The Guardian of the Law treats Cooper's use of legal drama in novels from every phase of his career in the effort to find some satisfactory balance between the claims of authority and identity. The failure of this effort, Charles Adams argues, may be attributed to his democratic culture's ambivalence about authority, as well as to Cooper's own deeply divided feelings about the self, social order, and the meaning of American history. Adams explores Cooper's handling of what is arguably the most important of these issues: the ...
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The Guardian of the Law treats Cooper's use of legal drama in novels from every phase of his career in the effort to find some satisfactory balance between the claims of authority and identity. The failure of this effort, Charles Adams argues, may be attributed to his democratic culture's ambivalence about authority, as well as to Cooper's own deeply divided feelings about the self, social order, and the meaning of American history. Adams explores Cooper's handling of what is arguably the most important of these issues: the uncertain prerogatives of authority in a nation defined by the rhetoric of individuality. Like many of his contemporaries, Cooper looked to the law as a focal point for his meditations on this theme. Antebellum Americans intensely debated the grounds of legitimate authority in a democracy, and their debates often turned on the proper role of law in the developing republic. The book examines this controversy and Cooper's often energetic participation in it, but concentrates on his fictional explorations of law. In the novels, the law's social power represented by its elaborate rituals, specialized language, and paternalistic organization provides Cooper with a rich metaphor for the moral, psychological, and historical forms of authority that condition individual efforts to define and assert identity.
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Seller's Description:
Very good in very good dust jacket. Very good hardcover in very good dust jacket, no marks, bright, square, tight, packaged carefully and shipped promptly with tracking-and thank you-104. 168 p. Audience: College/higher education.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. DJ included. Unmarked text. DJ has tear where front cover meets spine, approxmiately 3.5 inches, with small chink missing at top. Otherwise only mild cover wear. Sturdy copy in good condition. PA.
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Seller's Description:
VG+ in VG- jacket. Book. 8vo-over 7¾-9¾" tall. Inscribed by Author(s) Hardback with dust jacket. No defects to note on the book. The dust jacket has light edge wear and a scar on the back where a price tag was removed. Book is INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR to former owners. Author makes an important contribution to understanding Fenimore Cooper and his novels. 151 pages including the Index.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine jacket. First edition. Fine in fine dustwrapper. Small sticker mark on cover. Please Note: This book has been transferred to Between the Covers from another database and might not be described to our usual standards. Please inquire for more detailed condition information.
