Susan Cooper

Susan Cooper has been writing for over 30 years. In this time she has written numerous newspaper articles, books for children and adults, screenplays for TV and the cinema and a Broadway play. As a writer she is hard to classify; what is universally accepted is that she is a writer with extraordinary gifts.

Born in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England in May 1935, Susan Cooper attended Slough High School before going up to Oxford University. At Somerville College she studied English. During her time at Oxford she was the first woman ever to edit the University newspaper, Cherwell. After graduating with an MA in English, she began work as a reporter on the Atticus Column of London’s The Sunday Times (her first boss was Ian Fleming). She later became a feature writer.

Written after work and at weekends, her first was a futuristic novel, Mandrake, followed by Over Sea, Under Stone. The first book in her series THE DARK IS RISING, T 35043

Over Sea, Under Stone, was written in response to a publishing house competition for a children’s adventure story.  Four more books followed:  The Dark is Rising (A Newbery runner-up), Greenwitch, The Grey King (A Newbery winner), and Silver on the Tree.

After the completion of the Dark Is Rising series, Cooper began her close association with the theatre, writing several award winning scripts.

Cooper has written numerous things over the years, including picture books, chapter books, fiction, screenplays, and poetry, to name a few.  Her latest book Victory, is a time-shifting adventure for young people.

Having moved to the United States in 1963, Susan Cooper now lives on an island near Marshfield, Massachusetts, close to her children and grandchildren.

The Grey King

Eleven year-old Will Stanton goes from England to his mother’s relatives in Wales to spend a month recuperating from Hepatitis. But on arrival he discovers that the real purpose of his visit is the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy about the discovery of a long-lost golden harp. Fearing the words of a prophetic poem were lost to him during the fevers of his illness, Will at first only vaguely senses the malevolent powers surrounding him, but his memory is suddenly restored through a meeting with Bran – the strange albino ‘raven-boy’ – and Cafall, the dog with the “silver eyes that see the wind.” Joined together by a preordained fate, the three retrieve the legendary harp from the Lords of the High Magic. Thus armed, Will must complete his quest – the wakening of the Six Sleepers so that they may ride forth for the final battle between the Light and the Dark.

Dawn of Fear

Derek and his friends, living outside of London during World War II, regard the frequent air raids with more fascination than fear–after all, they can barely remember a time without them. The boys are thrilled when school is canceled for a few days due to a raid, giving them time to work on their secret camp. But when their camp is savagely attacked by a rival gang from the neighborhood, the harsh reality of the violence surrounding them suddenly crashes down upon Derek and his friends–and a long night of bombing changes his feelings about the war forever.  Dawn of Fear is largely autobiographical, drawing on Cooper’s experiences as a child in England during WWII.

Victory

This extraordinary time-shifting adventure tells the interwoven stories of Sam and Molly, linked by a mystery. Sam is a farm boy, kidnapped by the “press gang” to serve in the Royal Navy. At first terrified and seasick, he is transformed gradually into a sailor. In the rowdy, dangerous world of a warship enduring the Napoleonic Wars, he meets both cruelty and kindness, and survives a fearsome battle whose echoes reach through the years to involve Molly as well. Like him, she has lost her childhood, but will find her future with help, from a much unexpected source. Separate yet together, Sam and Molly struggle through fear and excitement to a final ordeal, which terrifyingly tests their courage. And the moving climax of the book shows two lives joined forever, by the touch of Nelson, one of the greatest sailors of all time.