Jack Higgins
Encyclopedia
Jack Higgins is the principal pseudonym of UK novelist Harry Patterson. Patterson is the author of more than 60 novels. As Higgins, most have been thrillers of various types and, since his breakthrough novel The Eagle Has Landed
in 1975, nearly all have been bestseller
s. The Eagle Has Landed sold over fifty million copies.
Patterson was born in Newcastle upon Tyne
, England. He moved to Belfast
, Northern Ireland, with his mother after his parents' marriage foundered, and was raised there amid religious and political violence. First in Belfast and later in Leeds
, Patterson proved to be an indifferent student and left school without completing his studies.
He found a home in the British Army, however, and served two years as a non-commissioned officer
in the Household Cavalry
(the Blues and Royals
) on the East German border during the 1950s. Patterson found, during his military service, that he possessed both considerable sharpshooting skills
and considerable intelligence (scoring 147 on an army intelligence test).
, and later Education at James Graham College (which became part of Leeds Polytechnic in 1976). One of Patterson's aliases was James Graham. The growing success of his early work allowed him to take time off from his teaching, and he eventually left the classroom to become a full-time novelist. He currently lives in Jersey
, in the Channel Islands, and continues to publish a new novel annually.
, the Channel Islands, and Belfast, respectively) and offbeat plots.
Patterson began using the pseudonym Jack Higgins in the late 1960s; his first minor bestsellers appeared in the early 1970s, two contemporary thrillers The Savage Day and A Prayer For The Dying
but it was the publication of his thirty sixth book The Eagle Has Landed
in 1975 that made Higgins' reputation. The Eagle Has Landed represented a step forward in the length and depth of Patterson's work. Its plot (concerned with a German commando unit sent into England to kidnap Winston Churchill
) was fresh and innovative (although the plot is clearly reminiscent of Alberto Cavalcanti
's wartime film Went the Day Well?
, which itself was directly based on the 1942 Graham Greene
short story The Lieutenant Died Last), and the characters had significantly more depth than in his earlier work. One in particular stood out: Irish gunman, poet, and philosopher Liam Devlin
. Higgins followed The Eagle Has Landed with a series of equally ambitious thrillers, including several (Touch the Devil, Confessional, The Eagle Has Flown
) featuring return appearances by Devlin.
The third phase of Patterson's career began with the publication of Eye of the Storm in 1992, a fictionalized retelling of an unsuccessful mortar attack on Prime Minister John Major
by a ruthless young Irish gunman-philosopher named Sean Dillon, hired by an Iraq
i millionaire. Cast as the central character over the next series of novels it is apparent that Dillon is in many ways an amalgamation of Patterson's previous heroes — Chavasse with his flair for languages, Nick Miller's familiarity with martial arts and jazz keyboard skills, Simon Vaughan's Irish roots, facility with firearms and the cynicism that comes with assuming the responsibility of administering a justice unavailable through a civilized legal system.
The Eagle Has Landed
The Eagle Has Landed is a book by Jack Higgins set during World War II. It first published in 1975. It was made into a film of the same name in 1976 starring Michael Caine...
in 1975, nearly all have been bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
s. The Eagle Has Landed sold over fifty million copies.
Patterson was born in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, England. He moved to Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland, with his mother after his parents' marriage foundered, and was raised there amid religious and political violence. First in Belfast and later in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Patterson proved to be an indifferent student and left school without completing his studies.
He found a home in the British Army, however, and served two years as a non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
in the Household Cavalry
Household Cavalry
The term Household Cavalry is used across the Commonwealth to describe the cavalry of the Household Divisions, a country’s most elite or historically senior military groupings or those military groupings that provide functions associated directly with the Head of state.Canada's Governor General's...
(the Blues and Royals
Blues and Royals
The Blues and Royals is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. The Colonel-in-Chief is Her Majesty The Queen and the Colonel is HRH The Princess Royal...
) on the East German border during the 1950s. Patterson found, during his military service, that he possessed both considerable sharpshooting skills
Marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...
and considerable intelligence (scoring 147 on an army intelligence test).
University
After leaving the army, he returned to education, studying sociology at London School of Economics and Political Science while supporting himself as a driver and labourer. After completing his degree, he worked for a time as a teacher and began writing novels in 1959. He taught Liberal Studies at Leeds PolytechnicLeeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...
, and later Education at James Graham College (which became part of Leeds Polytechnic in 1976). One of Patterson's aliases was James Graham. The growing success of his early work allowed him to take time off from his teaching, and he eventually left the classroom to become a full-time novelist. He currently lives in Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
, in the Channel Islands, and continues to publish a new novel annually.
Family
Patterson's family includes daughter Sarah Patterson, who has also worked as a writer, penning the novel The Distant Summer in 1976.Work
Patterson's early novels, written under his own name as well as under the pseudonyms James Graham, Martin Fallon, and Hugh Marlowe, are brisk, competent, but essentially forgettable thrillers that typically feature hardened, cynical heroes, ruthless villains, and dangerous locales. Patterson published thirty-five such novels (sometimes three or four a year) between 1959 and 1974, learning his craft. East of Desolation (1968), A Game for Heroes (1970) and The Savage Day (1972) stand out among his early work for their vividly drawn settings (GreenlandGreenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, the Channel Islands, and Belfast, respectively) and offbeat plots.
Patterson began using the pseudonym Jack Higgins in the late 1960s; his first minor bestsellers appeared in the early 1970s, two contemporary thrillers The Savage Day and A Prayer For The Dying
A Prayer for the Dying
A Prayer for the Dying is a 1987 thriller film about a former IRA member trying to escape his past. The film was directed by Mike Hodges, and stars Mickey Rourke, Liam Neeson, Bob Hoskins, and Alan Bates...
but it was the publication of his thirty sixth book The Eagle Has Landed
The Eagle Has Landed
The Eagle Has Landed is a book by Jack Higgins set during World War II. It first published in 1975. It was made into a film of the same name in 1976 starring Michael Caine...
in 1975 that made Higgins' reputation. The Eagle Has Landed represented a step forward in the length and depth of Patterson's work. Its plot (concerned with a German commando unit sent into England to kidnap Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
) was fresh and innovative (although the plot is clearly reminiscent of Alberto Cavalcanti
Alberto Cavalcanti
Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti was a Brazilian-born film director and producer.-Early life:Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a prominent mathematician. He was a precociously intelligent child, and by the age of 15 was studying law at university. Following an argument with a...
's wartime film Went the Day Well?
Went the Day Well?
"Went the Day Well?" is a British war film produced by Ealing Studios in 1942 as unofficial propaganda. It tells of how an English village is taken over by German paratroopers . Made during the war, it reflects the greatest potential nightmares of many Britons of the time, although the threat of...
, which itself was directly based on the 1942 Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
short story The Lieutenant Died Last), and the characters had significantly more depth than in his earlier work. One in particular stood out: Irish gunman, poet, and philosopher Liam Devlin
Liam Devlin
Liam Devlin is a protagonist and recurring character in the novels of Jack Higgins. "Liam Devlin" is a pseudonym and his real name is never revealed.-Background:...
. Higgins followed The Eagle Has Landed with a series of equally ambitious thrillers, including several (Touch the Devil, Confessional, The Eagle Has Flown
The Eagle Has Flown
The Eagle Has Flown is a book by Jack Higgins, first published in 1991. It is a quasi-sequel to The Eagle Has Landed, with a similar plot structure, but an arguably weaker storyline.-Plot summary:...
) featuring return appearances by Devlin.
The third phase of Patterson's career began with the publication of Eye of the Storm in 1992, a fictionalized retelling of an unsuccessful mortar attack on Prime Minister John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
by a ruthless young Irish gunman-philosopher named Sean Dillon, hired by an Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i millionaire. Cast as the central character over the next series of novels it is apparent that Dillon is in many ways an amalgamation of Patterson's previous heroes — Chavasse with his flair for languages, Nick Miller's familiarity with martial arts and jazz keyboard skills, Simon Vaughan's Irish roots, facility with firearms and the cynicism that comes with assuming the responsibility of administering a justice unavailable through a civilized legal system.
Paul Chavasse
- The Testament of Caspar Schultz (1962) a.k.a. The Bormann Testament
- Year of the Tiger (1963)
- The Keys of Hell (1965)
- Midnight Never Comes (1966)
- Dark Side of the Street (1967)
- A Fine Night for DyingA Fine Night for DyingA Fine Night for Dying is a 1969 novel by Jack Higgins originally published under the pseudonyms Martin J Fallon). Set on the high seas, it is a new adventure for super-spy Paul Chavasse.-Plot summary:...
(1969)
Simon Vaughn
- Dark Side of the Street (1967)
- The Savage Day (1972)
- Day of Judgement (1979) (a number of sources have this listed as featuring Paul Chavasse, but they are in error; this is a prequel to The Savage Day)
Nick Miller (writing as Harry Patterson)
- The Graveyard ShiftThe Graveyard Shift (novel)The Graveyard Shift is a 1965 novel by Harry Patterson, also known as Jack Higgins .The novel tells the story of Nick Miller, a newly recruited police officer who lives with his rich brother but who won't take part in his brother's business...
(1965) - Brought in Dead (1967)
- Hell Is Always Today (1968)
Liam Devlin
- The Eagle Has LandedThe Eagle Has LandedThe Eagle Has Landed is a book by Jack Higgins set during World War II. It first published in 1975. It was made into a film of the same name in 1976 starring Michael Caine...
(1975) - Touch the Devil (1982)
- Confessional (1985)
- The Eagle Has FlownThe Eagle Has FlownThe Eagle Has Flown is a book by Jack Higgins, first published in 1991. It is a quasi-sequel to The Eagle Has Landed, with a similar plot structure, but an arguably weaker storyline.-Plot summary:...
(1991)
Dougal Munro and Jack Carter
- Night of the Fox (1986)
- Cold Harbour (1989)
- Flight of EaglesFlight of EaglesFlight of Eagles is a novel by Jack Higgins, set in World War II.-Plot summary:Jack Kelso, an American ace pilot in World War 1, is shot down and nursed back to health by a German nurse, Baroness Elsa von Halder. They marry and return to America after the war...
(1998)
Sean Dillon
- 1 Eye of the Storm (1992) a.k.a. Midnight Man
- 2 Thunder Point (1993)
- 3 On Dangerous Ground (1994)
- 4 Angel of DeathAngel of Death (novel)Angel of Death is a novel by Jack Higgins written in 1995. It tells the story of a famous actress who joins a bloody terrorist movement named after Bloody Sunday's date, 30 January...
(1995) - 5 Drink with the Devil (1996)
- 6 The President's Daughter (1997)
- 7 The White House Connection (1998)
- 8 Day of ReckoningDay of Reckoning (novel)Day Of Reckoning is a novel by Jack Higgins, first published in 2000. It is one of a series of books featuring the philosopher/killer Sean Dillon.-Plot summary:...
(2000) - 9 Edge of Danger (2001)
- 10 Midnight RunnerMidnight RunnerMidnight Runner is a novel by Jack Higgins published in 2002. It is his tenth Sean Dillon novel.-Reviews:*"MIDNIGHT RUNNER ." Kirkus Reviews 70.2 : 65. Abstract: Reviews the book 'Midnight Runner,' by Jack Higgins....
(2002) - 11 Bad Company (2003)
- 12 Dark Justice (2004)
- 13 Without Mercy (2005)
- 14 The Killing GroundThe Killing Ground (novel)-Reception:Kirkus Reviews said "can any other thrillmeister equal the Higgins corpse-per-page count?". Publishers Weekly said that "the proceedings are complicated; it helps if the reader is a veteran of this long-running series...
(Feb 2008) - 15 Rough JusticeRough Justice (novel)Rough Justice is a novel written by Jack Higgins in 2008. It appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list in September 2008, debuting at number 15....
(Aug 2008) - 16 A Darker Place (Jan 2009)
- 17 The Wolf at the Door (January 2010)
- 18 The Judas Gate (2011)
- 19 A Devil is Waiting (2012)
Chance Twins (Rich and Jade) (written with Justin Richards)
- Sure Fire (2006)
- Death Run (2007)
- Sharp Shot (2009)
- First Strike (2009)
Writing as Harry Patterson
- Sad Wind from the Sea (1959)
- Cry of the Hunter (1960)
- The Thousand Faces of Night (1961)
- Comes the Dark Stranger (1962)
- Hell is Too Crowded (1962)
- The Dark Side of the Island (1963)
- Toll For The Brave (1971)
- The Valhalla Exchange (1977)
- To Catch a King (1979) a.k.a. The Judas Gate
- Dillinger (1983)
Writing as Hugh Marlowe
- Seven Pillars to Hell a.k.a. Sheba (1963)
- Passage By Night (1964)
- A Candle for the Dead (1966) a.k.a. The Violent Enemy
Writing as James Graham
- A Game for Heroes (1970); later also attributed to Jack Higgins (3rd Berkley edition, 2002)
- The Wrath of God (1971)
- The Khufra Run (1972)
- The Run to Morning (1974) a.k.a. Bloody Passage
Writing as Jack Higgins
- East of Desolation (1968)
- In the Hour Before Midnight (1969) a.k.a. The Sicilian Heritage
- Night Judgement At Sinos (1970)
- The Last Place God Made (1971)
- The Savage Day (1972)
- A Prayer for the DyingA Prayer for the DyingA Prayer for the Dying is a 1987 thriller film about a former IRA member trying to escape his past. The film was directed by Mike Hodges, and stars Mickey Rourke, Liam Neeson, Bob Hoskins, and Alan Bates...
(1973) - Storm WarningStorm Warning (novel)Storm Warning is a novel by Jack Higgins.Storm Warning was the follow-up novel to the highly successful 1975 bestseller The Eagle Has Landed.Higgins takes to the sea in this wartime thriller which matches the standard of his novels of this period...
(1976) - Solo a.k.a. The Cretan Lover (1980)
- Luciano's Luck (1981)
- Exocet (1983)
- A Season in Hell (1988)
- Memoirs of a Dance Hall Romeo (1989)
- Sheba (1995)
- Pay The Devil (1999)
Filmography
Films adapted from the novels.- The Violent Enemy (1967)
- The Wrath Of God (1972)
- The Eagle Has Landed (1976)The Eagle Has Landed (film)The Eagle Has Landed is a 1976 film version of the novel The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins. It was directed by John Sturges and starred Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall...
- To Catch A King (1984, TV)
- A Prayer For The Dying (1987)A Prayer for the DyingA Prayer for the Dying is a 1987 thriller film about a former IRA member trying to escape his past. The film was directed by Mike Hodges, and stars Mickey Rourke, Liam Neeson, Bob Hoskins, and Alan Bates...
- Confessional (1989, TV)
- Night Of The Fox (1990, TV)
- Midnight Man (1995, TV)
- On Dangerous Ground (1996, TV)
- Windsor Protocol (1996, TV)Windsor ProtocolWindsor Protocol is a 1996 British-Canadian television thriller film directed by George Mihalka and starring Kyle MacLachlan, Macha Grenon, Chris Wiggins, Lisa Bronwyn Moore, John Colicos and Eugene Clark. It is based on the novel by Jack Higgins....
- Thunder Point (1998, TV)