The Spy

James Fenimore Cooper's Revolutionary War novel of a mysterious pedlar suspected as a British spy, torn loyalties and midnight risks in the contested no-man's-land of the Hudson.

At a glance One of the earliest and most successful American novels, James Fenimore Cooper's tale of… What it's about The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral Ground is set in the contested territory… Its enigmatic hero is Harvey Birch, a travelling pedlar widely suspected of spying for… Around him Cooper builds a story of a divided family, of officers and disguises…

The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral Ground is set in the contested territory of Westchester County during the American War of Independence, the lawless zone between British-held New York and the Patriot lines.