Fragment of Cooper's manuscript, The Monikins

Fragment of Cooper's manuscript, The Monikins

The Monikins is Cooper's satirical treatment of politics in England and the United States in the form of an English narrator's travels to two countries inhabited by monkeys. Named Leaphigh and Leaplow, the two countries are meant to represent England and the United States respectively. Cooper worked on the novel while in Paris and wrote to his French publisher Charles Gosselin in July 1832 that The Monikins would be finished by October and ready to be published in December. In truth, The Monikins was not published until June 1835, as Cooper extended the length of the work considerably so that it was as long as The Headsman. In February 1834, Cooper wrote to Carey, Lea & Blanchard (who eventually published an American edition of the novel): "I have determined to finish the 'Monnikins' and put it to press so as to be ready for publication by Sept—or Oct. Are you disposed to buy?—an edition, or the copy right, as you please. Should you decline I shall probably print at my own risk, through John Wiley."

1835