Rural Hours, written by Susan Fenimore Cooper (1813–94), stands as a classic still awaiting wider recognition. First published in 1850 to initial success it is now relatively little known. It has been overshadowed, often by men whose Nature writing followed in the spirit of Fenimore Cooper’s example. It’s an all too familiar and frustrating story.

The book takes the form of diary entries written across 1848–49 and organised by season, as Fenimore Cooper notes the flow of change in her region of America. Her home was Cooperstown, on the southern point of ...

 

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