Jack Higgins

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Storm Warning, 1989 U.S. paperback edition

Jack Higgins is the principal pseudonym of British novelist Harry Patterson (born July 27, 1929). Patterson is the author of more than sixty novels. Most have been thrillers of various types and, since his breakthrough novel The Eagle Has Landed in 1975, nearly all have been best-sellers.

1 Life
2 Work
3 Bibliography
4 External links

[edit] Life

Harry 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 on the East German border during the 1950s. Patterson found, during his military service, that he possessed both considerable sharpshooting skills and above-average intelligence (scoring 147 on an army intelligence test). After leaving the army, he returned to school, studying sociology at London University while supporting himself as a driver and laborer. Completing his degree, he worked for a time as a teacher and began writing novels in 1959. 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 on Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, and continues to publish a new novel annually.

[edit] Work

Patterson's early novels, written under his own name as well as under the pseudonyms James Graham, Martin Fallon, and Hugh Marlow, 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 (as many thriller writers have, in the world of paperback originals). 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 (Greenland, the Channel Islands, and Belfast, respectively) and offbeat plots.

Patterson began using the pseudonym "Jack Higgins" in the late 1960s, but it was the publication of The Eagle Has Landed in 1975 that made his reputation. Eagle 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, 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 Eagle (which sold tens of millions of copies worldwide) 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 Iraqi millionaire. Recruited by British intelligence at the beginning of the next novel, Thunder Point (1993), Dillon became Patterson's first real continuing character--a Liam Devlin for the 1990s and beyond.

[edit] Bibliography

listed chronologically by initial publication date.

Sad Wind From The Sea John Long, (1959) (as Harry Patterson)
Cry of the Hunter John Long, (1960) (as Harry Patterson)
The Thousand Faces of Night John Long, (1961) (as Harry Patterson)
Comes the Dark Stranger John Long, (1962) (as Harry Patterson)
Hell is too Crowded John Long, (1962) (as Harry Patterson)
The Testament of Caspar Schultz Abelard-Schuman, (1962) (as Martin Fallon)
Year of the Tiger Abelard-Schuman, (1963) (as Martin Fallon)
Pay the Devil Barrie & Rockcliff, (1963) (as Harry Patterson)
The Dark Side Of The Island John Long, (1963) (as Harry Patterson)
Seven Pillars to Hell (also known as Sheba) Abelard-Schuman, (1963) (as Hugh Marlowe)
A Phoenix in the Blood Barrie & Rockliff, (1964) (as Harry Patterson)
Thunder at Noon (also known as Dillinger) John Long, (1964) (as Harry Patterson)
Passage by Night (juvenile) Abelard-Schuman, (1964) (as Hugh Marlowe)
Wrath of the Lion John Long, (1964) (as Harry Patterson)
The Graveyard Shift John Long, (1965) (as Harry Patterson)
The Keys of Hell Abelard-Schuman, (1965) (as Martin Fallon)
The Iron Tiger John Long, (1966) (as Harry Patterson)
Midnight Never Comes John Long, (1966) (as Martin Fallon)
A Candle for the Dead (also known as The Violent Enemy) Abelard-Schuman, (1966) (as Hugh Marlowe)
Brought in Dead John Long, (1967) (as Harry Patterson)
Dark Side of the Street John Long, (1967) (as Martin Fallon)
Hell is Always Today John Long, (1968) (as Harry Patterson)
East of Desolation Hodder & Stoughton, (1968) (as Jack Higgins)
A Fine Night for Dying (John Long, (1969) (as Martin Fallon)
In the Hour Before Midnight (also known as The Sicilian Heritage) Hodder & Stoughton, (1969) (as Jack Higgins)
A Game for Heroes Macmillan, (1970) (as James Graham)
Night Judgement at Sinos Hodder & Stoughton, (1970) (as Jack Higgins)
Toll for the Brave John Long, (1971) (as Harry Patterson)
The Wrath of God Macmillan, (1971) (as James Graham)
The Last Place God Made Collins, (1971) (as Jack Higgins)
The KhufraA Run Macmillan, (1972) (as James Graham)
The Savage Day Collins, (1972) (as Jack Higgins)
A Prayer for the Dying Collins, (1973) (as Jack Higgins)
The Run to Morning (also known as Bloody Passage) Macmillan, (1974) (as James Graham)
The Eagle Has Landed Collins, (1975) (as Jack Higgins)
Storm Warning Collins, (1976) (as Jack Higgins)
The Valhalla Exchange Hutchinson, (1977) (as Harry Patterson)
Day of Judgement Collins, (1978) (as Jack Higgins)
To Catch a King (also known as The Judas Gate) Hutchinson, (1979) (as Harry Patterson)
Solo (also known as The Cretan Lover) Collins, (1980) (as Jack Higgins)
The Cretan Lover Collins, (1980) (as Jack Higgins)
Luciano's Luck Collins, (1981) (as Jack Higgins)
Touch the Devil Collins, (1982) (as Jack Higgins)
Exocet Collins, (1983) (as Jack Higgins)
Confessional Collins, (1985) (as Jack Higgins)
Night of the Fox Collins, (1986) (as Jack Higgins)
A Season in Hell Collins, (1989) (as Jack Higgins)
Memoirs of a Dance-Hall Romeo Collins, (1989) (as Jack Higgins)
Cold Harbour Heinemann, (1990) (as Jack Higgins)
The Eagle Has Flown Chapmans, (1991) (as Jack Higgins)
Eye of the Storm also known as Midnight Man, Chapmans, (1992) (as Jack Higgins)
Thunder Point Michael Joseph, (1993) (as Jack Higgins)
On Dangerous Ground Michael Joseph, (1994) (as Jack Higgins)
Angel of Death (1995) (as Jack Higgins)
Drink with the Devil (1996) (as Jack Higgins)
The President's Daughter (1997) (as Jack Higgins)
Flight of Eagles (1998) (as Jack Higgins)
The White House Connection (1998) (as Jack Higgins)
Day of Reckoning (novel) (2000) (as Jack Higgins)
Edge of Danger (2001) (as Jack Higgins)
Midnight Runner (2002) (as Jack Higgins)
Bad Company (2003) (as Jack Higgins)
Dark Justice (2004) (as Jack Higgins)
Without Mercy (2005) (as Jack Higgins)
The Bormann Testament (2006) (as Jack Higgins) This is a re-release of The Testament of Caspar Schultz with some alterations
Sure Fire (2006) (as Jack Higgins with Justing Richards)