The Headsman: The Abbaye des Vignerons is an 1833 novel by James Fenimore Cooper set in Switzerland.The novel was inspired by one of Cooper's trips during his European travels in 1832. The novel is one of three of Cooper's "European" novels, following The Bravo and The Heidenmauer, all of which use the European setting to deal with socio-political contrast with American institutions. The novel explores a number of themes related to how society structures itself, including justice, authority, friendship, parental relationships, love and marriage. James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 - September 15, 1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. His historical romances of frontier and Indian life in the early American days created a unique form of American literature. He lived most of his life in Cooperstown, New York, which was founded by his father William on property that he owned. Cooper was a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church and, in his later years, contributed generously to it.He attended Yale University for three years, where he was a member of the Linonian Society, but was expelled for misbehavior. Before embarking on his career as a writer, he served in the U.S. Navy as a Midshipman, which greatly influenced many of his novels an... Felix Octavius Carr "F. O. C." Darley (June 23, 1822 - March 27, 1888) was an American painter in watercolor and illustrator, known for his illustrations in works by well-known 19th-century authors, including James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Dickens, Mary Mapes Dodge, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, George Lippard, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Donald Grant Mitchell, Clement Clarke Moore, Frances Parkman, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Nathaniel Parker Willis.