The novel was first published in 1826 by Carey & Lea, of Philadelphia. According to Susan Cooper, its success was "greater than that of any previous book from the same pen" and "in Europe, the book produced quite a startling effect."[18]
Over time the book grew to be regarded by some as the first Great American Novel.[23] It was not always the case. Cooper's novels were popular in their day, but contemporary and subsequent 19th-century reviewers were often critical, or dismissive. For example, the reviewer of the London Magazine (May 1826) described the novel as "clearly by much the worst of Mr. Cooper's performances."[24] Mark Twain notably derided the author in his essay "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses", published in North American Review (July 1895). Twain complained that Cooper lacked a variety of styles and was overly wordy. In the early 1940s, Twain scholar Bernard DeVoto found that there was more to the essay, and pieced together a second one from the extra writing, titled "Fenimore Cooper's Further Literary Offenses," in which Twain re-writes a small section of The Last of the Mohicans, claiming that Cooper, "the generous spendthrift", used 100 "extra and unnecessary words" in the original version.[25]
Re-reading the book in his later years, Cooper noted some inconsistencies of plot and characterization, particularly the character of Munro. But, he wrote that in general, "the book must needs have some interest for the reader since it could amuse even the writer, who had in a great measure forgotten the details of his work."[18]
