<p>With <i>The Pioneers</i> (1823), Cooper initiated his series of elegiac romances of frontier life and introduced the world to Natty Bumppo (or Leather-stocking). Set in 1793 in New York State, the novel depicts an aging Leather-stocking negotiating his way in a restlessly expanding society. In his introduction, Robert Daly argues for the novel's increasing relevance: we live in a similarly complex society as Cooper's frontier world, faced with the same questions about the limits of individualism, the need for voluntary cooperation, and stewardship of the environment. <br /> <br />The John Harvard Library edition reproduces the authoritative text of <i>The Pioneers</i> in the <i>The Writings of James Fenimore Cooper, </i>published by the State University of New York Press.</p>