Born in Marple, near Stockport, Cheshire, Edmund Cooper was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Didsbury Training College. He left school at age 15 to be a labourer, became a public servant at age 16, and at began training to be a sailor at age 17. At age 19 he married. He became and worked as a teacher but disliked the profession and left it to become a full-time writer. In 1954, his stories began appearing in magazines. He was a contributor to the BBC and wrote the story for the MGM film "The Invisible Boy" in 1957. He also used the pseudonyms "Richard Avery" and "George Kinley".