# Roderick Gordon

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{{Short description|British author}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [:Template:Infobox writer/doc](/source/%3ATemplate%3AInfobox_writer%2Fdoc) -->
| name         = Roderick Gordon
| image        = Roderick_Gordon.jpg
| imagesize    = 200x300px
| caption      = 
| birth_date    = November 1960 
| birth_place   = [London](/source/London), [England](/source/England)
| nationality  = [British](/source/United_Kingdom)
| occupation   = Author
| genre        = [Fantasy](/source/Fantasy)<br />[Science fiction](/source/Science_fiction)<br />[Subterranean fiction](/source/Subterranean_fiction)<br />[Lost world](/source/Lost_World_(genre))<br />[Adventure](/source/Adventure)<br />[Children's literature](/source/Children's_literature)
| movement     = 
| notableworks = ''[Tunnels Series](/source/Tunnels_(novel))''
| influences   = 
| influenced   = 
| signature = 
| website = {{URL|http://www.roderickgordon.com}}
}}
{{Portal |Children's literature}}

'''Roderick Gordon''' (born November 1960) is a British author, best known for ''[Tunnels](/source/Tunnels_(novel))'', a bestselling children's book and the first book in the ''Tunnels'' series by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams.

==Biography==

Born in November 1960, Roderick grew up in [Highgate](/source/Highgate), [North London](/source/North_London). Chronically shy throughout his childhood, he sought refuge in drawing and writing, and whilst at the [Hall School, Hampstead](/source/Hall_School_(Hampstead)), he had his first short story published in the school magazine, at the age of twelve. He went on to public school at [Oundle](/source/Oundle_School), and then attended [University College, London](/source/University_College_London), where he read biology (specializing in [genetics](/source/genetics)). It was here that he met his future collaborator on the ''[Tunnels](/source/Tunnels_(novel))'' series of books, Brian Williams, who was at the [Slade School of Fine Art](/source/Slade_School_of_Fine_Art). They became friends in the summer of 1980, and kept in touch until, some twenty-three years later, they finally began to cooperate on their writing.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/sunday-review/regulars/how-we-met-roderick-gordon-brian-williams-5478979.html How We Met: Roderick Gordon & Brian Williams]. [The Independent On Sunday](/source/The_Independent_On_Sunday). 15 June 2008. Accessed 21 February 2010.</ref> 
 
After an unsuccessful attempt to transfer to medical school to train as a doctor, Roderick had graduated from [University College London](/source/University_College_London) in 1983 without any idea of what career he wanted to follow. For several years he wrote music and played in a number of bands, and also toyed with the idea of getting into films (he was employed briefly by [George Harrison's](/source/George_Harrison) [Handmade Films](/source/Handmade_Films)), but eventually ended up in the City. Here he worked in corporate finance, specializing in private equity transactions. In 2001, after a nine-year stretch with an investment bank, Roderick was made redundant, something that he has since described as a blessing in disguise. He was now able to meet more regularly with his old university friend, Brian Williams, and in 2003, they decided to start working together. Their first project was a film screenplay for a crime thriller called "Second Face". They both found the process so rewarding that they decided they would continue the collaboration, and embarked on a book for younger readers, an idea first suggested by Roderick's wife, Sophie.

left|thumb|200px|Roderick Gordon dressed as one of his characters, Drake, from the Tunnels books

Roderick had always been interested in [archaeology](/source/archaeology) and [palaeontology](/source/palaeontology). Amongst his ancestors (which include [R.D. Blackmore](/source/R.D._Blackmore) and [Matthew Arnold](/source/Matthew_Arnold)) was [William Buckland](/source/William_Buckland), his great-great-grandfather, who is widely recognized to be one of the forefathers of [geology](/source/geology). In 1824, [Professor Buckland](/source/William_Buckland) gave what is credited to be the first scientific lecture on the jaw bone of a [dinosaur](/source/dinosaur) called the [Megalosaurus](/source/Megalosaurus), some twenty years before the word dinosaur itself was coined by [Richard Owen](/source/Richard_Owen).  Roderick himself was fascinated by "what lies beneath", and when he bought a sixteenth-century country house in [Northamptonshire](/source/Northamptonshire) and was told that it was rumored to have a secret passage beneath it, he began to think about a character who would eventually become "Will Burrows" in the Tunnels books. All through late 2003 and the summer of 2004, Roderick and Brian worked together, and in 2005 Roderick finally self-published the first book in the ''[Tunnels](/source/Tunnels_(novel))'' series, then known as ''[The Highfield Mole](/source/The_Highfield_Mole)''. It quickly sold out, attracting the attention of Barry Cunningham, [J.K. Rowling's](/source/J._K._Rowling) original publisher and founder of The Chicken House, a publisher of children's books. Barry Cunningham signed Roderick and Brian for the first two books in the proposed series. After a period of editing, he republished ''[The Highfield Mole](/source/The_Highfield_Mole)'' in July 2007, renaming the book as ''[Tunnels](/source/Tunnels_(novel))'' to reflect the fact that it had been subject to a degree of change.

After intense media interest around its launch, ''[Tunnels](/source/Tunnels_(novel))'' was a huge success, and has now been published in forty countries, achieving sales of more than a million copies worldwide. Both ''[Tunnels](/source/Tunnels_(novel))'' and sequel ''[Deeper](/source/Deeper_(Gordon_and_Williams_novel))'' reached [The New York Times Best Seller List](/source/The_New_York_Times_Best_Seller_List). ''[Tunnels](/source/Tunnels_(novel))'' was also a finalist on TV Channel 4's Richard & Judy's Best Kids Book's Ever (11+). Shortly after publication, the film rights were purchased by the US production company [Relativity Media](/source/Relativity_Media) in a deal worth more than $1m.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2068113/British-authors-of-new-Harry-Potter-land-million-dollar-Hollywood-film-contract.html British Authors of 'new Harry Potter' land million-dollar Hollywood film contract]. [Telegraph.co.uk](/source/Telegraph.co.uk). 3 June 2008. Accessed 21 February 2010.</ref> [Vincenzo Natali](/source/Vincenzo_Natali) has been appointed as Director and shooting is expected to begin in 2010.<ref>[http://www.totalfilm.com/news/vincenzo-natali-makes-tunnels Vincenzo Natali makes Tunnels]. [Total Film](/source/Total_Film). 19 February 2010. Accessed 21 February 2010.</ref> A three-part [manga](/source/manga) of the book has also been released in [Japan](/source/Japan). ''[Tunnels](/source/Tunnels_(novel))'' has been followed by further books in the series, ''Deeper'' (2008) and ''[Freefall](/source/Freefall_(novel))'' (2009), and a further installment entitled ''[Closer](/source/Closer_(novel))'' was published in the UK on 3 May 2010 and the fifth book, ''Spiral'', in 2011. The sixth and final book in the Tunnels series is called ''[Terminal](/source/Terminal_(Tunnels_novel))'' and was published in the UK on 6 May 2013. Roderick lives in [North Norfolk](/source/North_Norfolk) with his wife and two sons. His eldest son, George, is currently{{when|date=May 2022}} studying English at university.

==Novels==

'''The Tunnels Series:'''

* ''[Tunnels](/source/Tunnels_(novel))'' (2007)
** Tunnels was originally self-published as ''The Highfield Mole'' in 2005
* ''Deeper'' (2008)
* ''Freefall'' (2009)
* ''Closer'' (2010)
* ''Spiral'' (2011)
* ''Terminal'' (2013)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.roderickgordon.com/ Roderick Gordon's Official Website]
*[http://www.tunnelsthebook.com/ Tunnels Books Series Official Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100417183833/http://www.tunnelsthebook.com/ |date=17 April 2010 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100218153259/http://www.doublecluck.com/authors/roderick-gordon-and-brian-williams Chicken House Publishing Website]
*[http://www.tunnelsdeeper.com/?view=home Tunnels Series UK Official Fansite]
*[http://www.bookreviewsandmore.ca/2011/03/roderick-gordon-author-profile.html Roderick Gordon Interview at BookReviewsAndMore.ca]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Roderick}}
Category:1960 births
Category:Living people
Category:English children's writers
Category:People educated at Oundle School
Category:Alumni of University College London
Category:People from Highgate
Category:Writers from the London Borough of Camden
Category:Writers from the London Borough of Islington

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Roderick Gordon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roderick_Gordon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roderick_Gordon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.