Cooper is best known for his Leatherstocking Tales series, including The Last of the Mohicans, which created the iconic figure of Natty Bumppo. His work explored the American frontier and the complex, often tragic, relationship between settlers and Native Americans. He was the first American novelist to achieve international fame and is considered a foundational figure in American literature. His writing captured the mythic landscape of the early United States and established many of the themes—individualism, nature vs. civilization—that would dominate American fiction for generations.