"IT is mere coincidence that Cooper was born in the year which produced The Power of Sympathy and that when he died Uncle Tom's Cabin was passing through its serial stage, and yet the limits of his life mark almost exactly the first great period of American fiction"

This quote by Carl Clinton Van Doren is a reflection on the life of James Fenimore Cooper, an American novelist who is commonly considered to be the very first great American fiction writer. Van Doren is recommending that it is an exceptional coincidence that Cooper was born in the same year as the publication of The Power of Sympathy, and that he died in the exact same year that Uncle Tom's Cabin was being published in serial type. This quote is a testimony to the effect that Cooper had on the development of American fiction, and how his life and work spanned the first great period of American fiction. Van Doren is recommending that Cooper's life and work were essential to the development of American fiction, and that his life and work were a significant influence on the advancement of American literature.