Reading Order
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Start with The Pioneers and continue through all 5 books in the listed reading order.
Start Here
Start with The Pioneers
Book 1 by James Fenimore Cooper • Published 1823
In the frontier town of Templeton on Otsego Lake, aging hunter Natty Bumppo clashes with Judge Temple and his settlers over wasteful hunting and land use, as a mysterious young man and the judge's daughter are drawn i...
Complete List
Leatherstocking Tales reading order
Ends with The Pathfinder
- 1
Book 1:The Pioneers
James Fenimore Cooper • 1823
In the frontier town of Templeton on Otsego Lake, aging hunter Natty Bumppo clashes with Judge Temple and his settlers over wasteful hunting and land use, as a mysterious young man and the judge's daughter are drawn i...
- 2
Book 2:The Prairie
James Fenimore Cooper • 1824
On the newly opened Great Plains, an elderly frontiersman known only as the trapper joins a rough emigrant clan and a Pawnee war party, facing buffalo hunts, prairie fires, and skirmishes that force him to weigh solit...
- 3
Book 3:The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper • 1826
Amid the French and Indian War, scout Hawkeye and his Mohican companions Chingachgook and Uncas try to rescue Colonel Munro's daughters from the Huron leader Magua, in a fast moving story of pursuit, ambush, and tragi...
- 4
Book 4:The Deerslayer
James Fenimore Cooper • 1840
At the still wilderness lake Cooper called Glimmerglass, the young hunter Deerslayer joins his friend Chingachgook to rescue a kidnapped Delaware woman, confronting scalp hunters, Iroquois raiders, and a first hard te...
- 5
Book 5:The Pathfinder
James Fenimore Cooper • 1841
Middle aged scout Natty Bumppo, now called Pathfinder, helps escort a young woman, Mabel Dunham, to a remote British post on Lake Ontario, facing treacherous waters, French allied raiders, and a love he ultimately can...
Quick Answers
Leatherstocking Tales FAQ
What is the best order to read the Leatherstocking Tales series?
The recommended reading order is the numbered order shown on this page, starting with The Pioneers.
How many books are in the Leatherstocking Tales series?
There are 5 books currently listed in the Leatherstocking Tales series on GurusReads.
Where should I start with the Leatherstocking Tales series?
New readers should start with The Pioneers, the first book in the reading order.
Is the Leatherstocking Tales series complete?
Based on the publication years we have, the series appears likely complete and spans releases from 1823 to 1841.