparative Literature

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) to come speak to us about it; what a treat.

So this French Author is actually credited with being the founder of the Arthurian Romance and wrote 5 of them. He is credited with the initiating the accepted mythology surrounding King Arthur and his Knights. The 12th cent. is an amazing time.

Every country needs a history or Mythology for identification, this story reminds me of The Virginian, America needed a mythology and the cowboy is our Yvain! The two stories are dramatically similar.

My takeaway:

Luna gives Yvain good advice;
"But guard your tongue, keep it in control for violence and passion and impulse only cause trouble if you give them a chance, and I call that wicked and cowardly, not brave."

Later as she hides Yvain from his potential captors he reflects on the hiding place as a prison comparing it to being in love.

Now the night of the Lion (Yvain) is being pursued by many a maiden because of his renown as a great knight.
At this point Yvain decides that:
"Saying No wins no man fame, no more will I say No"

I once decided to try and stop saying No for just a single day, try it its not as easy as it sounds.

The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott (1810) Illu. Howard Chandler Christy

The Lady is a joy to read; the words drift and swirl off the tongue.
As with any of prose from so long ago I go to summaries and modern interpretations to help get the the story.
I saw this book online and discovered that it was in Providence, turns out I was going there and so I was able to pick it up in person.
It is not listed as a 100th anniversary publication but it certainly was that, I suppose by then it was beginning to loose its hold on the reading audience. Certainly after WWI I think people were looking for "Modern" writing.
In its day it helped propel Scott to Rock Star proportions,Scott was a genius.

The cover has some unfortunate blotching on it however internally it is in good shape.

The signature maybe the 1st owner, Mary Jane Glenn?

Ellen and Lufra with the Title page.

Ellen goes across Loch Katrine to find the mysterious bugler and meets James.

An interesting outline of Clan conscription; the small cross is consecrated with an oath and then carried around to every hill and dale demanding allegiance. In this instance a marriage is interrupted with the command.

Roderich, who has open wishes for Ellen, secretly sees her as she prays, he is over come with the realization that this is the last time he will ever see or hear her.

 It is important to note that the Prayer that Ellen recites is in fact the inspiration to Robert Schumann for his incredible Ave Maria.

Smitten after their 1st meeting James returns to the island to woo Ellen. Christy's work is so theatrical!

Roderich and James meet without knowing whom each other is at first.

Ellen realizes in a flash that James is King James and falls to her knees.

Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott (1821)

I'm on a S.W.Scott tear and so after Durward I decided to stick with the 1500's and get into Kenilworth.
I have to admit however that the motivation to read it came from Owen Wister and the multiple references made to Kenilworth in The Virginian.
The message Wister was trying to send is very clear; Chivalry, court manners, and how ambition and talent are rewarded. Wister and his buddy Roosevelt were trying to create the mythology of American exceptional ism and the model was based on the Chivalry Europe.

Its a story of intrigue, love, deception, hate, and ambition (to name a few.)

This little 1928 copy of Kenilworth has tiny font!
Kenilworth is an excellent book.
Scott provides a huge wealth of English language knowledge that requires a close connection with a dictionary in order to keep up with the hundreds of unused and alternative meanings. For instance, being impolite in Court might be dis-courteous. The origins of polite society are rooted in the Courts of nobility.
A great deal of Court behavior and etiquette is relayed to the reader and in it we can see how much of our Curtseys and manners were developed, derived, and refined in those courts. 

This copy has a tremendous set of notes in the back, well worth finding a copy that includes them.

Just as in Durward, Kenilworth is Historical fiction, it is a tremendous lessen in history, QE I is the period and what a period it was. I would like to get into the Elizabethan history now.

Every period longs for the one that just past and Scott's is no exception; not only did Scott long for the Chivalry of the past but the characters in his story did as well.
In the story near the culmination of the intrigue there is a performance put on for QE that depicts the entire history of the English peoples. So again Wister could only fabricate for America what England had many versions of; a past.

We get introduced to Wayland Smith (Wayland Smithers?) a very talented smith that is mostly unappreciated. He is whom I relate to.


A great passage:
When the Queen finds out that Her Doctor was refused access to her liege:
The Queen answered hastily, and without affecting to disguise her satisfaction, "By my word, I am glad he is better. But thou wert over-bold to deny the access of my Doctor Masters. Knowest thou not the Holy Writ saith, 'In the multitude of counsel there is safety'?"
"Ay, madam," said Walter; "but I have heard learned men say that the safety spoken of is for the physicians, not for the patient." 
 Well little has changed.

Quentin Durward by Sir Walter Scott (1823) Illu.

Well I can see a limited appeal for this book in today's audience. It is a little slow going but if you are a fan of the period then it is a wonderful review of the Louis XI and his world. With an internet connection nearby one can look up the dozens of references to other historic figures and events that Scott weaves into the narrative.

A nice old copy pub. 1906

And only two illustrations:

Interesting that Quentin disappears for about a quarter of the the book as the author develops the the story around Louis and Duke Charles of Burgundy.
I would say that a lot of the fiction is less intriguing than what really happened and that is why it is so interesting to look at the actual events while reading.

Scott's human insights are grand!
Very early on a paragraph caught my eye:
"The eldest and most remarkable of these men in dress and appearance, resembled the merchant or shopkeeper of the period. His jerkin, hose, and cloak were of a dark uniform colour, but worn so threadbare that the acute young Scot conceived that the wearer must be either very rich or very poor, probably the former. The fashion of the dress was close and short, a kind of garment which was not then held decorous among gentry, or even the superior class of citizens, who generally wore loose gowns which descended below the middle of the leg"
In the suburb of Detroit where I live there are some old money running around and in the very same way that the Scot conceived the shabby clothed gent could be either rich or poor we too have our share of them

In this paragraph Quentin is lectured by the Bohemian:
""Simply," replied the Zingaro, "that those who know aught of the Most Christian King, are aware that the purpose about which he is most anxious, is always that which he is least willing to declare. Let our gracious Louis send twelve embassies, and I will forfeit my neck to the gallows a year before it is due, if in eleven of them there is not something at the bottom of the ink horn more than the pen has written in the letters of credence.""
 A very period way of saying "more than meets the eye."

De Comines corrects his majesty on the merits of "moderation"
""At least I would have your Majesty be in a condition to discuss them all."
"Yet moderation, De Comines, moderation in success, is—no one knows better than you—necessary to its ultimate advantage."
"So please your Majesty, the merit of moderation is, I have observed, most apt to be extolled (praised) by the losing party. The winner holds in more esteem the prudence which calls on him not to leave an opportunity unimproved.""

Quentin's conversation with the Bohemian at his moment of death is captivating:
""Unhappy, most unhappy being! Think better! let me speed for a priest—these men will delay yet a little longer. I will bribe them to it," said Quentin. "What canst thou expect, dying in such opinions, and impenitent?"
"To be resolved into the elements," said the hardened atheist, pressing his fettered arms against his bosom; "my hope, trust, and expectation is that the mysterious frame of humanity shall melt into the general mass of nature, to be recompounded in the other forms with which she daily supplies those which daily disappear, and return under different forms—the watery particles to streams and showers, the earthy parts to enrich their mother earth, the airy portions to wanton in the breeze, and those of fire to supply the blaze of Aldebaran and his brethren.—In this faith have I lived, and I will die in it!—Hence! begone!—disturb me no farther!—I have spoken the last word that mortal ears shall listen to.""
 He is talking about dust to dust & ashes to ashes, Scott is able to calmly discuss the various views of the world and the after life with out judgment.