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Later in his career a similar incident led to his decision to write a sea novel, and Cooper thus become the precursor of Melville and Conrad (both of whom admired his sea tales). Cooper attempted to shape his career as successful writer and businessman by following the model set by Sir Walter Scott. In general Cooper was an admirer of Scott's poetry and prose, but his response to hearing praise of Scott's technical knowledge of the sea in The Pirate was to argue that its author "had very little 'seamanship.' " To prove his point, Cooper wrote The Pilot, showing "how a real sailor might manage the sea."

Cooper had originally hoped for a career in the navy, and actually spent four years in active service. He left, in large part, because his service wasn't active enough—he was assigned to recruiting duty while he wanted naval engagements on the high seas. These years were not without benefit for his future career as a writer, however, for his knowledge of shipboard life led him to embark on The Pilot. In addition to a number of sea novels, he also wrote a two-volume History of the Navy of the United States of America (1839) and the biographical Ned Myers; or, a Life before the Mast (1843). Cooper had first met Myers while both were young crewmembers on the merchantman Stirling in 1806, and years later he helped Meyers with his memoirs.

The incorporation into hisfiction of experiences, events, or scenes that Cooper himself had actually been involved in was not unique to The Pilot, but was a general characteristic of most of his novels. The setting for his Leather-Stocking Tales is his childhood Cooperstown and its surrounding mountains, lakes, rivers, and forests. So the fictional Glimmerglass is a reflection of Otsego Lake, where Cooper canoed and played as a child. Not all of the personal experiences thus incorporated into his fiction reached as far back as his childhood. The cave behind the waterfall that plays a crucial part in The Last of the Mohicans was first seen by Cooper at Glens Falls while leading a group of young Englishmen on a tour through upstate New York just as he was beginning to write the novel. While climbing over the rocks, Cooper was so struck by the dramatic setting that he exclaimed, "I must place one of my old Indians here!"

Given this pattern, Franklin tends to assume that most, if not all, of the descriptions contained in the various volumes of the Leather-Stocking saga are based on Cooper's own observations and experience. In describing Cooper's travels, for example, Franklin requently treats Cooper's fictive descriptions of certain locations or routes as an actual description of the hardships Cooper himself encountered. One of the beneficial results of this approach that that the reader is introduced to examples of Cooper's writing which occur much later in his life than the period covered by this volume.

As a novelist, Cooper learned by trial and error. One early mistake, never to be repeated, was to have the final chapter of The Spy typeset, including page numbers, before he completed the middle part of the novel. This decision forced Cooper to race through many events covered in the novel's middle chapters, and to eliminate some intended scenes entirely. He mastered his trade sufficiently well. Franklin's chronological narrative in this volume ends with Cooper as a very successful writer— embraced by his countrymen, perhaps the best-known American around the world outside of major political figures —at the age of 37. His departure for Europe occurred at the height of his American popularity, and on his return after seven years abroad he became embroiled in many controversies, both literary and legal, that prevented him from again achieving that level of popular acclaim. He became alienated to the point that he announced his retirement from his career as a writer, which proved to be temporary.

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