James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. His historical romances of frontier and Indian life in the early American days created a unique form of American literature, best known for The Deerslayer and the Last of the Mohicans. The Two Admirals revolves around who should inherit an English estate and the loyalties of two naval men during the battles of succession between 1745 and 1775.