Who was Jack Higgins? Tributes pour in as 'The Eagle Has Landed' author passes away at 92

British writer Jack Higgins, the author of The Eagle Has Landed and other bestselling novels, has passed away at the age of 92.

The news was confirmed by publisher HarperCollins, who said that the author was at his residence on the English Channel island of Jersey, surrounded by his family during the time of his death.

In an official statement made out by the chief executive officer of HarperCollins, Charlie Redmayne, said that the author's death marked the "end of an era."

“I’ve been a fan of Jack Higgins for longer than I can remember. He was a classic thriller writer: instinctive, tough, relentless."

He also applauded the late author's work.

“The Eagle Has Landed and his other Liam Devlin books, his later Sean Dillon series, and so many others were and remain absolutely unputdownable.”

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Following news of Jack Higgins' death, Twitter users began expressing their thoughts and prayers for the deceased author.

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More about Jack Higgins and his work

Higgins, whose birth name was Henry Patterson, was born in England in July 1929. He served in the military before enrolling at the London School of Economics to study sociology.

He taught in the northern city of Leeds and wrote novels in his spare time. His novels started selling modestly in the late 1950s.

The situation changed with the 1975 publication of The Eagle Has Landed, a fictional plot to kidnap the British Prime Minister at the time, Winston Churchill. Higgins recounted a pivotal call from his accountant in a 2010 interview with The Guardian.

“He asked me what I wanted to get out of my writing. I replied that I wasn’t really sure, before adding as a joke it would be nice to make a million by the time I retired. He then said: ‘Well you’re a bloody fool. Because you’ve just earned that much this week. So what are you going to do about it?’”

Due to high tax rates in 1970s, he was urged to leave England and reside in Jersey with his family.

Following the release of the 1976 film adaption, The Eagle Has Landed grew in popularity. The film, which was a box office hit, starred Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, and Robert Duvall.

He wrote nearly 80 novels, mostly under the alias Jack Higgins. Some of Higgins' other works included The Eagle Has Flown, Angel of Death, Day of Reckoning, and A Darker Place.

The novels have sold over 250 million copies and have been translated into dozens of languages, according to his publisher's website.

Higgins is survived by his wife, Denise, and four kids from his last marriage.