Gordon was brought up and educated in Buckie and Perthshire. His family's home is located at the Cairnfield estate near Arradoul. Gordon studied history at Newcastle University and was offered post-graduate work, but instead he accepted a job as a market researcher. He later left this position and made a career as a writer.
After many years of writing, Gordon moved to London, where he took a course in teaching English as a foreign language. Gordon began teaching abroad in his 50s. He first taught in Poland and then in 2003 he relocated to China. Gordon collapsed in the Shanghai Metro of a heart attack and died in hospital on February 7, 2009. He had been teaching at Shanghai High School International Division since 2005.
