The Autobiography of a Pocket Handkerchief

Written during one of James Fenimore Cooper's most productive periods, The Autobiography of a Pocket Handkerchief stands as a testament to the inventiveness of this literary icon. This 1843 novella is one of Cooper's most experimental works of fiction, and not just because it is narrated by a clairvoyant French pocket handkerchief. It marks Cooper's first attempt at serial fiction; it is his only novella; and it is one of his earliest uses of first-person narration.

The story follows a pocket handkerchief's epic journey from the flax fields of Normandy to the war-torn streets of Paris and then across the Atlantic to the opulent homes and ballrooms of New York's elite class. At the core of this book is Cooper's complex social commentary, which draws upon 1830s French revolutionary politics to address the dangerous greed and cultural shortsightedness he saw in his own nation. The Autobiography of a Pocket Handkerchief is one of Cooper's most deceptively ambitious works, one that employs the travels and opinions of an ornamented pocket handkerchief to comment upon the troubles of 1840s America.

Meticulously edited, this edition has earned the coveted seal of the MLA Committee on Scholarly Editions (CSE). The text of this edition is based on Cooper's original manuscript, now housed in the archives of the Huntington Library, and it incorporates the changes Cooper made for the novella's serialization in Graham's Magazine.

A thoroughly researched historical introduction and detailed explanatory notes provide readers with the context necessary to fully enjoy this unique book by one of America's most innovative writers.