Edmund Cooper (30 April 1926 – 11 March 1982) was an English poet and prolific writer of speculative fiction, romances, technical essays, several detective stories, and a children's book. These were published under his own name and several pen names.

Biography

Born in

Marple Marple may refer to: Places * Marple, Greater Manchester, a town close to Stockport, in England ** Marple Bridge, a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester ** Marple railway station in Marple, Greater Manches ...

, near

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is withi ...

, Cheshire, Cooper left school at the age of 15. In 1942 he became engaged at 16 to a teacher four years older than he was, and married her four years later on 13 April 1946.Hans Joachim Alpers, Werner Fuchs, Ronald Hahn: ''Reclams Science-Fiction-Führer''. Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 1982, p. 106 He worked as a labourer, then a civil servant, and in 1944 he joined the Merchant Navy.Edmund Cooper's Biography, by Joe Smith
After the war he trained as a teacher, and began to publish verse, then short stories, then novels. ''Deadly Image'', the first novel to appear under his own name, was completed in 1957 and published in 1958 in the United States. (The novel was published in the UK later in 1958 in a variant form and under its better-known title ''The Uncertain Midnight''.) ''The Uncertain Midnight'' was adapted without authorisation for Swiss television in 1969. His short story ''The Brain Child'' (1956) was adapted as the movie ''

The Invisible Boy ''The Invisible Boy'' (aka ''S.O.S Spaceship'') is a 1957 black and white American science fiction film from Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack, directed by Herman Hoffman, and starring Richard Eyer and Philip Abbott. It is the s ...

'' (1957), which featured the return of Robby the Robot from '' Forbidden Planet''. Cooper reviewed science fiction for the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' from 1967 until his death in 1982. In 2009, Carol Lake published Those Summers at Moon Farm (United Writers, Cornwall: 978-1-85200-141-4), a roman à clef about the writer and family. The author's comments says 'Although inspired by real people, this story is fiction'. Dedicated in part to Joan and Edmund Cooper, Lake acknowledges one of Cooper's daughters, 'for sharing memories and anecdotes'.

Work and criticism

Cooper was an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and an individualist. His science fiction often depicts unconventional male heroes facing unfamiliar and remote environments. His novel ''The Uncertain Midnight'' was noted for its treatment of the subject of androids, which was considered original at the time of writing. Also uniquely treated is the subject of the colonisation of planets, which is the basis of Cooper's ''Expendables'' series, published under the pen name Richard Avery (the name of the hero of ''

Transit Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world * ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...

''). The ''Expendables'' series is notable both for the diversity of its cast of characters, and for the frank nature of their conversations and attitudes on racial and sexual topics. Two of Cooper's books depict future Earths dominated by women after the genetic or physical need for men has been reduced. His attitude to women is said to have been controversial. Cooper was quoted as saying: "Let them have totally equal competition ... they'll see that they can't make it." The theme of both books is actually the need to retain both sexes. ''Five to Twelve'' ends with the phrase "if we do not make any more mistakes, we can create a balanced world of men and women". The more cynical ''Who Needs Men?'' ends by asking whether love of woman for man is worth death for that love.

Publications

Novels

As George Kinley

*1954 ''Ferry Rocket'', Curtis Books

As Broderick Quain

*1954 ''They Shall Not Die'', Curtis Books

As Martin Lester

*1954, ''The Black Phoenix'', Curtis Books

As Edmund Cooper

*1957 ''The Invisible Boy'' (chapbook) Ungar Electronics Tools *1958 ''Deadly Image'' (aka ''The Uncertain Midnight'') Ballantine (Text 1), Hutchinson (Text 2), Panther (Text 2 rev), Hodder (Text 1), Coronet (Text 1), Remploy (Text 2) *1959 ''Seed of Light'', Hutchinson (Text 1), Ballantine (Text 2), Panther (Text 1), Coronet (Text 2 rev) *1960 ''Wish Goes to Slumber Land: An Adventure in Plasticene'', HutchinsonWish Goes to Slumberland – Picture Book 1960 children's book, info from Carnie Pollock
/ref> *1964 ''

'', Faber & Faber, Lancer, 4 Square, Coronet, Ace, Remploy *1966 ''All Fools' Day'', Hodder & Stoughton, Walker, Coronet, Berkley, Remploy *1967 '' A Far Sunset'', Hodder & Stoughton, Walker, Berkley Medallion, Hodder, Ace *1968 ''Five to Twelve'', Hodder & Stoughton, Putnam, Doubleday/SFBC, Hodder, Berkley, Coronet *1969 ''Seahorse in the Sky'', Hodder & Stoughton, Hodder, Putnam, SFBC, Coronet, Berkley, Ace *1969 ''The Last Continent'', Dell, Hodder & Stoughton, Hodder, Coronet *1970 ''Son of Kronk'', Hodder & Stoughton; later as ''Kronk'', Putnam, Berkley, Coronet *1971 ''The Overman Culture'', Hodder & Stoughton, Putnam, Berkley Medallion, Readers Union, Coronet *1972 ''Who Needs Men?'', Hodder & Stoughton, Coronet; later as ''Gender Genocide'', Ace *1973 ''The Tenth Planet'', Putnam, Hodder & Stoughton, Readers Union, Berkley, Coronet *1973 ''The Cloud Walker'', Hodder & Stoughton, Ballantine, Coronet *1974 ''Prisoner of Fire'', Hodder & Stoughton, Walker, Coronet *1974 ''The Slaves of Heaven'', Putnam, SFBC, Hodder & Stoughton, Berkley Medallion, Coronet *1978 ''Merry Christmas, Ms Minerva!'', Robert Hale *2014 ''SF Gateway Omnibus: The Cloud Walker, All Fools' Day, A Far Sunset'', Gollancz

As Richard Avery

''The Expendables'' Series: *1975 ''The Expendables (1) The Deathworms of Kratos'', Coronet, Fawcett Gold Medal, Severn House; later as ''The Deathworms of Kratos'' by Cooper, 1979 *1975 ''The Expendables (2) The Rings of Tantalus'', Coronet, Fawcett Gold Medal, Severn House; later as ''The Rings of Tantalus'' by Cooper, 1979 *1975 ''The Expendables (3) The War Games of Zelos'', Coronet, Fawcett Gold Medal; later as ''The War Games of Zelos'' by Cooper, 1980 *1976 ''The Expendables (4) The Venom of Argus'', Coronet, Fawcett Gold Medal; later as ''The Venom of Argus'' by Cooper, 1980

Short stories (collections)

*1958 ''Tomorrow's Gift'', Ballantine, Digit *1960 ''Voices in the Dark'', Digit *1963 ''Tomorrow Came'', Panther *1964 ''The Square Root of Tomorrow'', Robert Hale *1968 ''News from Elsewhere'', Mayflower, Berkley *1971 ''Unborn Tomorrow'', Robert Hale *1971 '' Double Phoenix'' (with

Roger Lancelyn Green Roger Gilbert Lancelyn Green (2 November 1918 – 8 October 1987) was a British biographer and children's writer. He was an Oxford academic who formed part of the Inklings literary discussion group along with C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkie ...

) (edited by Lin Carter, "Adult Fantasy" series), Ballantine *1979 ''Jupiter Laughs and Other Stories'', Hodder & Stoughton, Readers' Union, Coronet *1980 ''World of Difference'', Robert Hale

Short stories by Edmund Cooper

*1963 "The Piccadilly Interval" in ''Tomorrow Came'', Panther *1969 "The Lizard of Woz" Reprinted by permission of the author in ''Flying Saucers'' (1982) by Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh,

Work adapted for the screen

*1957 ''

'', written with Cyril Hume, directed by Herman Hoffman from The Brain Child 1956 page 4, Short Stories "Brain Child, The : The Saturday Evening Post (as 'The Invisible Boy'); 23 June 1956"; page 11, Filmography "Invisible Boy, The : Brain Child, The: Herman Hoffman; USA; 1957", "O .B.N. in arrivo : Death Watch: part of series ' Racconti di fantascienza di Blasetti, I':Alessandro Blasetti; Italy; 1978" *1969 ''The Uncertain Midnight'' (French) TV serial, unauthorised *1979 ''Death Watch'' as "OBN in Arrivo", part of series ''I racconti di fantascienza'' directed by Alessandro Blasetti (Rai, Italy)"

References

External links

Edmund Cooper's BiographyEdmund Cooper
*
Edmund Cooper Visual Bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Edmund 1926 births 1982 deaths English atheists English science fiction writers People from Marple, Greater Manchester 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English poets English male novelists 20th-century English male writers British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II