Richard Cowper (1926-2002) was the pseudonym for John Middleton Murry, Jr. Working as a teacher and only having small success with his early novels, he began using the name Richard Cowper in 1967 for the publication of the science fiction novel Breakthrough. He followed this with several other fantasy and science fiction novels, eventually achieving his greatest success with the Corlay Trilogy, comprised of The Road to Corlay (1978), A Dream of Kinship (1981) and A Tapestry in Time (1982). The Road to Corlay was nominated for a Nebula Award in 1979. Cowper attended the Milford Writer’s Workshop in England.