Giles Gordon
Encyclopedia
Giles Alexander Esmé Gordon (23 May 1940, Edinburgh
– 14 November 2003, Edinburgh
) was a Scottish literary agent
and writer, based for most of his career in London.
The son of an architect, Alexander Gordon and his wife Betsy, Gordon was educated at the Edinburgh Academy
, an independent day school. Here he acted in school productions including Iolanthe
, with future broadcaster Gordon Honeycombe
, among others. After school, where he persistently failed examinations, he attended, for a time, Edinburgh College of Art
, where his father lectured on architecture.
In 1959, he joined the Edinburgh publisher, Oliver and Boyd, as a trainee; he remained as their employee for nearly four years. Following this, he moved to London in 1962, and was advertising manager for Secker and Warburg
for a year, editor at Hutchinson
in 1966 and then of the plays list at Penguin
where he launched the Penguin Modern Playwrights series. He became editorial director at Gollancz
in 1967 and stayed for five years, abolishing the uniform style in which the company's books had previously appeared. At this time he interviewed playwrights for the Transatlantic Review
.
In 1972, he clashed with the directors at Gollancz over their desire to remove some of the sex from a novel by Dennis Potter
, and joined agent Anthony Shiel, later Sheil Land Associates, aiming to improve the terms for authors. Among the writers he represented at one time or another were Peter Ackroyd
, John Fowles
, Allan Massie
, Penelope Mortimer
, Vikram Seth
, Sue Townsend
, Barry Unsworth
and Fay Weldon
.
He recognised the merits of an early Adrian (then Nigel) Mole
sketch by Townsend
, and persuaded her to turn it into a full-length book, which together with its sequel sold more copies than any other two books by the same author during the 1980s. Of wider significance, he suggested Spycatcher
by Peter Wright
, with Paul Greengrass
, be written. The book, which the British government attempted to ban internationally, detailed allegations of a criminal activity by the security services
in which the principal author had directly participated. As an agent, he was successful in securing larger fees for his clients, including a £650,000 advance for Peter Ackroyd's biographies of Blake
and Dickens
and a £250,000 advance for Vikram Seth's first novel and later £1.3 million for Two Lives, a memnoir of Seth's great uncle and aunt.
He returned to his love of the theatre as drama critic for The Spectator
(1983-84) and the London Daily News
briefly published by Robert Maxwell
in 1987. He also leaked bookish gossip to Private Eye
and wrote their 'Bookworm' column.
Breaking with his employer Shell Land in 1994, a court order prevented him from contact with his clients lest he poach them, he set up the Scottish office of Curtis Brown
in 1994. The offshoot was quietly closed after Gordon's death.
In 1966 he released a collection of poems, Two & Two Make One, which was published by Akros on a print run of 350 copies. He also wrote half a dozen novels between 1971 and 1980, and later a memoir Aren't We Due a Royalty Statement (1993), a title which caused accusations of impropriety by quoting a comment from one of his clients, the Prince of Wales
.
He married Margaret Fastoe in 1964; they had two sons and daughter. His daughter Hattie had, at the time of her father's death, just published a memoir of her brother Gareth, who had committed suicide in 1994 at the age of 24. His wife Margaret died of an incurable illness in 1989. Gordon's second marriage was to Maggie McKernan in 1990, with whom he had a son and two daughters. Giles Gordon died from injuries sustained in a fall a fortnight earlier outside his home in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
– 14 November 2003, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
) was a Scottish literary agent
Literary agent
A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers and film producers and assists in the sale and deal negotiation of the same. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwriters and major non-fiction writers...
and writer, based for most of his career in London.
The son of an architect, Alexander Gordon and his wife Betsy, Gordon was educated at the Edinburgh Academy
Edinburgh Academy
The Edinburgh Academy is an independent school which was opened in 1824. The original building, in Henderson Row on the northern fringe of the New Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, is now part of the Senior School...
, an independent day school. Here he acted in school productions including Iolanthe
Iolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....
, with future broadcaster Gordon Honeycombe
Gordon Honeycombe
Ronald Gordon Honeycombe is an author, playwright and stage actor, well known in the United Kingdom as a national television newscaster....
, among others. After school, where he persistently failed examinations, he attended, for a time, Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
, where his father lectured on architecture.
In 1959, he joined the Edinburgh publisher, Oliver and Boyd, as a trainee; he remained as their employee for nearly four years. Following this, he moved to London in 1962, and was advertising manager for Secker and Warburg
Secker and Warburg
Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2004 from the merger of Secker and Warburg and the Harvill Press.Secker and Warburg was formed in 1936 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, by Fredric Warburg and Roger Senhouse...
for a year, editor at Hutchinson
Hutchinson (publisher)
Hutchinson & Co. was an English book publisher, founded in 1887. The company merged with Century Publishing in 1985 to form Century Hutchinson, and was folded into the British Random House Group in 1989, where it remains as an imprint in the Cornerstone Publishing division...
in 1966 and then of the plays list at Penguin
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
where he launched the Penguin Modern Playwrights series. He became editorial director at Gollancz
Victor Gollancz Ltd
Victor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz and specialised in the publication of high quality literature, nonfiction and popular fiction, including science fiction. Upon Gollancz's death in 1967, ownership...
in 1967 and stayed for five years, abolishing the uniform style in which the company's books had previously appeared. At this time he interviewed playwrights for the Transatlantic Review
Transatlantic Review
Transatlantic Review was a literary journal founded and edited by Joseph F. McCrindle in 1959, and published at first in Rome, then London and New York...
.
In 1972, he clashed with the directors at Gollancz over their desire to remove some of the sex from a novel by Dennis Potter
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
, and joined agent Anthony Shiel, later Sheil Land Associates, aiming to improve the terms for authors. Among the writers he represented at one time or another were Peter Ackroyd
Peter Ackroyd
Peter Ackroyd CBE is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a particular interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, Charles Dickens, T. S. Eliot and Sir Thomas More he won the Somerset Maugham Award...
, John Fowles
John Fowles
John Robert Fowles was an English novelist and essayist. In 2008, The Times newspaper named Fowles among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".-Birth and family:...
, Allan Massie
Allan Massie
Allan Massie is a well-known Scottish journalist, sports writer and novelist.-Early life:Born in 1938 in Singapore, where his father was a rubber planter for Sime Darby, Massie spent his childhood in Aberdeenshire...
, Penelope Mortimer
Penelope Mortimer
Penelope Ruth Mortimer , was a British journalist, biographer and novelist.-Early life:...
, Vikram Seth
Vikram Seth
Vikram Seth is an Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, librettist, children's writer, biographer and memoirist.-Early life:Vikram Seth was born on 20 June 1952 to Leila and Prem Seth in Calcutta...
, Sue Townsend
Sue Townsend
-Adrian Mole series:* The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ , her best selling book, and the best-selling new British fiction book of the 1980s.* The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole * The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole...
, Barry Unsworth
Barry Unsworth
Barry Unsworth is a British novelist who is known for novels with historical themes. He has published 15 novels, and has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times, winning once for the 1992 novel Sacred Hunger....
and Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon CBE is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.-Biography:Weldon was...
.
He recognised the merits of an early Adrian (then Nigel) Mole
Adrian Mole
Adrian Albert Mole is the fictional protagonist in a series of books by English author Sue Townsend. The character first appeared in a BBC Radio 4 play in 1982. The books are written in the form of a diary, with some additional content such as correspondence...
sketch by Townsend
Sue Townsend
-Adrian Mole series:* The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ , her best selling book, and the best-selling new British fiction book of the 1980s.* The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole * The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole...
, and persuaded her to turn it into a full-length book, which together with its sequel sold more copies than any other two books by the same author during the 1980s. Of wider significance, he suggested Spycatcher
Spycatcher
Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer , is a book written by Peter Wright, former MI5 officer and Assistant Director, and co-author Paul Greengrass. It was published first in Australia...
by Peter Wright
Peter Wright
Peter Maurice Wright was an English scientist and former MI5 counterintelligence officer, noted for writing the controversial book Spycatcher, which became an international bestseller with sales of over two million copies...
, with Paul Greengrass
Paul Greengrass
Paul Greengrass is an English film director, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of real-life events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras.-Life and career:...
, be written. The book, which the British government attempted to ban internationally, detailed allegations of a criminal activity by the security services
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
in which the principal author had directly participated. As an agent, he was successful in securing larger fees for his clients, including a £650,000 advance for Peter Ackroyd's biographies of Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
and Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
and a £250,000 advance for Vikram Seth's first novel and later £1.3 million for Two Lives, a memnoir of Seth's great uncle and aunt.
He returned to his love of the theatre as drama critic for The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
(1983-84) and the London Daily News
London Daily News
The London Daily News was a short-lived London newspaper owned by Robert Maxwell.-1987:The London Daily News was published from 24 February to 24 July 1987. It was intended to be a "24-hour" paper challenging the local dominance of the Evening Standard."For the city that never sleeps, the paper...
briefly published by Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
in 1987. He also leaked bookish gossip to Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
and wrote their 'Bookworm' column.
Breaking with his employer Shell Land in 1994, a court order prevented him from contact with his clients lest he poach them, he set up the Scottish office of Curtis Brown
Curtis Brown (literary agents)
Curtis Brown is a literary and talent agency based in London, UK. It was founded in 1899 by Albert Curtis Brown.-History:...
in 1994. The offshoot was quietly closed after Gordon's death.
In 1966 he released a collection of poems, Two & Two Make One, which was published by Akros on a print run of 350 copies. He also wrote half a dozen novels between 1971 and 1980, and later a memoir Aren't We Due a Royalty Statement (1993), a title which caused accusations of impropriety by quoting a comment from one of his clients, the Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
.
He married Margaret Fastoe in 1964; they had two sons and daughter. His daughter Hattie had, at the time of her father's death, just published a memoir of her brother Gareth, who had committed suicide in 1994 at the age of 24. His wife Margaret died of an incurable illness in 1989. Gordon's second marriage was to Maggie McKernan in 1990, with whom he had a son and two daughters. Giles Gordon died from injuries sustained in a fall a fortnight earlier outside his home in Edinburgh.