Seton Paul Gordon

(born April 1886 - died 1977) - Deeside, Aberdeen

Seton Paul Gordon

Born in Aberdeen in 1886, Seton Gordon was only 21 when he published his first book, Birds of the Loch and Mountain. Over the next sixty years, Gordon was one of the most highly regarded writer of books on the flora and fauna of the Scottish highlands. Indeed, it has been suggested that "for the first three decades of the twentieth century Seton Gordon was the only full-time practising naturalist in Britain".

Gordon was a gifted wildlife photographer, and took some of the earliest pictures of Golden Eagles in their eyries. As well as writing, Gordon toured round Britain giving lectures and exhibitions of his photography, usually dressed in a kilt and bunnet. He wrote 27 books, but only two remain in print: Days With the Golden Eagle and Hebridean Memories. His final book, Highland Summer, was written in 1971, just six years before his death. His essays appeared all the leading Scottish newspapers. Gordon's writing greatly influenced later nature writers such as Tom Weir, Mike Tomkies, Jim Crumley.

A biography of Seton Gordon was written by Raymond Eagle in 1991, but is unfortunately now out of print. Some of Seton Gordens essays and photographs have been collected in Hamish Brown's book, Seton Gordon's Scotland: An Anthology. Seton Gordon died in 1977.

  • Cover scan of Days With The Golden Eagle
    Days With The Golden Eagle Seton Paul Gordon
    A reprint of the classic eagle book from one of the pioneers of nature writing. From life day to day on the eyrie, through the different Scottish landscapes and the interaction of the eagles with other wildlife - it is all covered, and all in Gordon's inimitable style.
  • Cover scan of Seton Gordon's Scotland
    Seton Gordon's Scotland: An Anthology Seton Paul Gordon
    This selection, from Seton Gordon's writing, provides a fascinating insight of the man and his great versatility. Hamish Brown, himself a Scottish outdoors enthusiast and well-known author, has been a lifelong admirer of Seton Gordon and his books and has created a book to treasure.

Bibliography

  • Birds of the Loch and Mountain (1907)
  • The Charm of the Hills (1914)
  • Hill Birds of Scotland (1915)
  • Land of the Hills and the Glens - Wild Life of Iona & the Inner Hebrides (1920)
  • Wanderings of a Naturalist (1921)
  • Amid Snowy Wastes (1922)
  • Hebridean Memories (1923)
  • The Cairngorm Hills of Scotland (1925)
  • The Immortal Isles (1926)
  • Days With the Golden Eagle (1927)
  • The Charm of Skye: The Winged Isle (1929)
  • In the Highlands (1931)
  • Islands of the West (1933)
  • Highways and Byways in the West Highlands (1935; republished 1995)
  • Sea-Gulls in London (1935)
  • Thirty Years of Nature Photography: a Personal Record of Two Observers (1936)
  • Afoot in Wild Places (1937)
  • Edward Grey of Fallodon and His Birds (1937)
  • Wild Birds in Britain (1938)
  • In Search of Northern Birds (1941)
  • A Highland Year (1944)
  • Highways and Byways in the Central Highlands (1949; republished 1995)
  • Afoot in the Hebrides (1950)
  • Highlands of Scotland (1951)
  • The Golden Eagle, King of Birds (1955)
  • Colourful Scotland (1956)
  • Highland Days (1963)
  • Highland Summer (1971)

Books about Seton Gordon

  • Seton Gordon - The Life and Times of a Highland Gentleman - Raymond Eagle - 1991
  • Seton Gordon's Scotland - Hamish Brown - 2006