Bestselling author Jack Higgins, who was known for his novels including The Eagle Has Landed, has died at the age of 92.
The novellist – whose real name was Henry Patterson – wrote 85 books, selling more than 250million copies.
He died at home in Jersey, surrounded by his family, his long-term publishers HarperCollins said in a statement.
HarperCollins chief executive Charlie Redmayne said: ‘I’ve been a fan of Jack Higgins for longer than I can remember. He was a classic thriller writer: instinctive, tough, relentless.
‘The Eagle Has Landed and his other Liam Devlin books, his later Sean Dillion series, and so many others were and remain absolutely unputdownable. Being part of his publishing for even part of his career has been a privilege – his passing marks the end of an era.’
Jonathan Lloyd, Higgins’ literary agent and president of Curtis Brown, said he was at Collins Publishers when it received the manuscript of The Eagle Has Landed, and everyone there knew it would be an instant classic.
‘Some 40 years later, Curtis Brown became his agent… and it was thrilling to work again with Harry, and I look forward now to working with his wife, Denise, and daughter, Hannah, and the family on preserving and promoting his extraordinary legacy,’ he said.
Higgins started writing novels in 1959 while working as a teacher.
He published The Eagle Has Landed in 1975 and it went on to sell more than 50million copies.
In 1976, it was adapted into a film starring Sir Michael Caine and Donald Sutherland.
Higgins is survived by his four children from his first marriage – Sarah, Ruth, Sean and Hannah – and by his wife Denise.
He continued writing until 2017, when his final book, The Midnight Bell, was published. It became a Sunday Times bestseller.
