These successes encouraged Cooper to mine the rich vein he had initially exploited. He quickly published Lionel Lincoln (1825), which deals with the Battle of Bunker Hill and the beginnings of the American Revolution, and The Last of the Mohicans (1826), which returns to the adventures of Natty Bumppo during the French and Indian Wars.
Cooper decided to leave America and live in Europe at this time. His motives for the European residence were several: the education of his children; a change of scenery for relaxation and perhaps for new ideas; and the financial need to secure firm agreements with European publishers about copyrights, royalties, and other matters. He settled in Paris in 1826 and remained in Europe for almost eight years. Cooper's impact upon European literature was very great, and he was welcomed warmly, receiving invitations from all quarters. Again, the social life did not interfere with his literary career because Cooper published in one year, 1827, two novels: The Prairie, the third of the "Leatherstocking Tales," and The Red Rover, a sea story. In addition, he published The Wept of Wish-ton-Wish (1829) about New England in the seventeenth century, and The Water-Witch, a nautical novel. Cooper also utilized his foreign travels and readings by composing three works with European backgrounds: The Bravo (1831), The Heidenmauer (1832), and The Headsman (1833).
However, Cooper's writings in Europe, particularly his books with strongly romantic and foreign elements, did not add appreciably to his literary reputation; these works are only considered as minor productions by critics. In his less imaginative writings, Cooper antagonized his fellow Americans and his French hosts. He criticized his countrymen too harshly — in their opinion — in Notions of the Americans, although his primary purpose was a defense of the American character. He also mingled unfortunately in French domestic politics in A Letter to General Lafayette, which further disillusioned his compatriots in the United States.
