John (Jack) William Gordon (19 November 1925 – 20 November 2017) was an English writer of young-adult

supernatural fiction Supernatural fiction or supernaturalist fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that exploits or is centered on supernatural themes, often contradicting naturalist assumptions of the real world. Description In its broadest definition, supe ...

. He wrote sixteen fantasy novels including '' The Giant Under the Snow'', four short story collections, over fifty short stories, and a teenage memoir. Most of Gordon's novels are in the supernatural fantasy and horror genres and feature teenagers in the central roles. The adventures are often set in

the Fens The Fens, also known as the , in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a ...

, an environment Gordon found mysterious and inspirational in his own adolescence, and contain elements of

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

n folklore such as the ''doom dog'' –

Black Shuck In English folklore, Black Shuck, Old Shuck, Old Shock or simply Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog which is said to roam the coastline and countryside of East Anglia, one of many such black dogs recorded in folklore across the Bri ...

. His work has been compared to that of the ghost novelist

M.R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambrid ...

. Indeed, ''The House on the Brink'' (1970) is regarded by admirers as one of the greatest novels in the Jamesian Tradition. His short stories have appeared in more than 50 anthologies and other publications and he is included in ''The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English''. His work has been translated into many languages, including Russian, Japanese, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Czech, Spanish, Polish and Lithuanian.

Life

John Gordon was born in the industrial North-East (

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...

, Tyne and Wear), the first of five children to Norman (a school teacher) and Margaret Gordon. In 1937, when John was twelve, his father moved the family south to start a new job in

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...

(Isle of Ely,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

). Here he attended

Wisbech Grammar School Wisbech Grammar School is an 11–18 mixed, Church of England, independent day school and sixth form in Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. Founded by the Guild of the Holy Trinity in 1379, it is one of the oldest schools in the co ...

and was taught by the author

John Muriel John Muriel (7 April 1909 – 1975), also known as "John St. Clair Muriel", was a British countryman, teacher, novelist, and biographer from a middle-class East Anglian background who wrote as "Simon Dewes" and "John Lindsey". Muriel drew on his ...

. Starting a new life in Cambridgeshire, the contrast of its flat, Fenland landscape had a profound effect on the young

Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitut ...

and inspired him to write many of his most popular stories including ''The House on the Brink'', its sequel ''Ride the Wind'', and ''Fen Runners''. Gordon served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during the Second World War, on

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

and

destroyers In navy, naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a Naval fleet, fleet, convoy or Carrier battle group, battle group and defend them against powerful short range attack ...

, and afterwards worked as a journalist in the West Country and East Anglia. During his time working on '' The Eastern Evening News'' in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

he wrote his first novel, '' The Giant Under the Snow''. Although Norwich and its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

may have been the inspiration for parts of this book, it was the Fens of Gordon's youth that set the backdrop for most of his stories. As a reporter in Wisbech he cycled many miles covering events in the Fens, especially in the village of

Upwell __NOTOC__ Upwell is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Upwell village is on the A1101 road, as is Outwell, its conjoined village at the north. The nearest towns are Wisbech to the north-west and Downham Market to the ...

where his future wife Sylvia Young lived. Inspired by the landscape, Gordon had said: "I've often thought that the flat fenland is like an open book and it has always filled my mind with stories." Gordon was actively involved with school children and was a participant in the 'Writers in Schools' project. Many of his books feature Wisbech locations:

Peckover House Peckover House & Garden is a National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust property located in North Brink, Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. History The house was built in 1722 and later bought by ...

Wisbech Museum The Wisbech & Fenland Museum, located in the town of Wisbech in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, is one of the oldest purpose-built museums in the United Kingdom. The museum logo is W&F. History Initially a member-based organisation ...

Wisbech Castle Wisbech Castle was a stone to motte-and-bailey castle built to fortify Wisbech (historically in the Isle of Ely and now also in the Fenland District of Cambridgeshire, England) on the orders of William I in 1072, it probably replaced an earlier ...

grounds, High Street, the Market Place and its pubs, The Crescent and The Park. Other locations in the Fens include Pingle Bridge in

and the Fen rivers, particularly the

River Nene The River Nene ( or : see below) is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in Northamptonshire.OS Explorer Map sheet 223, Northampton & Market Harborough, Brixworth & Pitsford Water. The river is about long, about of w ...

. Throughout his career Gordon's wife Sylvia was instrumental in editing and collating his work. Eight years after the publication of his last novel (''Fen Runners'', 2009) and after a long battle with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

Gordon died aged 92 in Norwich, the city where he lived and worked for much of his life.

Books

Novels

* '' The Giant Under the Snow'' (1968) * ''The House on the Brink'' (1970) * ''The Ghost on the Hill'' (1976) * ''The Waterfall Box'' (1978) * ''The Edge of the World'' (1983) * ''The Quelling Eye'' (1986) * ''The Grasshopper'' (1987) * ''Ride the Wind'' (1989) – sequel to ''The Giant Under the Snow'' * ''Secret Corridor'' (1990) * ''Blood Brothers'' (1991) * ''Gilray's Ghost'' (1995) * ''The Flesh Eater'' (1998) * ''The Midwinter Watch'' (1998) – The Guardian Children's Book of the Week''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' (Education) 12 January 1999. * ''Skinners'' (1999) * ''The Ghosts of Blacklode'' (2002) * ''Fen Runners'' (2009)

Collections

* ''The Spitfire Grave and Other Stories'' (1979) * ''Catch Your Death and other ghost stories'' (1984) * ''The Burning Baby and other ghosts'' (1992) * ''Left in the Dark: The Supernatural Tales of John Gordon'' (2006)

Anthologies edited (selected)

* ''The Walker Book of Ghost Stories'' (1990) * ''Best New Horror 4'' (1993) * ''The Young OXFORD Book of Ghost Stories'' (1994) * ''The Puffin Book of Horror Stories'' (1994) * ''Dancing with the Dark'' (1997) * ''The Mammoth Book of Dracula: Vampire Tales for the New Millennium'' (1997) * '' Best New Horror 18'' (2007)

Autobiography

* ''Ordinary Seaman – a teenage memoir'' (1992)

References

External links

John Gordon
at Fantastic Fiction
Books by John Gordon
at Amazon
Review of ''Fen Runners''
at The Bookbag

at Infinity Plus * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, John 1925 births 2017 deaths English children's writers English fantasy writers English horror writers English male novelists English male short story writers English short story writers People educated at Wisbech Grammar School People from Jarrow Writers from Tyne and Wear People from Wisbech Writers from Norwich Royal Navy personnel of World War II