The Water Witch is an 1830 novel by James Fenimore Cooper. Set in 17th century New York and the surrounding sea, the novel depicts the abduction of a woman, Alida de Barbérie, by the pirate captain of the brigantine Water Witch, and the subsequent pursuit of that elusive ship by her suitor, Captain Ludlow.[1]
Cooper wrote the novel, while on an extended tour of Europe, during his stay in the villa Palazzu detta del Tasso near Naples.[1] Cooper tried to print the novel while he was in Italy in 1829 but Papal censors forbade its publication in ...