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Красный Корсар

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"Красный Корсар" - один из наиболее известных морских романов классика американской литературы Ф.Купера, созданный в 1827 году. Герой романа, пират и контрабандист, бросает вызов военному флоту английского короля. В образах капитана Хайдегера и его товарищей, мужественных людей, закаленных вечным единоборством со стихией, писатель опоэтизировал борьбу за свободу против тирании.

384 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1827

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About the author

James Fenimore Cooper

4,643 books1,115 followers
James Fenimore Cooper was a popular and prolific American writer. He is best known for his historical novel The Last of the Mohicans, one of the Leatherstocking Tales stories, and he also wrote political fiction, maritime fiction, travelogues, and essays on the American politics of the time. His daughter Susan Fenimore Cooper was also a writer.

Series:
* The Leatherstocking Tales
* The Littlepage Manuscripts
* Afloat and Ashore
* Homeward Bound

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5 stars
84 (21%)
4 stars
101 (25%)
3 stars
138 (35%)
2 stars
61 (15%)
1 star
9 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Henry Avila.
559 reviews3,371 followers
September 20, 2025
James Fenimore Cooper best known today for The Last of the Mohicans and four other dramatic Leatherstocking Tales was the first American novelist with a best-selling book at home and abroad, The Spy in 1821 (very good), he popularized the literature across the seas, Europeans loved them, their action- packed adventures excited readers (a great contrast from the dull , stuffy domestic works) which many famous authors praised. This book one of his numerous stories set on the ocean which Mr. Cooper practically invented, after all he was a former midshipman in the American Navy....To begin The Red Rover is a notorious pirate raiding mostly defenseless ships off the eastern coast of North America and the Caribbean Sea in the last year of the French and Indian War, 1759, his craft and he become synonymous. A ship arrives in Newport , Rhode Island floating in the small town's harbor the privateer, the master and fellow crew say she is a slaver not very welcome here this is New England which doesn't like slavery. Obviously another name is given for the vessel and the men are unusually good in the city causing no problems...sailors are they? Nevertheless this will make some people suspicious...why such calm behavior are the seamen hiding something...three friends seeking berths, by way of different circumstances eventually get onboard the sinister buccaneer's ship, a free black man named Scipio Africanus, admittedly taken from a famous ancient Roman general, his pal Dick Fid a white man very unusual for the era, last and most important the leader at 22, Harry Wilder a secret agent for the British Crown. But a slight detour when the Red Rover gets him Wilder a job as captain of another vessel, the ill-fated Royal Caroline, mysteriously the old master had a freak" accident" disabling the victim ...I mean the unfortunate. Take cargo Harry and a few women passengers to the Carolinas from Newport, an easy assignment well- paid too ; however for any novelist ...nothing happens you will not receive any monetary reward and your career very short. Well I can say he meets a pretty woman Gertrude, romance on the high seas during a hurricane not the last experienced by the young captain, shocking secrets revealed, still that's for the end of the narrative, mutiny is not a stranger either these aren't the cream of the crop, just your ordinary cutthroats.. The survivors are saved by the discreditable, if you read these type before not a surprise, The Red Rover and the British Navy have sent a warship to capture or kill him ...canon fire knows no differences between the innocent or the guilty. A battle of carnage between the vessels gives the winner some triumph for the living, Mr. Cooper's love for the sea and knowledge of how the tall ships sailed enhances the enjoyment. Living in a large seaport of San Diego I've seen quite a few yet their aesthetic sight, will never grow old...
Profile Image for fleurette.
1,534 reviews161 followers
May 11, 2019
This is not exactly what I expected. I wished for something more like Raphael Sabatini stories. A pirate story, the adventure on the sea. Instead it’s more like those old-school romance on the sea. And by romance I don’t meant a love story.

I’m a bit disappointed. The Red Rover looks like a decent character and I have a feeling that I don’t know him at all. I like Wilder and his story is pretty okay but I would like something more.

I wish it was a sea adventure with lots of action and all those fascinating pirate things.

I needed this book for some reading challenge and I generally enjoyed it, but my hopes were much higher.
Profile Image for Joanna.
76 reviews11 followers
June 22, 2020
Another thrilling heroic adventure from Mr. Cooper!

Had I never forgotten those precepts, my name would still be known with honour. But, Wilder!” he added with startling energy, “Wilder!—”
All eyes were bent eagerly on the speaker. His hand was holding a roll on which he had been reposing as on a pillow. With a supernatural effort, his form arose on the litter; and, with both hands elevated above his head, he let fall before him that blazonry of intermingled stripes, with its blue field of rising stars, a glow of high exultation illumining each feature of his face, as in his former day of pride.
“Wilder!” he repeated, laughing hysterically, “we have triumphed!”—Then he fell backward, without motion, the exulting lineaments settling in the gloom of death, as shadows obscure the smiling brightness of the sun.
Profile Image for ArcticDunk.
67 reviews
June 25, 2023
Nagyon szuper volt, imádom Cooper könyveit és a kalózos és indiános történeteket!
Profile Image for Liza.
48 reviews
August 13, 2017
A stunning classic!
Get ready for an adventure at sea, peril and plots, bravery and battles — what else can a romantic like me ask for? Oh and it's set in 18th century America *rubs hands*, it's as good as it sounds.

Fair warning though, like any classic it starts off slow, with long introductions and the setting of the plot. Sometimes it feels like it takes two steps forward and one step back. Eventually the action starts and then the heart-break comes and then the book ends in an epic culmination of the above. I might go so far as to say this is my new favourite book.
Profile Image for Marie.
148 reviews6 followers
May 7, 2019
Very disappointed in this book. I really wanted it to be great. I am an avid fan of the Leatherstocking Tales. But this book is very dry. A lot of sailing chatter and very, very little plot or character development. The last couple of chapters were enjoyable because we finally got some story line.
7 reviews
September 23, 2022
In typical fashion Cooper weaves together a great story with his quintessential surprise ending that leaves you with a great emotional upwelling of Christian love and American patriotic zeal. Get ready to pull out your dictionary for the use of nautical words and idioms is everywhere in this book but it creates an authentic atmosphere where your imagination brings you out to sea.
Profile Image for 42day.
45 reviews
November 30, 2009
Being as JFC's mother is a blood relative I am more than obligated to read his books.
Profile Image for Jānis.
462 reviews37 followers
August 29, 2025
Cik patīkami atgriezties pie klasikas...

Stāsts par laikiem, kad kuģi tika būvēti no koka un ar lielām burām, kad vīra vārds kaut ko nozīmēja un, kad informācijas aprite bija nekāda. Stāts par Sarkano pirātu, kas terorizēja jūras un kā viņu mēģināja sagūstīt britu kara flote.

Ļoti cēli, ļoti daudz "nejaušu sakritību" un ļoti daudz saistītu dzīvju, kas sarautas jaunībā, bet saplūst kopā atkal vecumā.

Skaists stāts.
Profile Image for Trounin.
1,897 reviews46 followers
September 14, 2015
«Красный корсар» пропитан борьбой за независимость американских штатов от Британии, давящей колонию высокими налогами, налагающей эмбарго и, конечно, отказывающей в уважительном отношении к населяющим Америку людям. Неудивительно, что среди угнетаемых нашлись те, кто не был против бросить вызов такому положению дел, не испугавшись возможной расплаты за вольность в виде виселицы. Для открытых действий время не пришло — были сильны позиции Британии внутри самих колонии, поэтому с бунтарями могли расправиться те, ради кого люди бороздили моря, прорывая блокады. Впору вспомнить не менее легендарного героя английской истории Робина Гуда, отбиравшего у богатых в пользу бедных, также притесняемых высокими налогами. Ситуация практически такая же, только вместо Ноттингемского леса Атлантический океан, а вместо харизматичной братии — наполненные высоким достоинством доброхоты.

(c) Trounin
Profile Image for Laura Verret.
244 reviews84 followers
July 4, 2019
I would call James Fenimore Cooper's works slightly enigmatic - he makes it rather difficult to draw connections between events and people, and plot structures don't seem to be his strongest point. The plot just meanders along following long adventures which should be sub-points to the plot but which turn out to be pillars of the novel. It almost seems like he wrote the book with no plan - he just wrote and wrote until he had the prescribed 500 pages and then abruptly ended it without giving a thought to where the climaxes fall.

That said, I greatly enjoy his verbose writing style; Cooper generally offers three paragraphs where one would have sufficed, and he creates strong heroes. These two characteristics of his style appeal to me, and so I plan to continue reading his books in the hopes that his more famous works have more structure and colledness.
Profile Image for Alex Tray.
26 reviews
January 3, 2013
I really wanted to like this book; however, I found the language dubious and the plot opaque. Beyond Wilder and the Red Rover, the other characters in the story tend to blend together. The unnamed governess, one of three women in the story, made the dialogue ambiguous since all three of them conversed with the other characters simultaneously. However, I found it a little easier than Last of the Mohicans, which I can't remember if I finished or not. Despite all of this, I am glad I read and finished it. One less on my bucket list.
Profile Image for Marty Reeder.
Author 3 books53 followers
September 16, 2017
The last time I read Cooper (Last of the Mohicans), I left feeling that Mark Twain’s essay that brutally criticized his writing (specifically The Deerslayer) was spot on--in spite of my reluctance to jump fully on board with such biting cynicism. This caused a gap of nearly a decade of even coming close to another James Fenimore Cooper novel, and I would not have regretted that gap to extend to a blurry horizon of perpetuity.

That is, until this summer. My wife and I have this unofficial tradition of going to a new stage musical each summer with me reading the book it was based on and her learning the piano sheet music (previous targets: Les Miserables, Man of La Mancha, and Show Boat). Up this year, The Pirates of Penzance. The only problem was that there was no book that Gilbert and Sullivan drew from to create their musical. The best I could do was find a book that Wikipedia linked to the same type of story that was being told leading up to it, and Red Rover from James Fenimore Cooper was on the list. Having felt a bit of guilt for treating Cooper so harshly over the years after my negative experience with Last of the Mohicans, I figured that if ever I would want to make amends, this was my chance. I went for it--attempting, as best I could, to go into the reading with at least an objective attitude.

The result? James Fenimore Cooper pulls through … for me. But I cannot promise the same for you if you found yourself in a similar situation to myself. Red Rover starts off ponderously and leaves us without a main character to root for for a good portion of the opening. While I refrained from being frustrated by this, I was at least impatient and wanted things to start progressing. Eventually, there are several characters of note that we are at least interested in following, even if no one is billed as a main character yet.

All this while, there are some shady things going on and we, the audience, suspect what those things might be but cannot be certain. As with the opener, Cooper is in no hurry to clarify murky details. Instead, he reveals his story like a slow-moving dawn. Lightly lifting the darkness one chapter and character-interaction at a time.

Still, I am not frustrated by this. Still, I trust Cooper to reveal the plot and action at some point. It is a delicate balance, but Cooper--in my opinion--imparts just enough information along the way to keep me interested. Also, I am surprised by how entertained I am by some of the side characters and situations. Cooper is not just somberly telling a dramatic tale, but he is also having some fun along the way--fun that we all can join in on.

Then, the scene moves from land into the boats themselves, and Cooper hooks me. I am an unabashed fan of sailing and sailing history, and I am a sucker for strategies of sailing warfare and subtle moments of sailing technicalities and their repercussions. Here, I am surprised to discover, Cooper excels. In fact, so impressive were his descriptions and know-how in this area that I suspected Cooper of not just being a sailor by textbook only. Sure enough, some research revealed that he was a midshipman in the Navy. The heck?! Why are his most well-known tales about frontiersmen?!

Not only does Cooper have this newly ascertained talent working for him but also, by this point, I’ve decided to go all in on one of the characters. I figure that he has received enough attention to merit at least shared main character status--though Cooper has still maintained some irksome distance between us and him.

From this point in the novel, there are some crazy series of events, one leading into the next, where some serious action is about to happen but does not, yet the intensity is not released and continues to build on itself. This is opposite from my experience with Last of the Mohicans, which did not lack in action (each chapter packed in unique, self-contained adventures) but also failed to coherently build towards a culminating finale. And I loved this different approach in Red Rover. In fact, I shocked myself by realizing that I was truly enjoying a James Fenimore Cooper experience.

Just after these events reach a mini-climax and the book moves into the third act, my interest lags slightly, and my previous impatience sets in. Just as I am allowing my mind to hark back to Twain criticisms of old, things pick up a touch and finally characters and secrets are revealed, most of them predictable at this point, but still not dissatisfying. The climax is intense and a bit shocking, and not exactly to my liking. The epilogue quickly clarifies some final mysteries and ends tolerably enough.

So the takeaway for me is that James Fenimore Cooper earned his spot as a popular fiction writer in his time. And while I did not appreciate my experience with him previously, Red Rover shows that circumstances and personal taste can tweak those experiences, both negatively and positively. This one for me was positive, thanks mostly, I think, to my affinity for sailing history and sailing narratives. Though, I also grudgingly appreciated Cooper’s careful, ambiguous approach to revealing characters and character motives and background.

Will there be another decade until I read more James Fenimore Cooper? Maybe. But not because I will actively avoid him anymore. And certainly, if I stumble across another sailing narrative of his, Cooper and I will meet again a lot sooner rather than later.
Profile Image for Bender.
467 reviews
November 30, 2013
Dolores corrupti neque deleniti eum quia voluptas. Omnis dolorum nostrum repellendus blanditiis. Nemo quisquam et.
36 reviews
September 15, 2022
I was indecisive whether to give this book three or four stars, however the ending surely deserves at least four, maybe even 4.5 stars. Based on the cover of my book, which is pocket edition, I imagined a different type of plot. As it turns out, the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover" could apply to this one.
In the novel, we are following a young seaman, Harry. As he is looking for an employment, a man, who presents himself as a lawyer, approaches him and tells him to go to the ship that transport slaves, the Delphin. Harry does that and there learns how this ship is actually a pirate ship. He agrees to be the first lieutenant to the Red Rover, a scary pirate. There also looms a somewhat of a love story, because Harry meets Gertrude. Gertrude, alongside her governess, boards on a royal ship The Arrow. A game of chance makes Harry the captain of The Arrow. But Harry knows the truth, the Red Rover wants to take over The Arrow, and that is the true reason why he became the captain on it. In the next half of the book, Harry does everything in his power to save Gertrude from becoming the prey of the pirates. Personally, I found this first part of the book uninteresting (even though a lot happens) because the parts I would like to know more about are quite scarce. However the end of the book gets very raveling and interesting.
Regarding the storyline, in a maritime word all of the technical ships descriptions would be welcome, to me it was too detailed. The characters are not processed very well, they are missing the depth of the personality. This makes it hard to connect with them and understand/be excited for their actions. Also, throughout the conversations, some things are repeating which makes them boring, to constantly read the same thing over and over again.
The book is a pretty light and fast read, so to break your time, would recommend.
135 reviews
September 1, 2024
A book with quite some potential, completely butchered by delivery.

The plot is fine, having its twists and turns, although the final scene is atrocious - of course everyone has to be everyone's relative! What are the chances? Most of the scenes are completely senseless - how did Wilder justify killing the crew in a storm to help him catch the Rover? What was that nonsense with everyone asking everyone's forgiveness and mercy at the end of the battle? Why did the Rover surrender... only to burn half a page later? What happened there?

Characters are ruined entirely - how did the Rover become a pirate with a fate such as his? Why did the captain of the English ship was so sure Wilder would attend (he did not know Wilder was on the ship) the banquet? The characters lack motivation, backstory and, frankly speaking, any distinctive characteristics. Consider Jack London's "Sea Wolf", consider "The Mutiny of the Elsinore" - so much better depicted human characters. Consider also other books where the villain is portrayed as a bad guy only for the reader to find out the devil in question has no horns.

Descriptions of the marine work around the ship were a gust of fresh air, but the book just can't be saved from its nonsensical nature by the use of masterfully selected pretty words alone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
203 reviews2 followers
November 2, 2025
Like many Cooper novels, it’s slow to get going, but eventually, the story picks up, and every chapter seems to be a new exciting twist. The titular Red Rover is that sort of gentleman-pirate who you can never quite bring yourself to hate (and neither can the book’s protagonist for that matter). The biggest highlight is Mrs. Wyllys, who on a few select occasions powerfully and prophetically speaks as if an angel of God come down from heaven. In the end, this book is an emphatic defense of God’s providence in human affairs. The biggest weakness is the sheer number of twists as the book draws to a close. Cooper overdid it, and by the final page you are tired of the avalanche of secret connections revealed.
Profile Image for Debbie .
77 reviews
October 3, 2019
Good pirate story, once you get used to old English vocabulary much easier to read and enjoy
7 reviews
June 24, 2022
Ponderous and too explanatory in the beginning,it redeems itself with the ending
1 review
October 31, 2013
This is the third book I've read by Cooper. It is not as smoothly and excitingly plotted as either of the first two I read, "The Oak Openings" and "Jack Tier", but I am glad I persevered to the end. It may jerk a little bit from episode to episode, but the characters are very powerfully conceived. A glossary of sea terminology helps too. I bless my lucky stars I could find a 10 volume set of Cooper's 34 novels at our local library sale.

Profile Image for Garry.
7 reviews
June 8, 2019
The only strong work I know from J.F. Cooper. Very solid sailing adventure, also known as the Red Corsair in many other translations. Much better than a disastrous the Last of Mohicans under the same author.

Good work.
Profile Image for John.
1,777 reviews45 followers
March 26, 2014
All nautical . ALL , that was too much for me, never got into the story. had to fight to finish
Profile Image for alison .
124 reviews2 followers
November 21, 2014
it was amazing because it fit the argument i wanted to write *perfectly*. as a collection of pages that a person is supposed to read in-order and for fun, it was awful. so bad.
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