Edmund Cooper
Encyclopedia
Edmund Cooper 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 name
s. Cooper was among the 100-plus authors in Gollancz's "SF Gateway" initiative to "make thousands of out-of print titles by classic genre authors available as eBooks", starting in October 2011.
, near Stockport
, Cheshire
, Cooper left school at age 15. He became engaged at 16 to a teacher four years older than he was, and married her three years later. He worked as a labourer, then civil servant, and later in 1944 joined the Merchant Navy. After World War II, he trained as a teacher, and began to publish poetry, 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 US.. (The novel was republished in a variant form under its better-known title The Uncertain Midnight later in 1958 in the UK). The Uncertain Midnight was adapted without authorisation for Swiss Television in 1969. His 1956 short story, The Brain Child, was adapted as the movie The Invisible Boy
(1957) which featured the return of Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet
.
Cooper reviewed science fiction for the Sunday Times
from 1967 until his death in 1982.
of Richard Avery (the name of the hero of Transit
). The Expendables 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 his books depicted 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 a 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. Yes, says the heroine.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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 name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
s. Cooper was among the 100-plus authors in Gollancz's "SF Gateway" initiative to "make thousands of out-of print titles by classic genre authors available as eBooks", starting in October 2011.
Biography
Born in MarpleMarple, Greater Manchester
Marple is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Goyt southeast of Stockport.Historically part of Cheshire, Marple has a population of 23,480 .-Toponymy:...
, near Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, Cooper left school at age 15. He became engaged at 16 to a teacher four years older than he was, and married her three years later. He worked as a labourer, then civil servant, and later in 1944 joined the Merchant Navy. After World War II, he trained as a teacher, and began to publish poetry, 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 US.. (The novel was republished in a variant form under its better-known title The Uncertain Midnight later in 1958 in the UK). The Uncertain Midnight was adapted without authorisation for Swiss Television in 1969. His 1956 short story, The Brain Child, was adapted as the movie The Invisible Boy
The Invisible Boy
The Invisible Boy is a science fiction film, directed by Herman Hoffman, and starring Richard Eyer and Philip Abbott. It is the second film appearance of Robby the Robot, a famous science fiction character, who first appeared in Forbidden Planet , which is set in the 23rd century. Released by...
(1957) which featured the return of Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet is a 1956 science fiction film directed by Fred M. Wilcox, with a screenplay by Cyril Hume. It stars Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis. The characters and its setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and its plot contains certain...
.
Cooper reviewed science fiction for the Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
from 1967 until his death in 1982.
Work and criticism
Cooper was an atheist and an individualist. His science fiction often depicted 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 Edmund's Expendables series, published under the pen namePen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
of Richard Avery (the name of the hero of Transit
Transit (1964 sf novel)
Transit is a science fiction novel written by Edmund Cooper and published in February 1964 by Faber and Faber.-Plot:The protagonist Richard Avery reaches down to touch an object, and is whisked 79 light years away from Earth where he finds himself and three other people in a battle-to-the-death...
). The Expendables 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 his books depicted 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 a 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. Yes, says the heroine.
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, Hutchinson
- 1964 TransitTransit (1964 sf novel)Transit is a science fiction novel written by Edmund Cooper and published in February 1964 by Faber and Faber.-Plot:The protagonist Richard Avery reaches down to touch an object, and is whisked 79 light years away from Earth where he finds himself and three other people in a battle-to-the-death...
, Faber & Faber, Lancer, 4 Square, Coronet, Ace, Remploy - 1966 All Fools' Day, Hodder & Stoughton, Walker, Coronet, Berkley, Remploy
- 1967 A Far SunsetA Far SunsetA Far Sunset is a science fiction novel by Edmund Cooper, published by Hodder & Stoughton in July 1967.-Plot summary:The starship Gloria mundi, built and manned by the United States of Europe, lands on the planet Altair Five in the year 2032. Most of the crew mysteriously disappears soon after...
, 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 & Stougton, 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
- 1979 Merry Christmas, Ms Minerva!, Robert Hale
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 PhoenixDouble PhoenixDouble Phoenix is an anthology of two short fantasy novels by Edmund Cooper and Roger Lancelyn Green, edited by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books in November 1971 as the thirty-seventh volume of its celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy series...
(with Roger Lancelyn Green) (edited by Lin Carter, "Adult Fantasy"Ballantine Adult Fantasy seriesThe Ballantine Adult Fantasy series was an imprint of Ballantine Books. Launched in 1969 , the series reissued a number of works of fantasy literature, which were out of print or dispersed in back issues of pulp magazines , in cheap paperback form—including works...
series), Ballantine - 1979 Jupiter Laughs and Other Stories, Hodder & Stoughton, Readers' Union, Coronet
- 1980 World of Difference, Robert Hale
Short stories by Edmund Cooper
- 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, ISBN 0-449-21400-1
Work adapted for the screen
- 1957 The Invisible BoyThe Invisible BoyThe Invisible Boy is a science fiction film, directed by Herman Hoffman, and starring Richard Eyer and Philip Abbott. It is the second film appearance of Robby the Robot, a famous science fiction character, who first appeared in Forbidden Planet , which is set in the 23rd century. Released by...
from The Brain Child 1956 - 1969 The Uncertain Midnight (French) TV serial, unauthorised
- 1978 Death Watch as "OBN in Arrivo", part of series: I Raconti di Fantascienza da Blassetti (Italy)"