The author died at his home in Jersey surrounded by his family, the HarperCollins publisher said. Patterson wrote 85 novels, mostly thrillers and espionage, using the pseudonym Jack Higgins. It is more synonymous with the writing of The Eagle Has Landed, set during World War II, published in 1975. It sold more than 50 million copies and was adapted into a British film of the same name, starring Sir Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Jenny Agutter and Robert Duvall. Michael Kane in the 1976 film adaptation of The Eagle Has Landed, the story of a fictional German plot to kidnap Winston Churchill. Photo: TCD / Prod.DB / Alamy Patterson has sold more than 250 million copies worldwide and his books have been translated into 60 languages. HarperCollins CEO Charlie Redmayne said: “I’m a fan of Jack Higgins for more than I can remember. He was a classic thriller writer: instinctive, tough, relentless. “The Eagle has landed and his other books about Liam Devlin, Sean Dillon’s later series and so many others have been and remain completely irresistible. “Being part of his publications for a part of his career was a privilege – his death marks the end of an era.” Patterson was born on July 27, 1929 in Newcastle upon Tyne to an English father and a Northern Irish mother. He grew up in Belfast until his mother remarried and moved to Leeds. After a two-year national term, he qualified as a teacher and began writing novels in his spare time. The author received a 75 75 deposit for his first novel, Sad Wind From the Sea, in 1959. Jonathan Lloyd, Patterson’s literary agent and president of Curtis Brown, said he was at the Collins publishing house when he received the manuscript of The Eagle Has Landed and everyone there knew it was going to be a classic. He said: “Forty years later, Curtis Brown became his agent… and it has been exciting to work with Harry again, and I look forward to working with his wife, Denise, and his daughter, Hannah, and the family to maintain and promote its outstanding heritage. “ Patterson’s latest book, The Midnight Bell, was published in 2017 and was a Sunday Times bestseller. The novelist has survived his four children from his first marriage – Sarah, Ruth, Sean and Hannah – and his wife, Denise.
