Just after he published the work now considered his masterpiece, the epic 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans, the popular American writer JAMES FENIMORE COOPER (1789-1851) decamped for Europe, where he would live and travel for several years. Here, in this little-read collection of letters from his travels, Cooper shares his wry insights on life as an American abroad for readers back home. Unappreciated as a travel writer, Cooper turns his keen eye upon: . custom-house civility . fashion in America and English costume . London pickpockets . horse-racing in Paris . ladies in coffee-houses . diplomatic etiquette . English prejudice against Americans . the gardens of Versailles . on being presented at foreign courts . Continental manners . and much more.