Harry Patterson
| Jack Higgins | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Henry Patterson 27 July 1929 Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics |
| Genre | Thriller, espionage, mystery |
| Notable works | |
| Years active | 1959–present |
| Spouse |
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| Children | 4 |
Henry Patterson (born 27 July 1929), known by his pen name Jack Higgins, is a British writer and novelist. He is one of the best-selling authors of popular thrillers and espionage novels. His breakthrough novel The Eagle Has Landed (1975) sold over 50 million copies and was adapted into a successful film by the same title.
Some of his other notable books are A Prayer for the Dying (1987), The Eagle Has Flown (1991), Thunder Point (1993), Angel of Death (1995), Flight of Eagles (1998), and Day of Reckoning (2000). His 84 novels in total have sold over 150 million copies and have been translated into 55 languages.
Jack Higgins was born Henry Patterson on 27 July 1929 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. When his father abandoned them soon after, his Irish mother returned with him to her home town of Belfast, Northern Ireland, to live with her mother and her grandfather on Shankill Road. Raised amid the religious and political violence of Belfast, Patterson learned to read at the age of three, when he was tasked with reading The Christian Herald to his bed-ridden grandfather. At night, he would crouch beneath a window and read by the light of the street lamps.
I read Oliver Twist when I was six. Not because it was a classic, but because it was a book that was available. I probably didn't understand everything in it—for years I used to pronounce the word rogue as rogger—but I didn't care. I just loved reading.
When his mother remarried, the family moved to Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, where Patterson attended the Roundhay Grammar School for Boys. He proved to be an indifferent student and left school with few formal qualifications. In 1947 he began two years of National Service, at first with the East Yorkshire Regiment, and later as a non-commissioned officer in the Royal Horse Guards Regiment of the Household Cavalry doing security work on the East German border. During his military service, Patterson discovered that he possessed both considerable sharpshooting skills and considerable intelligence.
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