James Fenimore Cooper

The headsman James Fenimore Cooper

The Headsman: The Abbaye des Vignerons is an 1833 novel by James Fenimore Cooper set in Switzerland. The novel was inspired by one of Cooper's trips during his European travels in 1832. The novel is one of three of Cooper's "European" novels, following The Bravo and The Heidenmauer, all of which use the European setting to deal with socio-political contrast with American institutions The novel explores a number of themes related to how society structures itself, including justice, authority, friendship, parental relationships, love and marriage