James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the first half of the 19th century. His historical romances of frontier and Indian life in the early American days created a unique form of American literature. The Water Witch is a 1830 novel by Cooper. Set in 17th century New York and the surrounding sea, the novel depicts the abduction of a woman, Alida de Barberie, by the pirate captain of the brigantine Water Witch, and the subsequent pursuit of that elusive ship by her suitor, Captain Ludlow.