The Pathfinder; Or, The Inland Sea

by James Fenimore Cooper

"The Pathfinder; Or, The Inland Sea" by James Fenimore Cooper is a historical novel published in 1840. The fourth book featuring frontier hero Natty Bumppo, it follows the Pathfinder as he guides a young woman through dangerous wilderness around Lake Ontario. For the first time in the series, Natty experiences romantic love when he falls for nineteen-year-old Mabel Dunham. This tests his simple, honest nature as he faces the tension between domestic life and his true home in the wild.