Which Leatherstocking Tale was the first published novel in Cooper's Leatherstocking series?

• A. The Deerslayer
• B. The Last of the Mohicans
• C. The Pioneers
• D. The Prairie

Answer: (C)

The question hinges on publication order versus the character’s timeline. James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales were released over several years, and the books appeared in a different sequence from the hero’s arc. The earliest book to be published in this series is The Pioneers, in 1823, which makes it the first published novel in the Leatherstocking lineup. The later titles followed in the order: The Last of the Mohicans (1826), The Prairie (1827), The Pathfinder (1840), and The Deerslayer (1841). While The Deerslayer shows Natty Bumppo at a younger point in his life, it was published last. So The Pioneers is the first published.