Although Cooper became fluent in French during his seven-year sojourn in Europe, the short story Point de Bateaux à Vapeur (No Steamboats) was his only attempt in writing a piece of fiction in the language. The story was published in 1832 during Cooper’s last year in Paris and it was partially translated by an American magazine in 1834, though after that time it has suffered obscurity. Point de Bateaux à Vapeur is an amusing satire on European misunderstandings about America. Both the French version and the original translation are provided in this edition.