# Richard Purtill

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American novelist

Richard L. Purtill Born (1931-03-13)March 13, 1931 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Died December 4, 2016(2016-12-04) (aged 85) Occupation Educator, author Genre Fantasy Website www.alivingdog.com/purtill/R._Purtill_Official_Site.html

**Richard Purtill** (March 13, 1931 – December 4, 2016) was an American philosopher and writer, and professor emeritus of Philosophy at [Western Washington University](/source/Western_Washington_University), [Bellingham, Washington](/source/Bellingham%2C_Washington), US. He was a writer of [fantasy](/source/Fantasy) and [science fiction](/source/Science_fiction), critical non-fiction on the same genres, and various works on [religion](/source/Religion) and [philosophy](/source/Philosophy). He is best known for his novels of the "Kaphtu" universe. He wrote as both Richard Purtill and Richard L. Purtill, a variant form of his name. He was active in professional writing circles, being a member of the [Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America](/source/Science_Fiction_and_Fantasy_Writers_of_America), the [Authors Guild](/source/Authors_Guild) and the [National Writers Union](/source/National_Writers_Union).

His book *[J.R.R.Tolkien: Myth, Morality and Religion](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=J.R.R.Tolkien:_Myth,_Morality_and_Religion&action=edit&redlink=1)* won the 1987 [Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inklings Studies](/source/Mythopoeic_Awards).[1]

## Bibliography

### Kaphtu Universe

**The Kaphtu Trilogy**

- *The Golden Gryphon Feather* (1979)

- *The Stolen Goddess* (1980)

- *The Mirror of Helen* (1983)

**Lost Tales Of Kaphtu**

- *The Gryphon Seal* (2005)

- *The Eleusinian Gate* (2006)

- *Letter to Nausicaa* (2008)

### Other novels

- *Murdercon* (1982)

- *The Parallel Man* (1984)

- *Enchantment At Delphi* (1986)

### Short stories

- "Others' Eyes" (1980)

- "By the Dragon's Cave" (1984)

- "Gorgonissa" (1985)

- "Something in the Blood" (as by Richard L. Purtill) (1986)

- "The Counterfeit Maiden" (1996)

- "Grey Wolf's Tale" (1999)

- "The Firebird's Feather, the King Horse, and Baba Yaga's Grandniece" (1999)

### Non-fiction

- *Logic for Philosophers* (1971)

- *Solutions to Odd-numbered Exercises to Accompany Logic for Philosophers* (1971)

- *Lord of the Elves and Eldils: Fantasy and Philosophy in C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien* (1974)

- *Reason to Believe* (1974)

- *Philosophically Speaking* (1975)

- *Thinking About Ethics* (1976)

- *Thinking About Religion: A Philosophical Introduction to Religion* (1978)

- *Logic: Argument, Refutation, and Proof* (1979)

- *C S Lewis' Case for the Christian Faith* (as by Richard L. Purtill) (1981, rev. 2004)

- *J.R.R.Tolkien: Myth, Morality and Religion* (1984)

- *Philosophical Questions: An Introductory Anthology* (1984) (with [Peter Kreeft](/source/Peter_Kreeft) and [Michael H. MacDonald](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_H._MacDonald&action=edit&redlink=1)) (1984)

- *Moral Dilemmas* (1985)

- *A Logical Introduction to Philosophy* (1988)

- *Logical Thinking* (1992)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Mythopoeic Award winners](http://www.mythsoc.org/awards/winners/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20141006192054/http://www.mythsoc.org/awards/winners/) 2014-10-06 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

## External links

- [Richard Purtill's official home page](http://www.alivingdog.com/purtill/R._Purtill_Official_Site.html)

- [Fantastic Fiction entry](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/richard-purtill/)

- [File770 obituary](http://file770.com/?p=33594)

- [Richard Purtill](https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?Richard_Purtill) at the [Internet Speculative Fiction Database](/source/Internet_Speculative_Fiction_Database)

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